News analysis Health Business

What next for Healthy wallets and Good times ahead NSSF courts
Gen. Muntu unhealthy bodies for coffee farmers savers

Issue No. 542 Oct 12 - 18, 2018 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

Bad oil deal

Museveni fight with
oil firms threatens
major project

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INBOX

Issue No. 542 Oct 12 - 18, 2018

News analysis Business Health Arts Motoring

Cover story
Bad oil deal
Museveni fight with oil firms threatens major project

4 The Week
29 Comments
Former Attorney General
Nyombi passes on The anti-counterfeit goods Bill:
Government failed to realise that
the cost of prevention is much
9 The Last Word
lower than that of inaction
Africa’s highway to a dead-end:
Why our obsession with foreign
direct investment as a driver of
36 Health
our transformation is misguided
Healthy wallets and unhealthy
14 Analysis bodies: Findings on obesity
and economic status
Gen. Muntu’s move: Just how far
can the former FDC leader go with
his ‘New Formation’?
39 Arts & Culture
27 Business
25 years of art memories:
Good times ahead for coffee Uganda’s top ceramicist,
farmers: Government remains Bruno, shows off
optimistic about achieving experience in new exhibit
target of 20 million bags

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

PUBLISHER: Independent Publications Limited, Plot 82/84, Kanjokya Street, P. O. Box 3304, Kampala, Uganda
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2 Oct 12 - 18, 2018

 Offline

President Museveni
gives a lecture at
Makerere University
during the launch
of Julius Nyerere
Leadership Centre in
Makerere on Saturday
Oct 6 2018 Look
“We have always emphasized that
a lecturer has enormous power over
the student but they should exercise
professional behaviour. Where mutual
feelings develop, the supervisor should
excuse himself and hand over the
student.”Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, Makerere
University Vice Chancellor
A man adds wood to the
fire as elephant tusks
are burned during a
ceremony in Naypyidaw,
Myanmar, to destroy
confiscated wildlife
parts. Elephant skin,
clouded leopard parts
and tiger bone were
among the hundreds “The reunion caravan shall resume
of animal parts worth
$1.3m razed in the first in due course, but in the meantime,
public display of action let us wait the outcome of the fact
against its prolific illegal findings and inquiry” Norbert Mao,
wildlife trade. DP president on chaos during reunion in
Masaka

Migrants intercepted
off the coast Málaga,
Spain rest after
disembarking from a
rescue boat

“All transcripts are now printed at

the colleges. This has reduced the
queues for transcripts which used
to be at the registrar’s office.”Janet
Museveni, Minister for Education on
delayed transcripts at Makerere University

Nursing students Suspects in custody over Money World Bank has

100 disqualified over
fake papers
120 high profile killings in
Uganda since 2012
Shs20bn provided to Uganda to improve
maternal and infant health

Oct 12 - 18, 2018 3

week
President Museveni
visited city traders
on Oct.05. In his
presidential motorcade,
he was driven through
different parts of down
town Kampala including
Kisekka market,
Nakasero, Kikuubo
and the old tax park
among others. " I am
unimpressed by the
poor physical state of
the Old Taxi Park. I am
told this is partly due to
the leadership wrangles
among the taxi park
stakeholders, facilitated
by opposition leaders in
the city. Stop electing
selfish leaders who only
care about their salaries",
while addressing the
gathering at end of his
tour.

Total supports budding entrepreneurs Parliament votes to retain mobile money tax
When a tax of 1% on mobile Bill be deleted and the tax on
Total Uganda has launched the “Startupper of the Year” money transactions started mobile money transaction be
challenge to support innovative business projects in the biting in July, there was uproar entirely scrapped but this didn’t
country. It calls on young people to submit their projects and some took to the streets to come to pass as legislators voted
for the creation or development of a company in any protest for its removal. Then, otherwise. The vote that was
business sector. According to company officials, the call the President ordered that done twice after the initial one
for projects is open to any Ugandan citizen aged 35 years parliament reviews the tax and by a show of hands was rejected;
and below. This is the second edition of the Startupper recommended that it’s reduced saw 164 members of parliament
of the Year 2018 – 2019 following the success of the first to 0.5%. Finance Minister Matia voting yes to the tax and 124
edition that was launched in 2015. The aim is to turn Kasaija also told parliament against it in a vote done by roll-
young people’s innovations and passions into sustainable that the tax was passed in error. call presided over by deputy
businesses. Initiated by the Total Group in 39 African Parliament reviewed the Excise speaker Jacob Oulanyah.
countries simultaneously, the challenge will support Duty (Amendment) (No.2) Bill, However over a hundred
innovative projects which are less than 2-years old. “The 2018 and voted on the tax last MPs didn’t show up for the
Startupper of the Year by Total Challenge is a compelling week whereby the majority continuous vote which saw
communications opportunity that will offer finalists voted in favour of Museveni’s the levy take immediate effect.
and winners significant exposure as they will be able to recommendation of 0.5%. Following the vote and demands
benefit from the wide coverage of the Total network,” said After the backlash caused by that those who incurred the 1%
Obi Imemba, the Managing Director for Total Uganda the 1% levy, Ndorwa East MP tax be refunded, Secretary to
Limited. The application process would start on October Wilfred Nuwagaba moved a the treasury Keith Muhakanizi
9, 2018 and end on November 13, 2018. The three winning motion demanding that Clause 2 clarified that no money would be
projects will be awarded with at least Shs114million. of The Excise Duty Amendment refunded to anybody.

*terms and conditions apply

4 Oct 12 - 18, 2018

 Week
Former Attorney
General Nyombi RURAL ELECTRIFICATION AGENCY
passes on “The Peoples Electricity Link”
The former Attorney
General Peter Nyombi
breathed his last on Oct.07
at the age of 64. The lawyer
The Board, Management and Staff of
and politician died at a Rural Electrification Agency congratulate
Kampala city clinic where he
had been rushed in critical H.E. the President of the Republic of
condition after developing
breathing complications. Uganda and all Ugandans upon marking
Born in Nakasongola
district, Nyombi studied at
56 years of Independence.
Kings College Buddo for
his O-Level and A-Level
education before enrolling
Rural Electrification Agency remains committed to
for a law degree at Makerere extending electricity to Ugandans in an equitable
University. He started his and sustainable manner to ensure socio-economic
work life as transformation.
a State Attorney in the
Department of Public
Prosecution in the Ministry
of Justice and later served
as Counsel in the Office of
the Inspector General of
Government (IGG). From
1996 until 2001, he worked
as the Director of Legal
Affairs in the office of the
IGG. He then opened his
own law firm, Nyombi and
Company Advocates and
also stood as a member
of parliament for Buruuli
County.
In May 2011, he became
Attorney General replacing
Prof. Kiddu Makubuya, a H.E. The President of the Republic of Uganda Gen. Yoweri K. Museveni
position he held until March launches a apower Line in Ngora-Teso sub Region as the Executive Director REA
2015 when he was replaced Dr. Godfrey Turyahikayo among others look on.
by Fred Ruhindi. A year
later, Ruhindi was also
dropped and replaced by Mr Plot 10 Windsor Loop Kololo, 2nd Floor, House of Hope, P.O. Box 7317, Kampala, Uganda
William Byaruhanga who Tel: +256-312-318100, Fax: +256-414-346013, Email: rea@rea.or.ug
holds the position to date.

Oct 12 - 18, 2018 5

Week
Congolese doctor,
Iraqi activist awarded
Nobel Peace Prize
Gynaecologist Denis Mukwege
and Yazidi women campaigner
Nadia Murad were jointly
awarded a Nobel Peace Prize
on Oct.05. Both rights activists
were awarded by the Norwegian
Nobel Committee for their efforts
to end the use of sexual violence
as a weapon of war and armed
conflict.
While Mukwege is a doctor in
the Democratic Republic of Con-
go, Murad is a 25 year old Iraqi
lady belonging to the minority
Yazidi religion who was captured
by the Islamic State Jihadists in
August 2014 and sold into sexual
slavery. While there, she was
repeatedly raped and endured
months of torture until her captor
one day left the door open and
she escaped. With the trauma
caused by her experience, she
decided to speak publicly about
what she went through in order
to break the silence for others.
Mukwege was recognised
for two decades of work to help
women recover from the violence
and trauma of sexual abuse and
rape in war-torn eastern Demo-
cratic Republic of Congo.
A total of 331 individuals and
organisations were nominated
for the prestigious peace award
and the winners will receive
their plaques on Dec.10 in Oslo.
The day Marks the anniversary
of prize creator Alfred Nobel, a
Swedish philanthropist and sci-
entist who died in 1896.
6 Oct 12 - 18, 2018
LDC celebrates 50 years as country’s premier law school
Makerere University School of Law launches merry making but also an opportunity to reflect
an alumni association today – Oct 12 as part of
its celebrations to mark its 50 years of existence.
on the past, the present and the future of the
School of Law, taking cognizance of the chal-
The school which was the first to train lawyers lenges and successes realized. He said it was
in the country, the university Vice Chancellor necessary that the School got into contact with
Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe said has made a sig- the people that went through its doors to help in
nificant contribution to the achievements real- compiling a data base showcasing the various
ized as a University. He said the then Faculty of ways through which the alumni are contribut-
Law started two years after Makerere Univer- ing to society.
sity became an independent University from The course which started small under the Fac-
the University of East Africa attracting students ulty of Social Services has grown bigger in both
who have become great judges and other emi- student population and programs offered. The
nent personalities. student population, Mbazira said, has grown
The Principal School of Law Christopher from 28 in 1968 to the current 1,300 and the
Mbazira says the celebrations which include a programs offered now include the Masters and
dinner, a funding raising drive, a moot court Doctorate programs. They also offer free legal
competition and legal aid are not only meant for aid services under the Public interest law Clinic.
Kavanaugh confirmed to the US Supreme court amidst outcry
The US senate voted 50 of the judge he chose to
– 48 on Oct.05 to confirm replace Judge Anthony
President Donald Trump’s Kennedy who retired in
nominee Brett Kavanaugh July. He was sworn in
Supreme Court justice. by Supreme Court chief
The 53 year old federal justice John Roberts
judge who has been shortly after the vote at
accused of sexual assault the majestic court building
by Psychology professor on Capitol Hill.
Christine Blasey Ford and However, Kavanaugh
several other women went who took his place at
through a highly charged the court on Oct.09 still
process to be confirmed faces sceptics like retired
as many found him Supreme Court justice
not appropriate for the John Paul Stevens who
position. served on the bench until
But, at a hearing held 2010 told international
Brett Kavanaugh
last week, Kavanaugh media that the judge
denied these allegations would be unable to
over an act he is said to Trump said in a tweet that perform his job effectively
have committed at high he was proud of the US due to his potential
school in 1982. senate for voting yes to political biases.
After the vote, President advance the nomination
Humour Did you know?

On Oct. 2, tax on mobile money transactions was reduced from 1%-0.5% by Parliament.

iPhone XS selfie camera

smoothes photos
The new and improved 8-megapixel
front-facing camera may be a big selling
point for the new Apple iPhone XS and
iPhone XS Max, but it appears to be making
skin look a little too good, according to
some users.
Reddit users are claiming that the
new technology is beautifying skin by
aggressively smoothing out their self-
portraits. Per Apple’s website, the new
The Inspectorate of Government has implicated police leadership in irregular promotions in the Force. front-facing camera technology includes
“advanced algorithms” to enhance photos
with “Smart HDR.”
Users speculate that the filtered look of
selfies is the result of a “beauty mode,”
which is a blurring effect employed by other
smartphones as well as apps like Facetune
and Meitu. Some users are not happy.
Apple declined to comment when
approached but popular Apple blog Cult
of Mac believes the enhanced selfies are
a result of noise reduction technology,
which occurs when camera sensors pick up
“electrical signals” that end up as flecks that
result in a grainy photo. By reducing the
grainy pixels, or “noise,” the result is often a
smoother finish.
Still, some users on the MacRumors
forum are skeptical. “Like many skin
smoothing beauty modes, it seems very
similar to Samsung’s old modes, which
were meant for Korean markets,” writes
The Leader of the Opposition Betty Aol Ocan, says electoral reforms in the constitution is top on her agenda. user silvertech. “This is definitely much
more than just noise reduction.”

Oct 12 - 18, 2018 7

Melania Trump
in Egypt

US First Lady
Melania Trump
(L) and First
Lady of Kenya
Margaret
Kenyatta (R)
pet a baby
elephant at The
David Sheldrick
Elephant
Orphanage in
Nairobi.

Africa’s highway to a dead-end
By Andrew M. Mwenda
Why our obsession with foreign direct investment
as a driver of our transformation is misguided
I
t is the Italian thinker-philosopher, An-
tonio Gramsci, who coined the term he-
gemony. He used it to refer to the sum
total of beliefs, values, explanations and
perceptions that a dominant class develops
and which subordinate classes accept as the
norm i.e. as the normal way things are and
should be. Hegemony is therefore the uni-
versally dominant ideology that justifies the
existing social, political and economic status
quo as natural, normal, inevitable and bene-
ficial to everyone. Yet any such status quo is
actually an artificial social construct devel-
oped by and for the benefit of the dominant
social group.
It is by appreciating Gramsci’s insight
that we can understand the position Africa
finds herself in. Across our continent today
– in the mass media, academia, inside
bureaucracies, “civil society” and in busi-
ness – we are told that for our countries to
develop, they must fight corruption, build
democracy, respect human rights, promote
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and publi-
cally fund universal healthcare and educa-
tion. We are constantly told that we are poor
because we lack “good governance.”
Across Africa, our elites and their cheer-
leaders in the West tend to regurgitate
these arguments as gospel truths. Yet these
arguments cannot stand scrutiny. The
industrial revolution that began in Europe
and which spread to its offshoots in North
America happened when there was no
democracy in those parts of the world and
even less respect for human rights than in
Africa today. There was little publically
funded universal education and healthcare.
The West did not industrialise because of
democracy and respect for human rights.
Rather these were results of industrial
transformation. The same applies to Japan,
Taiwan, South Korea and China today.
Equally the Western World transformed
from a poor agrarian state to a rich modern
industrial situation when practices catego-
rised as corruption today were normal and
in fact legal. These practices were codified
as corrupt in the West as recently as the
1900s. The current anti corruption regime in
the West is therefore a result, not a cause or
stimulant, of development. This is a historic
fact, not an opinion. I am not suggesting
that we should tolerate corruption. I am
only saying it is not a development impedi-
The Last Word
ment – at least not to the degree we think
it is.
Now someone can to argue that we live
in a modern world, which has changed
the bases for development of poor nations.
They can add that globalisation has created
norms and values that make corruption an
impediment to Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI). But this argument presupposed
that FDI is an engine of growth. I will
argue below that this claim is misleading.
Secondly, this claim against corruption is
defeated by reality because China is a rap-
idly industrialising nation that is at the same
time riddled with high levels of corruption.
It is this obsession with FDI that I want
to hit on the head. This is because it has
diverted our attention from the things that
matter for development. For example, pro-
moting the participation by indigenous or
local or national or domestic investors as the
drivers of our development is critical. Such
a policy would aim at facilitating the devel-
opment of local firms through state support
that involves access to affordable long-term
credit, tax exemptions and government
subsidies.
Yet African leaders and elites are obsessed
with the belief that FDI is the magic bullet
for development. FDI does not cause eco-
nomic growth. Rather it is economic growth
in a country that attracts FDI. It is true the
entry of FDI contributes to more growth.
But the primary driver of growth is having
the right policies and good institutions.
If FDI is such a big factor in the industrial
transformation of nations, can someone
name for me a country that transformed
from a poor peasant society into a modern
industrial nation by relying on FDI? I know
the United States industrialised with Carn-
egie Steel, General Motors and Ford; Ger-
many with Mercedes Benz Audi, WV and
BMW, France with Peugeot and Citroen,
Japan with Toyota, Nissan and Toshiba,
South Korea with Samsung, Hyundai and
LG.
Why do African elites and their leaders
expect our countries to industrialise without
such products and brands but by merely
assembling other nations’ inventions,
innovations and products? This is where
the Gramsci’s concept of hegemony is very
useful. These arguments are for the benefit
of powerful nations where multinational
Opinion
capital is dominant, not for poor countries
trying to develop and therefore need to
grow their own firms as agents of that trans-
formation.
For example, it is true corruption makes
it hard for multinational capital to operate
in poor countries. But this in-and-of-itself
may not be because corruption is bad for
business. Rather it may be that the foreign-
ness of multinational capital denies it the
necessary social ties with local officials for
it to be competitive in the bribery market.
However, this may not be necessarily bad
for poor countries. In fact corruption may
provide local firms with a competitive
advantage over multinational capital. This is
because they are socially connected to state
officials and know how to work the system.
The arguments against corruption origi-
nate from rich nations based on the experi-
ence of multinational capital failing to get
business in poor countries. They spread
among elites in poor countries through the
dominance of Western media and academia
on our intellectual life. But such arguments
are the way multinational capital seeks to
regain a competitive advantage over local
firms. Handing over our economies to mul-
tinational firms has high short-term benefits
but it is injurious to our economies in the
long-term. I will explain this on another
day.
Indeed, all too often, we attract FDI by
giving it incentives like tax exemptions
and allowing it 100% profit repatriation.
But to do business in a poor country, mul-
tinational capital uses facilities like roads
and airports for free. It is also often given
subsidised electricity and water. It employs
healthy and skilled or semi skilled people
treated and educated at the expense of the
taxpayer. If it does not pay its fair share of
taxes, you may find that the net gain from
such investment is negative i.e. the country
may be losing more than it gains from FDI.
Therefore, we are obsessed with opening
up to FDI, not because this promotes
development but because the vested
interests in this project enjoy ideological
hegemony over our nations. African
elites and our leaders who make these
arguments in favour of FDI may be
genuine but are mistaken.
amwenda@independent.co.ug
Oct 12 - 18, 2018 9
cover story

Bad oil deal

Museveni fight with oil firms
threatens major project
By Haggai Matsiko
President Yoweri Museveni’s dream of Uganda getting first oil by 2020 has been hit by a double blow from two
international oil companies; Total E&P Uganda and Tullow Oil Uganda.
Museveni is battling the two companies on two fronts; with Total over the fate of the US$3.35 billion oil pipeline
and with Tullow over Capital Gains Tax (CGT) which Tullow does not allegedly – once again- want to pay.

10 Oct 12 - 18, 2018


T
President Museveni and his counterpart John Pombe Magufuli launching the EACOP as officials and oil executives witness last year.
he two disputes mean that the
date of first oil production is
once again pushed farther; this
time from 2020 to 2025, accord-
ing to insider estimates.
By that time Museveni will
be 81 years old, with an election looming
in 2026, and no clear guarantee that he
will preside over the first production of
Uganda’s oil.
Is that what the oil companies, and their
shareholders and backers in western capi-
tals want?
Museveni has gained few friends among
the oil companies because of his insistence
that Uganda builds an oil refinery in order
to benefit from the by-products of the oil
production. He has also insisted on a tough
Capital Gains Tax regime. Equally signifi-
cantly, corruption and lethargic decision-
making by his government have slowed
progress on oil projects.
On the other side, the oil companies want
a faster clear cut produce-and-export crude
approach, and might opt to wait out Musev-
eni – and deal with his successor.
“Tullow is out and Total is hard-lining
because it has the financial muscle to wait
out Museveni,” one source familiar with the
disputes told The Independent.
According to some observers, this could
explain the endless disputes and deadline
delays.
In the latest case, deals worth $ 20 billion
are at stake. The issues are so critical that
Museveni and his teams of oil sector tech-
nocrats have been holding frantic meetings
with executives from oil companies to try
and find a way out over the past few weeks.
The most pressing deal is the $ 3.35 bil-
lion East African Crude Pipeline Project
(EACOP). This has an impact on the fate of
the $ 4billion refinery.
But the other big issue is the $ 900 million
Tullow Oil farmout to CNOOC and Total.
Oil field projects or upstream projects worth
over $ 10 billion are also facing some chal-
lenges.
Pipeline dispute
The dispute over the pipeline is clear.
The oil companies want more oil for the
pipeline. They say this is the only way it can
make financial sense. But Museveni wants
to retain some oil for his pet project; the
oil refinery. This project is so important to
him that, according to sources, Museveni
is prepared to kill the pipeline to save the
refinery.
The dispute revolves around the volume
of oil Uganda has, which is not that much.
Uganda currently has slightly over a bil-
lion barrels of recoverable oil. Of this, it is
estimated to produce between 230,000 and
250,000 barrels per day of oil. Government
wants to put 60,000 barrels of this to go
into a planned refinery. This leaves 170,000
barrels for the pipeline for export by oil
companies.
But according to insiders, the oil compa-
nies say this is too small and does not make
financial sense given at they are investing
$3.35 billion in the pipeline. As a result, the
oil companies are pushing for more oil to be
pumped through the pipeline.
They are arguing higher volumes to
exploit economies of scale; as higher vol-
umes will reduce the cost of moving the oil
cover story
through the pipeline and potentially lower
the tariff. Initially, the oil companies had
proposed a tariff of about $ 12.2 per barrel.
This figure was arrived at before the com-
panies carried out the Front End Engineer-
ing Designs (FEED) whose results came out
last December. Now the tariff is estimated
to hit even $18.
Already some Ugandan officials say
the oil companies used the $12.2 figure as
a technique to lock the government into
the deal well knowing that they would
later renegotiate the figure. It is, therefore,
unclear what they will be asking when
production starts; possibly seven years from
now.
Total’s hardline position has infuriated
government officials and is attracting some
equally extreme responses.
One of the extreme positions by gov-
ernment is that the pipeline should be
abandoned all together. This position is
informed by a sense that the oil companies
want to kill the refinery—Museveni’s pet
project.
The more moderate position is that the
oil companies should consider building a
smaller pipeline and as a result carry less oil
and also use the available new technologies
to keep the cost of the pipeline low.
But, having carried out studies for a big-
ger pipeline, the oil companies are not keen
on reducing its size. Also, the oil companies
favour a bigger pipeline because it means
shipping out as much oil as possible in a
short period of time and as such makes it
easy for them to recover their investment
fast enough.
From the oil companies’ perspective,
Oct 12 - 18, 2018 11
cover story
President Museveni with CNOOC officials at State House last year
this is a less risky alternative compared to
supplying a refinery. They say many oil
refineries around the world are loss making
and Uganda, which continues to be a risky
business environment, is unlikely to be an
exception.
Because of all this, there is currently a
stalemate over the project—with officials
working around the clock to reach a com-
promise.
The only positive around the pipeline-
refinery issue, according to insiders is that
the government is now exploring some new
technologies that can be exploited to keep
the cost of exporting the oil low.
Uganda’s challenge is that the oil is
heavy, waxy and quick to solidify at room
temperature.
To export it, the pipeline has to be heated
and kept at above 50 degrees Celsius for the
crude to flow from Hoima in mid-western
Uganda to Tanga port in Dar es Salaam.
This explains why the 1143 km long
pipeline—the world’s longest electrically
heated pipeline—was planned to have 48
independent power generation stations, 23
trace heating stations, and six pumping sta-
tions. That could now change if some of the
chemical interventions are used, according
to informed sources.
The view is that some chemicals can be
mixed in the crude to make it lighter and
thus easy to transport without heating the
pipeline to the levels earlier projected.
Total E&P neither denied nor confirmed
these issues. In response to our questions on
the disagreement over the pipeline, Ahlem
FRIGA-NOY, the company’s Corporate
Affairs Manager only said that both the
companies and government “are committed
to ensuring that the commercialization of
the Ugandan oil resources is conducted in
the most viable manner”. On government’s
12 Oct 12 - 18, 2018
push to get the companies to reduce the cost
of the pipeline, she noted that the pipeline
design studies have been completed in
accordance to the technical requirements of
the project.
The tax dispute
The case of the Capital Gains tax is less
clear. And it is partly coloured by previous
CGT disputes between the government and
Tullow.
The current tax dispute is being impacted
by what happened when URA in 2012 lev-
ied a $473 million CGT bill on Tullow Oil’s
initial sale of concession to CNOOC and
Total for $ 2.9 billion.
Tullow opposed the $473 million assess-
ment and appealed against it before the Tax
Appeals Tribunal. Not satisfied with local
arbitration, the Irish company took the mat-
ter to the U.S. for international arbitration.
Finally, the company paid but lesser than
URA’s initial bill.
This time, it appears, Tullow has come
up with a different tax avoidance strategy,
which officials are referring to as a “tax
engineering scheme”. It all has to do with
how Tullow structured the deal allegedly
to avoid paying some taxes, according to
critics.
Although Tullow’s deal is worth $900
million, it has structured it so that it only
gets $200 million in cash; that is, $100 mil-
lion on completion of the transaction and
$50 million at the point of the Final Invest-
ment Decision (FID) and $50 million pro-
duction of first oil.
The remaining $700 million is supposed
to be deferred and used by Tullow to fund
the company’s share of the costs of further
exploration and the export pipeline project.
URA is insisting that Tullow pays CGT
on the entire deal. But it is also making
different calculations. Although CGT is 30
percent of the gain made after investing and
would be $270 million on the $900 million
deal, The Independent understands that
URA is demanding only slightly over $160
million. But insiders say Tullow is opposed
to this.
Apart from the size of the tax, insider
say, URA is opposed to Tullow structuring
the deal with Total and CNOOC in such a
way that CNOOC and Total E&P should be
in position to recover the costs incurred by
Tullow, insiders say. These recoverable costs
can wipe out any claims URA might make
on Tullow.
Already, insiders say, the final recover-
able cost for the Production Sharing Agree-
ments (PSAs) between oil companies and
government between 2001 and 2011 shows
the total recoverable sum stands at $935
million out of the $1 billion claimed by the
companies.
These disputes appear to have halted
key processes necessary for; especially the
oil companies to decide on when to start
investing in the requisite oil infrastructure.
Initially officials indicated that the com-
panies would reach the Final Investment
Decision (FID)—or a decision to start mak-
ing these investments towards the end of
this year or early next year.
But now, The Independent understands
that it might take another one and a half or
two years for the companies to reach this
decision.
Given that after FID, companies need
another three years to complete the infra-
structure like the $3.35 billion, the implica-
tion is that Uganda could see first oil in 2025
as opposed to the target of 2020 that govern-
ment had set for the oil companies.
To explain why it might take all this time,
a source close to these processes told The

Independent, that the government and the
companies have at least fourteen agree-
ments to sign before the companies can
reach FID.
These agreements include; the Host Gov-
ernment Agreements, Shareholders’ Agree-
ments, Financing Agreements and Trans-
portation Agreement between Shippers
of oil from Tanga port to the international
market, among others.
The tax disagreement is the latest in a
series of challenges this deal has faced since
2016 when Tullow first announced plans to
farm-out.
Initially, Tullow announced it would sell-
ing 21.57 percent of its assets to Total E&P.
Months later, CNOOC exercised its pre-
emption rights and jumped it to acquire 50
percent of these assets.
When the deal was about to be con-
cluded, another huddle emerged—this time
over who would operate the assets previ-
ously under Tullow. Total E&P had already
designed these assets under its Tilenga
project.
The Chinese were opposed because this
gave Total E&P more control. Yet already,
the Chinese company protested, Total E&P
was controlling the pipeline project and
had also offered to take out a stake in the
refinery. In effect, this meant that the French
giant would control upstream, midstream
and downstream.
The issue was too big that Total S.A’s
Vice President for Africa, Guy Maurice
and another top official flew into Kampala
mid-November 2017 to meet President
Museveni.
Maurice’s delegation, which camped in
Kampala for about half a week, met the
president but left unhappy. It was the sec-
ond time Maurice was coming into a town
in a few months.
His meeting followed another by
CNOOC’s Vice-President Xu Keqiang from
China, who together with the Chinese
ambassador, met Museveni and raised con-
cerns over Total E&P’s growing dominance.
CNOOC flew in Xu Keqiang after a major
fall out over the pipeline. Apparently, apart
from disagreements over the implementa-
tion and financing of the pipeline, CNOOC
was incensed that while in Tanzania to
launch the pipeline works, Total officials
made sure that they denied the Chinese
access to the president.
This appeared to worsen already existing
tensions. CNOOC now wanted one of the
blocks—block2—which was initially being
operated by Tullow and which stood to go
to Total following the farm down.
Because Total E&P had already done
work on the project, President Museveni
intervened on their behalf and offered the
Chinese a new block for exploration. It is
this block that CNOOC recently entered a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to
explore with the Uganda National Oil Com-
President Museveni with Total E&P officials at his country home last year
pany (UNOC).
As a result, tensions between the oil com-
panies sort of reduced and Tullow’s farm
out deal was only awaiting tax treatment
and finally approval.
But the tax dispute now stands a major
huddle for the deal.
Heading to international courts?
Up until now all appeared on course after
Museveni decided that Uganda’s oil should
go through Tanzania putting an end to a
fight in which Tullow and CNOOC pushed
to have the oil go through Kenya. With this
decision, Total E&P, which had been push-
ing for the Tanzanian route, had a green
light to now negotiate the nitty-gritties of
the deal.
Indeed, early last year, Museveni and the
Tanzanian counterpart signed the Heads
of State agreement concretising the Hoima-
Tanga route. And a week later Energy min-
ister Irene Muloni and Tanzania’s minister
for Constitutional and Legal Affairs, John
Palamagamba Kabudi, signed the Intergov-
ernmental Agreement (IGA) binding the
two countries on the EACOP.
With the IGA out of the way, the players
were now negotiating the Host Govern-
ment Agreements, which would pave way
for the Shareholders’ Agreements, which
would define the terms for EACOP Com-
pany known as Pipe Co. These terms would
then pave way for negotiations on financ-
ing terms that would be agreed under the
Financing Agreement.
However, the disagreements struck as the
officials were in the process of negotiating
the Host Government Agreements.
It is not clear whether the latest disagree-
ment will also end up in international arbi-
tration. If that happens, the uncompleted
transaction could further delay oil produc-
tion.
In order to skip such a huddle, in the past
government has forced oil companies to
first pay the whole or part of the tax in order
to approve deals and allow for critical pro-
cover story
cesses to continue as arbitration goes on.
Indeed, government forced Tullow to pay
part of the tax demanded from Heritage Oil.
Tullow had acquired Heritage assets in a $
1.45 billion deal. When Heritage declined to
pay CGT off it, government forced Tullow
Oil to first pay the tax and collect it from
Heritage. As a result, Tullow sued Heritage
in an international tribunal.
Heritage also took Uganda for interna-
tional arbitration. Both Uganda and Tullow
defeated Heritage. As a result, Uganda got
its full share of CGT on the $1.45 billion deal
and Tullow also recovered the money it had
paid to government on Heritage’s behalf.
It is not yet clear how both government
and the company plan to resolve the latest
impasse. It is in the interest of both parties
to resolve the dispute amicably and clear
way for oil production.
Once this transaction is completed,
Tullow said it would cease to be an operator
in Uganda but would retain a presence in
the country.
Tullow’s Chief Executive, Aidan Heavey,
on Jan.9 2016 said that the deal would
increase the likelihood of FID this year and
‘First Oil’ by the end of 2020. Government
had asked the companies to focus on the
2020 deadline. But these disputes can only
mean further delays.
By press time, Tullow Oil, URA and the
oil sector regulator, Petroleum Authority
Uganda (PAU) had not responded to our
requests for comments on these issues.
Still without delving in details, Total
E&P’s FRIGA-NOY, told The Independent
in an email response that the finalization of
the Tullow farm-out deal is subject to gov-
ernment approval adding that discussions
are ongoing to achieve this goal.
“We continue to work towards achieving
the Final Investment Decision as soon as
possible,” the Total E&P Corporate Affairs
Manager added.
Oct 12 - 18, 2018 13
NEWS ANALYSIS
Gen. Muntu’s move
Just how far can the former FDC leader
go with his ‘New Formation’?
By Ian Katusiime
T
hey have gone finally!” Brian
Atuheire Batenda, a member
of the defiance team posted
on Facebook immediately
a statement came out on Sept. 25
announcing the exit of Maj. Gen.
Mugisha Muntu, from the Forum for
Democratic Change (FDC). It was one
of many celebratory posts Batenda
put out and it appeared to sum up
the sentiments of all those who were
opposed to Muntu in the party where he
is a former president.
Muntu unveiled a new group, New
Formation, at an event organised by
former FDC secretary general Alice
Alaso at Hotel Africana in Kampala. The
former Serere Woman MP who appears
to be a key Muntu strategist flanked him
at the event.
14 Oct 12 - 18, 2018
Also present were his other allies
in parliament like former Leader of
Opposition and Kasese Woman MP
Winnie Kiiza, Soroti Woman MP
Angeline Osegge, Soroti Municipality
MP Herbert Ariko, Kasilo County
MP Elijah Okupa, Jinja Municipality
East MP Paul Mwiru, Independent
MP Gerald Karuhanga of Ntungamo
Municipality, and National Youth
Female MP Anne Adeke.
Two MPs from the ruling NRM
Mbwatekamwa Gaffa of Kasambya
County and John Baptist Nambeshe
of Manjiya County attended. Muntu
described all the MPs present as
“guests”.
Former delegates on the FDC
National Executive Committee,
Women’s and Youth League attended
too. Also present at the function were
officials who are underground political
operators.
“Some of us have been working on
this for a very long time,” one of the
officials who did not want to be named
said.
The unveiling of New Formation
capped an internecine fight within FDC
that started in November 2012 with the
election of Muntu as party president.
At the event, Muntu quipped: “There
are no more camps in FDC and Patrick
Oboi Amuriat, the party president, has a
chance to rebrand the party.”
He continued: “I have asked Hon
Oboi to study the political environment.
He has an opportunity to rebrand.”
“For us to de-escalate the mounting
tensions we must be willing to reach
out beyond our parties, communities
and faiths,” he said, “In FDC, we fought
each other into a state of paralysis.”
One of the sharp disagreements
Muntu had with the Dr Kizza Besigye
faction of FDC was on being what he
calls a single issue party; defiance to the
government of President Museveni.
“What happens when Museveni
ceases to be a factor? You will find
yourself in an identity crisis” he
said. Many observers say Muntu is
a moderate where Besigye is radical
activist.

The former army commander says
that New Formation is there to occupy
a unique space in politics by working
with all actors including progressive
voices in NRM.
“Our decision is mutually beneficial
to FDC and those leaving,” he said, “We
shall still work together.”
Muntu’s departure from FDC has
been on the cards since he lost the party
presidency to Amuriat in November last
year at the party delegates’ conference.
Many thought Muntu quitting the party
would be the obvious next step. But, in
his typical patient and reflective style,
Muntu lingered around, kept everyone
guessing, especially when he went on
countrywide “consultations”. Started in
January, the consultations lasted nine
months and ended with the separation
announcement in September.
Amuriat and his mentor; former
FDC president Kizza Besigye and their
supporters had always accused Muntu
of buying time as he sought a way out
of Uganda’s largest opposition party. A
party that he helped found in 2004.
And Muntu’s event showed there was
no love lost between New Formation
and the FDC party. Muntu took swipes
at his former party when opportunity
availed itself through questions
Muntu’s
departure from
FDC has been
on the cards
since he lost the
party presidency
to Amuriat in
November last
year at the
party delegates’
conference
journalists put to him. The reverse was
true as members and senior figures of
FDC took rounds ridiculing him on the
move.
New Formation
As he unveiled his new outfit dubbed
New Formation, Muntu hinted on
his vision for leadership, the kind of
politics he wishes to see in Uganda,
and what distinguishes him from the
organisation he had ditched. But he
promised to reveal the new formation’s
ideology, core values and policy
positions, at a later date, possibly in
December.
“We will also have public
engagements with sector experts,” he
said. Muntu revealed that he would
not add his name to the long list of
individuals who form parties based on
reactionary forces since Uganda got
independence.
To many watchers, Muntu was not
unveiling a new strategy; he was simply
putting his old strategy in a new vehicle.
For him everything revolves around
organisation and structure and he has
always talked about building a party
from the grassroots.
Many commentators say Muntu has
an obsession with being on the national
presidential ballot at the next election,
but the former army commander says
that is not his ultimate goal.
“It does not matter whether it is
Amuriat or Dr Besigye,” he says, “if we
are there just to compete for the flag in
2021, we will keep fighting.”
Some politicians spoke positively
about Muntu’s move.
“Politics is not static,” said Osegge,
“When you are operating in an
NEWS ANALYSIS
environment, you have to manage it.”
Osegge who is also Chairperson of the
powerful Parliamentary Public Accounts
Committee, said Muntu could be what
the opposition in Uganda yearns for;
someone who projects a campaign of
unifying Ugandans.
She said since she joined national
politics in 2010, she has known Muntu
to be an accommodative person. Osegge
has been Soroti Woman MP since 2011
on the FDC ticket and she said she
has information the party is already
shopping for a candidates against her.
The current FDC leadership is already
exhibiting tendencies of intolerance
because of my association with Muntu,
she said.
Some MPs often associated with
Muntu, including Kira Municipality
MP, Ibrahim Ssemujju, Kampala District
Woman MP, Nabbila Naggayi, and
Bugweri County MP Abdul Katuntu,
were conspicuously absent at the new
formation launch. They have since
vowed to remain in FDC.
“Creating more platforms for fighting
Museveni may not be the solution. Our
biggest problem in the opposition has
been unity,” Nganda says.
Although many agree that leaving
FDC was the right move for Muntu, the
question lingering on some minds is
how far New Formation can go.
Mbwatekamwa Gaffa of NRM says
Muntu’s departure from FDC reveals
the crisis in most of Uganda’s political
parties.
“Muntu says he could not be listened
to, that his views were not respected
which is what is happening in my
party,” he says.
He is concerned that those who have
contrary views are labeled enemies and
has some advice for Muntu on this.
“I wish him well so as long as he does
not act in the same way as those he was
accusing in FDC. He is going to assume
his party leadership which can lead to
dictatorship. It is unpredictable,” he
said.
Mathias Mpuuga, MP for Masaka
Municipality representing DP, told The
Independent that the success of Muntu’s
New Formation will depend on how it
is rolled out for it to work.
“What is not in doubt is that the
desire for change has never been more
pronounced,” he says.
Mobilising
Mpuuga says he hopes Muntu and
his team put their energy in mobilising
the country because there is a lot of
unexplored potential.
“There are so many young people
out there who do not have where they
belong politically.”
Oct 12 - 18, 2018 15
NEWS ANALYSIS

Organic farming
By Andrew S. Kaggwa

U
ganda’s organic farming scene
could change dramatically if a
new model introduced by the gov-

offers green jobs

ernment catches on.
To see the model first hand, one must
travel 56 kilometres west from the capital,
Kampala, to Kampiringisa in Mpigi Dis-
trict. This is the site of a vast 100 acre model
organic farm run by the Ministry of Gender,
Labour, and Social Development in collabo-
But focus on export poses
ration with United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP).
unexpected challenges
There are no fruits on the farm – yet.
Instead, only quick maturing vegetables,
such as tomatoes, green beans, okra, cab-
bages, African garden egg plants, cucum-
ber, water spinach, pumpkins, and pepper
grow in neat rows of verdant green.
There are also gardens with cassava,
maize, sweet potatoes, banana, cashew nuts,
jute, strawberries, and sweet corn.
This organic farm, the first of its kind in
Uganda, is perhaps an indication of how
important organic farming and export of
organic products is becoming to some gov-
ernment policy makers.

Uganda tops Africa

Organic farming is a very small com-
ponent of the farming sector in Uganda.
Compared globally, Uganda has the sec-
ond largest number of organic producers;
190,000– following India’s 650,000.
But Uganda has the largest organic area
(231,157 hectares) and the largest number of
organic producers in Africa. This is accord-
ing to the 2009 edition of the yearbook “The
World of Organic Agriculture”, published
by IFOAM, the Germany based Research
Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) and
the International Trade Centre ITC.
According to more statistics from the
National Organic Agricultural Movement of
Uganda (NOGAMU), which brings togeth-
er most organic farmers and exporters in
Uganda, the number of certified organic
farmers has also grown more than 10 times
from 15,000 in 2002/3 to now over 190,000.
NOGAMU) says the contribution to
the country’s economy from export of
organic products rose to US$55 million in
the 2015/16 financial year up from US$46
million in 2014/15. This was also 11 times
more than the paltry US$ 5 million from the
export of organic products in 2002/3.
The Head of Programs at NOGAMU,
Jane Nalunga says the products grown
organically and exported from Uganda
include: cotton (lint, yarn and garments),
coffee (Arabic and Robusta), simsim, dried
fruit (pineapples, apple bananas, mangoes,
and jack fruit), fresh fruits (pineapple, apple
bananas, passion fruits, avocadoes, papaya/ more products. That is good news for large Managing Director Meg Hilbert Jaquay
pawpaw, and ginger) and jack fruit. Others players in the country’s organic farming sec- says, for the local market, Jakana mainly
are vanilla, cocoa, fish, shea butter and shea tor, like Jakana Foods, a plant in Kawempe, processes fruit juices. But for the export
nuts, bird-eyed chillies, dried hibiscus and a suburb north of Kampala City on Bombo market, they deal mainly in dried tropical
honey. The renewed government interest Road, processes fruit and vegetables for the fruits; including pineapples, pawpaw, jack-
in organic farming promises to push even local and export market. fruit, and sweet bananas. Jakana, according

16 Oct 12 - 18, 2018


to Meg, exports its organic fruits to the U.S.,
UK, Turkey, Germany, Belgium, Switzer-
land, Greece, Singapore and Taiwan.
Meg says she has orders to supply, on
average, six tonnes per month of organic
fruits to markets abroad. But Jakana can
only supply one tonne.
“We don’t have the capacity to dry the
fruits,” Meg says.
She says, normally for organic products,
natural methods should be used to dry the
fruits but she often resorts to electric driers
to ensure she meets the orders.
But there is another twist to the tale; the
strict rules around organically growing the
fruits mean that only a few farmers qualify
to supply Jakana.
Under the rules, organic farms should
not use synthetic pesticides, antibiotics,
synthetic fertilisers, genetically modified
organisms, and growth hormones in their
production processes. The farms must also
use an integrated farming system to sustain
and enhance soil fertility and biological
diversity.
Strict standards
Also, Meg says to qualify to supply, a
farmer must be a member of a farmers’
association, must attend training organised
by the different organisations involved in
export of organic products, and also allow
their farms or orchards to be inspected by
the concerned bodies for international cer-
tification to supply organic products on the
international market.
The farmers must use in appropriate
application of manure compost on the
fruits, including not applying manure to a
plant which they are going to harvest from
in the next 90 days and for ground crops in
the next 120 days.
The farmers are also required to create a
three meter buffer zone between their gar-
dens and those of their neighbours who are
not organic farmers to avoid contamination
of their crops, and as a condition for certifi-
cation, they must plant trees in and around
their gardens as a method of conserving the
environment.
Meg says the farmers are inspected regu-
larly and those who fail to meet the require-
ments are dropped from their list of suppli-
ers. They can be reinstated if they meet the
conditions.
Meg says the organic foods production
process rigour is because exporters like
Jakana also have to be certified by inter-
national organisations like Certification of
Environmental Standards (CERES) and
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points
(HACCP).
The strict guidelines mean only a few
farmers qualify to supply Jakana. Meg says
competition is intense for produce of a few
farms. Competition narrows margins, and
Jakana often finds it cannot break-even after
processing fruits for export.
Another exporter of organic foods from
Uganda, Irene Kugonza Bamugaya, says
competition for fruit is set to rise as the local
market also becomes exciting.
Bamugaya, who is Managing partner
Exclusive Organics Uganda Limited, men-
tions Bugoloobi Market in one of Kampala’s
suburbs which has an “organic corner” of
stalls that sell only organic foods.
Then there is the competition from
Kenyan traders who invade the Ugandan
fresh market, ratcheting up prices. Meg says
organic products are favoured by health
conscious shoppers because they have no
trace of dangerous chemicals.
“I know people who grew up eating
wheat products but all of a sudden have
now become allergic to wheat because of
the chemicals sprayed on it,” Meg says.
According to the International Federa-
tion of Organic Agriculture Movements
(IFOAM), an umbrella organisation for
organic farming organisations, the market
for organic food and other products has
since 1990 grown rapidly, reaching $63 bil-
lion worldwide in 2012.
This demand has driven a similar
increase in organically managed farmland
that grew from 2001 to 2011 at a compound-
ing rate of 8.9% per annum. There are no
newer figures.
Uganda has the
second largest number
of organic producers;
190,000–
following India’s
650,000
According to IFOAM as of 2016, approxi-
mately 57,800,000 hectares (143,000,000
acres) worldwide were farmed organically,
representing approximately 1.2 percent of
total world farmland.
A 2014 study published in the British
Journal of Nutrition found that organically
grown crops were not only less likely to
contain detectable levels of pesticides, but
because of differences in fertilisation tech-
niques, they were also 48% less likely to test
positive for cadmium, a toxic heavy metal
that accumulates in the liver and kidneys.
For Kugonza, however, there is only one
concern.
“The demand is growing every day,” she
says, and somehow, it must be satisfied.
That is where the government’s interven-
tion becomes critical to address some of the
challenges the organic farmers face.
Kugonza says organic farm produce
farmers face challenges of product perish-
ability, compliance to strict international
standards, high freight charges, and high
consumer expectations for quality and
safety.
NEWS ANALYSIS
She also says many customers want the
prized organic products but few can pay the
high prices compared to ordinary products.
Fake inputs and conmen
On the supply side, Andrew Ndawula
Kalema, the proprietor of Talent Agrofor-
estry Farm in Nakaseke, a certified organic
farmer and one of the suppliers of Jakana
Foods says the unavailability of inputs on
the local market like seeds and fertilisers is
one of the challenges for organic farmers.
“Except a few of us who produce our
own organic fertilisers others have to import
the inputs from countries like India at a
high cost,” Ndawula says.
Ndawula also explains that in areas of
farming like livestock keeping it’s next
to impossible to practice organic farming
because of the big number of ingredients
used in the feeds.
“Take an example of poultry keeping. If
one is to produce for the organic market one
has to make sure of the source of each of the
ingredients used in the mixing of feeds,”
Ndawula explains.
Another challenge many farmers face
is the cost of processing certification. “The
charges depend on the size of the farm and
this could cost $3,000 (about Shs 11.4m) to
$10,000 (about Shs38m) which is too much
since most are smallholder based,” Herbert
Musisi another certified organic farmer in
Mukono District explains. His advice for
farmers is to get group certification than
individual.
Crop financing is yet another challenge.
The market is available but the farmers can-
not export because they do not have enough
capital to invest, and banks will not lend
smallholder farmers and ask for high inter-
est rates.
Other challenges include has been setting
up quality management systems which
include training and documentation.
There are infrastructure challenges too.
Demand is for quality products, say, pro-
cessed fruits either dried or in pulp form
but accessing the machinery to do the job
comes at a cost. Then the transport cost,
both at seaport and airport, makes Ugandan
farmers less competitive because the prod-
ucts will be more expensive because the
country is landlocked.
On the legal angle, though Uganda
enjoys a competitive advantage in the
organic market it lacks a national policy
to streamline the growing and exports of
organic products.
“It’s disappointing this policy has been
lying in cabinet for years and has not been
brought to Parliament for it to be passed,”
Florence Nassuuna of the Advocacy Coali-
tion for Sustainable Agriculture (ACSA),
one of the non-governmental organizations
promoting organic farming said.
She explained that the lack of a policy has
led to conmen parading products as organic
when actually they are not.
Oct 12 - 18, 2018 17
NEWS ANALYSIS
Bad news for
Uganda economy
And the secret formula needed to accelerate GDP growth
By Independent Reporter
U
ganda’s economy is likely
to grow by 6.5%, according
to central bank governor
Emmanuel Tumusiime
Mutebile. That would be about 12%
higher than last year and the highest
rate in years. But there is a problem;
the record high growth rate could be a
one-off.
According to recent report by the
American management consultancy
firm, Mckinsey Global Institute,
Uganda’s economy grows consistently
but slowly.
That is a problem because the
consistent but slow growth means
Uganda cannot achieve upper middle-
income status over a 50-period as it
cannot achieve the necessary average
3.5% real annual per capita growth
rate, the report says. The 3.5% growth
18 Oct 12 - 18, 2018
rate is the required average growth
rate required to jump to another
economic stage; according to the
World Bank. In the case of Uganda,
that is what is needed to become a
middle-income economy.
McKinsey calls economies
that make the jump successfully
“outperformers. In a recent report
titled `Outperformers: High-
growth emerging economies and
the companies that propel them’;
McKinsey points at two factors that
are needed to sustained high economic
growth among emerging economies
– and Uganda lacks both of them.
The two factors are: first, government
actions that encourage higher
productivity, income, and demand.
And the second is the presence in the
local economy of large, ambitious, and
globally competitive companies.
These can be further subdivided
into seven indicators of GDP growth,
namely; government effectiveness,
domestic saving, innovation, capital
size of listed companies, performance
of export sector, and global
connectedness. These determine
whether an economy will perform or
not. And Uganda performs poorly on
all parameters.
Uganda’s best score is 9% on
exports and 8% on domestic savings.
Rwanda scores higher than Uganda
on exports at 14%. But the highest
scorer on exports is Zambia at 18%,
followed by Cambodia at 16%. China,
Mozambique, and Vietnam are level
with Rwanda at 14%. These countries
have a high engagement with the
global economy through inflows and
outflows of goods, services, finance,
people, and data.
The exports ranking takes into
account the size of each flow for
 NEWS ANALYSIS
a country relative to its GDP or
population and its share of each total
global flow. The best performing
economies are those that have
benefited from tapping into global
demand growth through export
markets, giving them greater
economies of scale.
Rwanda and Tanzania beat Uganda
on the domestic savings scale. They
score 14%. But Uganda is better
than Kenya and South Africa. It
is Azerbaijan at 19%, however,
which has the highest domestic
saving, followed by Cambodia and
Turkmenistan at 16%, and Rwanda
and Tanzania at 14%. Kenya and South
Africa are at 3%, Nigeria 6%, Ethiopia
4% and China 10%.
Uganda’s worst score is -8% on
innovation which is based on an
assessment of movement in 80
fields, such as politics, education,
infrastructure, and business
sophistication. Rwanda scored 13%
and Iran led the field at 19% followed
by Mozambique at 18%. Tanzania
scored 7% and Kenya 10%.
Rwanda is the world’s most
effective government with a score
of 93%. The ranking is based on the
World Bank’s Government Effective
Score which measures the perceived
quality of public services, civil
service, and policy formulation and
implementation. Serbia is second to potential to increase employment in
Rwanda at 81%, Kazakhstan 58%, and Manufacturing matters manufacturing by 3.6 percentage points
Azerbaijan 48%. China’s government To grade the countries, the McKinsey and value added by 2.3 percentage
is 33% effective, Ethiopia 44%, Ghana researchers started with a list of 218 points by 2030 based on McKinsey
-35%, Tanzania 8%, Uganda 7%, and economies tracked by the World Bank, estimates. Rwanda and Kenya are
Kenya 10%. then excluded 99 countries with fewer the other economies in the region
China leads the globe in GDP than five million people in 2016, a with similar potential. Elsewhere,
growth. Azerbaijanis are the top further 28 countries because of a lack they include Bangladesh, India,
savers. Mozambique leads in of data, and 20 high-income countries. Mozambique, Nepal, and Vietnam.
innovation. Bulgaria has the highest That left 71 which were further The report touts manufacturing
market cap of listed companies. divided into four cohorts: Long-term because it does not just create jobs
Cambodia has the most exports. outperformers, recent outperformers, and growth in manufacturing-related
Singapore is the world’s most middlers, and under performers. sectors but has a broader impact on
connected economy outside of the From the report, it appears the best productivity and employment in the
advanced work. spot to be are the recent outperformers. economy.
In the report, Uganda is grouped These 11 countries hit the threshold In Ethiopia, for example, if
together with 41 other economies that of 5% compound annual growth rate these induced effects are included,
managed a compound annual growth derived from an average growth rate of manufacturing has had a significant
rate between 0.95% and 3.5% over the 5.4% required by low (3.7%) and lower multiplier effect of more than five
period 1965–2016. This is the biggest middle (7.1%) income to move up one times, compared with three times
cohort of the 71 countries studied. income level over a 20-year period for services. The multiplier effect for
These are called the `middlers’ and (from low to lower middle or lower output is about 2.3 times, compared
Uganda belongs to a group labeled middle to upper middle). Ethiopia is with 1.9 times for services. As
`consistent growers’ together with the only country in this cohort. Others manufacturing jobs have higher wages,
Tanzania. Ethiopia is the best include India, Vietnam, Cambodia and the multiplier impact on output will
performing economy in Africa and is more. also be higher than for services.
ranked among “recent outperformers”. Ethiopia, the report points out, A 2015 McKinsey survey of chief
Rwanda is among the top nine best is seeing vibrant manufacturing purchasing officers from garment
performing economies among the growth and increased manufacturing majors in Europe found that Ethiopia
middlers. These so-called “recent employment by almost 10 percent was attracting growing interest as a
accelerators” include Mozambique and value added by 7 percent a year future top sourcing destination. It is
and Ghana from Africa and Sri Lanka, between 2000 and 2010. listed together with India, Myanmar,
Poland, and the Philippines. According to the report, Ethiopia has Turkey, and Vietnam.

Oct 12 - 18, 2018 19

NEWS ANALYSIS
Exporting problem
Generally, the McKinsey report notes
that Sub-Saharan Africa needs to focus
more on sophisticated exports and
better governance
It points out that this is the second
poorest of regions, with GDP per capita
of about $1,750, or only about one-
seventh that of East and Southeast Asia
and of Central and Eastern Europe.
Of the 15 countries analyzed in the
region, only Ethiopia has grown at
more than five percent a year over the
past 20 years. Ghana, Mozambique,
and Rwanda, which have undergone
recent growth spurts, have outpaced
the long-term outperformers in the past
10 years.
Tanzania and Uganda have been
more consistent growers among
middling economies, while Angola
and Nigeria have had a more volatile
past. Six underperforming economies—
Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, South
Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—have
declined relative to the United States
in the past decades,although Côte
d’Ivoire’s economic performance has
improved.
Exports from the region as a
percentage of GDP were below 30
percent on average, which is half the
rate seen in outperforming economies.
Connectedness to other regions is
poor, and the diversity and complexity
of the export portfolio is low. For
example, more than 90 percent of
exports from Nigeria and Angola are
oil-related products. Similarly, more
than 80 percent of exports from Ghana,
Senegal, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe are
commodities or natural resources.
Without a strong and diverse export-
oriented sector, economic growth can
be limited by domestic income and be
affected by the volatility of commodity
prices.
Manufacturing offers a potential
avenue to enhance export complexity
and connectedness. Most sub-Saharan
economies still have large opportunities
to generate employment and increase
productivity in the manufacturing
sector, as their current manufacturing
share of employment is low. Previous
MGI research estimated that Africa
could nearly double its manufacturing
output from $500 billion in 2016 to
$930 billion in 2025. Three-quarters of
this potential growth could come just
from meeting domestic demand—the
continent currently imports more than
one-third of the food, beverages, and
consumer goods it consumes—while
the other one-quarter could come from
exports to other regions.
Poor infrastructure, cumbersome
customs processes, and lax compliance
20 Oct 12 - 18, 2018
with social and environmental norms
by countries in East Africa limit their
ability to host apparel makers and
other labour-intensive manufacturers.
Lack of required talent and high
cost of labour also pose a challenge.
Ethiopia is a notable exception to these
limitations is Ethiopia, as it has used
labour-intensive manufacturing to
achieve stronger growth. Countries
focused on oil exports face the
challenge of currency appreciation
when seeking to offer competitive
prices in other export sectors.
Additionally, there are opportunities
to improve government effectiveness
across most countries in the region.
Three global trends that
can help all emerging
economies achieve
stronger growth
Rapidly evolving
technology
Automation could increase
labor productivity in emerging
economies by 0.9-1.2%
Rising consumption
from urbanization
Consuming class in 440 cities
could account for almost 50% of
global GDP growth by 2025
Growing south-
south trade
11 x increase in trade between
china and other emerging markets
between 1995-2016
While a few economies—Côte d’Ivoire,
Kenya, and Zimbabwe— showed
improvement in the World Bank
Government Effectiveness Index from
2010 to 2016, other countries in the
region have not. This region has one
of the lowest average scores in the
Ease of Doing Business Index, but
is improving at the second-fastest
rate, indicating that these countries
are focused on improving the
environment for their private sectors.
The market capitalisation of listed
domestic companies grew by 3 percent
between1996 and 2016 while corporate
income grew by 7 percent between 1996
and 2014.
Sub-Saharan Africa shows the lowest
score in the McKinsey Digital Maturity
Index. Countries in this region need
to invest in digital infrastructure to
ensure access, improve government’s
adoption of the latest technologies,
and incentivize the development
and adoption of ICT by local
companies. However, this region has
also experienced fast development
especially in its mobile technology.
Mobile phone penetration in the region
has grown by more than 12 percent
annually on average since 2010, which
is the second fastest rate after East Asia
and Pacific, according to the World
Bank’s Financial Inclusion Index. Up
to 7 percent of the adult population of
these countries uses mobile payment
technology, second only to East Asia
and Southeast Asia, where 10 percent
does.
The biggest challenges for sub-
Saharan African countries involve
improving export industries and
global connectivity, which may include
investing in infrastructure and labour
force training as well as improving
government efficacy and strengthening
financial services.
Continuing improvements in
technology, especially in mobile and
digital innovation and connectivity,
will enable sub-Saharan Africa to grow
at a faster rate.
But the report says, there are reasons
to be optimistic about the future of sub-
Saharan Africa. Per capita GDP growth
was slightly above 3 percent per year
between 2010 and 2015, while labour
productivity grew by 2.5 percent
annually in the same period, a higher
rate than the Middle East and North
Africa, Latin America, or Central and
Eastern Europe. Similarly, investment
rates reached almost 26 percent
per year from 2010 to 2015, while
household incomes grew 3.7 percent.
McKinsey estimates that four
industry groups; consumer-facing
sectors, agriculture, resources, and
infrastructure—together could generate
as much as $2.6 trillion in revenue
annually between 2010 and 2020, or $1
trillion a year more than before. The
large share of the population living in
urban areas (above 40 percent) will also
open new business opportunities.
 Happy 56Th Independence
Celebrations
NATIONAL WATER AND SEWERAGE CORPORATION

The Board of Directors, Management and Staff of National Water

and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) and all Ugandans congratulate
His Excellency the President of the Republic of Uganda Gen. Yoweri
Kaguta Museveni, the Vice President, the Speaker of Parliament, the
Prime Minister, All Cabinet Ministers, All Ministers of State, Members
of Parliament and All Ugandans upon the auspicious occasion of the
56th Independence Day Celebrations.
NWSC has launched an aggressive “Water for All” program whose
objective is expanding the mandate of the Corporation to cover all
major urban centers within Uganda in a bid to ensure accelerated
service delivery and provide water for all.

NWSC reaffirms its commitment to;

 100% service coverage  Water quality
 Geographical expansion  Customer care and
 Infrastructure development stakeholder engagement

Contact us on Toll Free Lines: 0800200977 and 0800300977, or visit our Website www.nwsc.co.ug,
You can also reach us on;
www.twitter.com/nwscug www.facebook.com/waterug, info@nwsc.co.ug
The customer is the reason we exist
 NEWS ANALYSIS

MINISTRY OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION (MOSTI)

HE Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
President of the Republic of Uganda
56 th INDEPENDENCE
ANNIVERSARY
The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, the
Permanent Secretary, the Under Secretary and staff of the
Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation wish to
Congratulate the President of the Republic of Uganda,
His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Cabinet Ministers,
Members of Parliament and all the people of Uganda upon
Dr. Elioda Tumwesigye David O.O. Obong reaching 56 years of Independence.
Minister for Science, Technology & Innovation Permanent Secretary

Introduction:
The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MoSTI) was created in June 2016.
The Mandate of the Ministry is to provide policy guidance and coordination on matters
of Scientific Research, Development and the entire National Innovation Systems in
the country. The Ministry’s Vision is: “A scientifically proficient and technologically
advanced innovative society” and the Mission Statement is “To provide leadership,
an enabling environment and resources for scientific research and knowledge based
development for industrialization, competitiveness and employment creation leading
to a sustainable economy”.
Strategies for Effective Implementation of the NDP II Interventions in ST&I:
The NDP II provides a number of interventions that facilitate the realization of four ST&I
development objectives. These objectives are;
(i) Enhance the integration of Science, Technology and Innovation into the
National Development process,
(ii) Increase transfer and adaptation of technologies,
(iii) Enhance R&D in Uganda and,
(iv) Improve the ST&I legal and regulatory framework highlighted along with the
proposed implementation strategies.
For the Ministry to effectively and efficiently carry out its mandate, it is structured
as follows:
1. Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation Regulation whose primary role
is:
i. Guiding the Development and implementation of ST&I Policies, regulations,
plans, priorities, standards and guidelines.
ii. Coordinating the development and implementation of standards for quality research
and development, innovations and products in biosciences physical sciences and
social sciences in liaison with relevant institutions.
iii. Overseeing the collaborative and cooperation initiatives for ST&I standards,
regulations and compliance with international treaties and conventions.
iv. Overseeing the integration of ST&I in the National Development process.
v. Overseeing the integration of Standards and quality regulatory frame work in ST&I in
public and private sectors.
2. Directorate of Research and Innovation whose primary role is:
i. To coordinate the implementation of all Research, Development and Innovation
ii. To coordinate the application and dissemination of research development innovation
inputs, evolution and dissemination of innovation efforts.
iii. Leading the development and implementation of guidelines for the management
of the Innovation Fund, policies, plans and programs for research promotion and
development.
iv. Coordinating the promotion of Research and Development of indigenous innovations
for the purpose of facilitating indigenous knowledge system.
v. Reporting on implementation of policies, plan programs and guidelines on research
development and innovation.
vi. Providing strategic guidance in research registration and control, intellectual property,
research infrastructure and coordination of research development and innovation.
vii. Providing leadership in identification and prioritization of new areas of science,
technology and innovation and indigenous knowledge.
3. Directorate of Techno-preneurship whose basic roles are:
i. Coordinating Science, Technology and Innovation skills development for artisans,
inventors/innovators and researchers
ii. Initiating collaborations in ST&I for a mutual benefit in the Directorate of
Techno-preneurship.
iii. Overseeing and leading the development of the criteria used to manage
Techno-prenuership systems.
iv. Coordinating product testing, commercialization of products and services for start-
ups and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
v. Coordinating the Promotion of mentorship and science enterprise development.
vi. Coordinating the establishment of product development facilities and innovation hubs
and Technology parks.
vii. Guiding linkages and partnerships between researchers and industrialists and
business enterprises.
The Ministry has four agencies, namely:
i. Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI) whose vision is to develop and test
prototype processes, with in-built quality control mechanisms to ensure an
acceptable and competitive end product.
ii. Kiira Motors Corporation (KMC) whose mission is to be the Best in – Class Passenger
Vehicle Manufacturer in East and Central Africa by 2025
iii. Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST) whose vision is a
prosperous Science and Technology Led Ugandan Society.
iv. Presidential Initiative On Banana Industrial Development (PIBID) whose mission is to
offer rural farmers technical, scientific services outreach, Research and Development
opportunities in sustainable banana production, sustainable and competitive value
addition to bananas, business and product process development, product quality
assurance and safety and product technology transfer and commercialization
The extent to which a country has harnessed Science, Technology and Innovation
(ST&I) has a direct bearing on its level of development. This is because ST&I
determines progress and transition of countries from pre-industrial to knowledge-
based societies. According to the Vision 2040, NDP II, NRM Manifesto 2016-2021
and 23 Presidential guidelines, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation
was created to ensure;
i. Formulation of Policies, Strategies and legal framework pertaining to Science,
Technology and Innovation in the country.
ii. Identification and aligning National Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I)
priorities with the broader National Development Goals. This is achieved through
the sector working group that includes other sectors, Ministries, Donors, Non-
government organizations, Small Medium Enterprises, the Academia, Researchers,
Manufacturers, Innovators, Scientists, Private Sector among others.
iii. Mobilize resources necessary for effective management of ST&I efforts in the country,
their coordination and implementation and monitor and evaluate their outcome to
foster technical development.
iv. Put in place necessary infrastructure for ST&I including skills development and
centers of excellence, science and technological parks, private sector partnerships,
incubation parks, innovation hubs. This will be achieved by providing incentives
to Ugandans living in the diaspora to invest at home and also encourage them to
participate in technology transfer.
v. Promote exploitation of patents and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) arising out of
ST&I efforts for commercialization of products.
vi. Providing technical support for Uganda’s bilateral and multilateral science and
technology programs. MoSTI has created collaborations with STI stakeholder’s e.g.
USAID, UNCTAD, University of Massachusetts Institute of Science and Technology
among others.
vii. Supporting public private partnerships in Science, Technology and Innovation.
Government will target areas for innovation to be identified and linking up with private
sector innovators, with a view of developing viable solutions for commercialisation.
viii. Innovation centres for incubation of private technological innovations be established
and supported in all science public universities as a means of nurturing indigenous
private sector enterprises and technology.
ix. Enhance value addition for traditional and non-traditional exports to increase export
earnings through agro-processing, mineral beneficiation and selective manufacturing
x. Support research institutions carrying out research in agriculture together with other
scientists at universities
Mr. David O.O Obong the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Science, Technology and
Innovation, the Under Secretary Mr. Mugunga Emanuel Freddie and Ag. Commissioner
Policy Planning Department Jennifer Muwuliza listening to the explanation of what is done
in the Tissue Laboratory — at National Crops Resources Research Institute, Namulonge.
Key Activities undertaken Since MoSTI Inception
i. Operationalized the ST&I sector working group.
ii. In collaboration with United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) MoSTI is in the process of preparing the first ever Science
Technology and Innovation (Sector Development Plan (SDP) to effectively
contribute to Uganda’s development process.
iii. In collaboration with United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) the Ministry is in the process of reviewing the STI policy (2009) and the
process is ongoing. Highly consultative meetings are being held to ensure that the
views of all our stakeholders are included the policy document.
iv. Implemented the seed Innovation fund for supporting Innovators in both UNCST and
UIRI as guided by H.E. The President.
v. Developed the Institutional Framework for commercialization of the Kiira Electric
vehicle project.
vi. Secured rented office accommodation at Rumee Building located,
Plot 19 Lumumba Avenue.
vii. Initiated the process for the amendment for both UNCST Act CAP 2009 and
UIRI Act 2003 (yet to be completed).
viii. The recruitment of staff with support from both Ministry of Public Service and
Public Service Commission is ongoing.
ix. Finalized the National Innovation fund framework with support from USAID - Cabinet
paper on the same is being finalized.
The Ministry rededicates itself to implementing the Ugandan Vision 2040, NDP II,
NRM Manifesto 2016-2021 and 23 Presidential guidelines by providing leadership,
an enabling environment for research and a scientific knowledge based development
for industrialization, competiveness and employment creation leading to a sustainable
economy.
For God and My Country!

The President of Uganda launching the Kiira Motors’ Kayoola Solar Bus, Africa’s A group photo at the First ever ST&I retreat at the UIRI Hon.Rebecca Kadaga,Kyabazinga of Busoga and Busoga The Minister for Science,Technology and Innovation Dr.
first electric and solar powered bus. It was a testament of the domestic capabilities conference hall presided over by the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Kingdom Tourism Minister Hellen Namutamba and PIBID Elioda Tumwesigye, the executive director UIRI Prof.
Uganda possesses in developing it’s Automotive Industry. Cabinet approved the of Uganda Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda. team cutting TOOKE cake after climbing Kagulu Rock Charles Kwesiga and the Undersecretary MoSTI looking at
roadmap for the Commercialisation of the Kiira Electric Vehicle Project along challenge in Buyende District. the environmentally friendly brickets made from waste to
with a Seed Fund of USD 40 Million for the period FY 2018/19-2021/22. This is
replace charcoal use at UIRI
to be undertaken in a phased manner with the market-entry point being assembly
of vehicles (including electric vehicles) in partnership with reputable vehicle
manufacturers.

24 Oct 12 - 18, 2018


Nyombi, former AG, dies at 64
By Ian Katusiime
I
t is said being Attorney
General is among the
worst jobs in government.
As the government’s legal
advisor, one has to possibly
take a number of untenable
positions for the sake of the
government. And one could
say that Peter Nyombi who
passed away on Oct.7 had
his turn when he served as
Uganda’s Attorney General
from 2011 to 2015.
While in office, Nyombi had
so many disagreements with
fellow lawyers that Uganda
Law Society, (ULS) the asso-
ciation of lawyers in Uganda
resolved to suspend him from
the body in August 2013.
Nyombi scoffed at the suspen-
sion asserting that he was the
head of the bar in Uganda.
But it was a defining moment
for his tenure as the Attorney
General.
Peter Nyombi was born in
1954 among the Baruuli com-
munity based in Nakasongola,
central Uganda. He went to
Nakasongola Primary School
and King’s College Budo for
his secondary education. He
completed his law degree at
Makerere University in 1976.
He enrolled for a diploma in
legal practice at Law Develop-
ment Centre (LDC).
After he left LDC, Nyombi
started a long career as a civil
servant and first worked as
a state attorney in the min-
istry of justice. Here, he was
appointed to work in the
department of public prosecu-
tion.
In 1986 when a new govern-
ment under Yoweri Museveni
took power, Nyombi was
appointed as counsel to one
of the several commissions
appointed to probe abuses of
past regimes.
When the Inspectorate of
Government was established
in 1988, Nyombi was one of
the first staff to join the institu-
tion as a member of the legal
department.
In 1994, like many of his
contemporaries in govern-
ment then, Nyombi contested
for a seat in the Constituent
Assembly. He stood to repre-
sent Buruuli County and lost.
He sought the same seat in the
1996 general elections and lost
again.
Nyombi was elevated to the
position of Legal Director in
the Inspectorate of Govern-
ment until he left in 2000. In
2006, he was elected MP for
Buruuli County on an Inde-
pendent ticket. “He was more
of NRM though,” says Wilfred
Niwagaba, MP for Ndorwa
East with whom they joined
parliament.
As one of the so- called reb-
el MPs in the NRM, Niwagaba
says he had several run-ins
with Nyombi. Niwagaba and
others were critical of certain
party positions and Nyombi
often came into try to rein
them in whenever he could.
Role as Attorney General
Nyombi’s toughest year
was possibly 2013 as he found
himself at the centre of major
political issues.
On May 8, 2013, Nyombi
wrote to the Speaker of Parlia-
ment, Rebecca Kadaga, advis-
ing her to reverse her decision
when she refused to declare
the seats of the so-called rebel
MPs vacant as per a Constitu-
tional Court ruling.
The appointment of the late
Gen. Aronda Nyakairima as
minister for Internal Affairs
in May 2013 also brought
Nyombi into the spotlight.
As opposition MPs and civil
society rose up in arms over
the unconstitutionality of a
serving army officer joining
cabinet and partisan politics,
Nyombi in Nyakairima’s
defence, said legally it was not
a problem.
Perhaps the most contro-
versial issue Nyombi was
embroiled in was President
Museveni’s re-appointment
of Benjamin Odoki as Chief
Justice after the latter had
attained the mandatory retire-
ment age of 70.
Nyombi backed Museveni’s
decision to the chagrin of
the Judicial Service Commis-
sion which strongly advised
Oct 12 - 18, 2018
OBITUARY
Museveni against Odoki’s re-
appointment.
The re-appointment was
sharply criticised by lawyers,
MPs, and the general public as
unconstitutional but Nyombi
argued that the appointment
of a chief justice was the pre-
serve of the president.
The Supreme Court later
ruled the re-appointment of
Odoki as unconstitutional fol-
lowing a petition filed by MP
Gerald Karuhanga.
‘Quite amiable’
Fred Ruhindi who suc-
ceeded Nyombi as Attorney
General in 2015 says credit
must be given to his predeces-
sor as a hardworking person,
with a passion for work and
he also describes him as
“quite amiable”. He says he
knew Nyombi much earlier
than when he deputised him.
Ruhindi was deputy attorney
general from 2011 to 2015.
“When I joined ministry of
justice as a state attorney in
1981, he was there as a state
attorney in the office of the
Director of Public Prosecu-
tions,” Ruhindi tells The Inde-
pendent. Then they had little
interaction because Ruhindi
worked in the First Parliamen-
tary Counsel under the minis-
try of justice.
“We interacted a bit closely
when we travelled together
on a study tour to Sweden in
the mid-1990s. We had gone
to do a one month course in
comparative law,” he says. At
the time, Nyombi had moved
on to the Inspectorate of
Government.
He was a brother to Rev.
John Senyonyi, the Vice
Chancellor of Uganda Christian
University, Mukono and
Ambassador Henry Mayega.
Nyombi is reported to have
succumbed to heart failure at a
clinic in Kampala.
25
Performance of Uganda’s coffee export volumes and earnings in the past five years
Year 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18
Volume (60-kg 2.77 3.14 3.36 3.65 3.24 3.56 4.2 4.5
bag in million)
Value (US$ 371 467 422 403 403 352 490 492
millions)
Source: UCDA

Good times ahead

U
By Isaac Khisa & Julius Businge

ganda’s coffee indus-

for coffee farmers

try players once again
joined the rest of the
world on Oct. 04 to mark
the International Coffee
Day.
The annual celebration, which was
organised by the Uganda Coffee Devel-
opment Authority (UCDA), Uganda
Coffee Federation and International
Women in Coffee Alliance in Uganda,
was held at the Mukono Zonal Agricul-
tural Research and Development Insti-
tute, located approximately 20km east
of Kampala.
Themed ‘celebrating the role of
women in coffee’, the event sought to
appreciate the role women play in the
coffee industry.
The event also provided an oppor-
tunity for the players to celebrate the
country’s recovering coffee industry.
Latest data from the UCDA shows
the country’s coffee export volumes
grew 7% to 4.5million 60-kilo bags
worth US$492million for the 2017/18
season (Oct-Sep) compared with the
previous year – citing increased yield
from the newly planted crops as well
as good flowering and beans develop-
ment.
Government remains optimistic about
achieving target of 20 million bags
This is the second consecutive year
that Uganda is recording the highest
coffee export volumes since 1996 when
it recorded 4.15million bags.
Last year, it exported 4.2 million bags
worth US$490million.
UCDA has since 2012 distributed
more than 317,000 coffee seedlings
to farmers across the 98 districts that
grow the crop, though low productiv-
ity, unpredictable weather conditions,
inadequate agricultural extension
officers, and limited use of fertilizers
remains a big hindrance to productiv-
ity.
The replanting initiative received a
major boost in 2013 when the govern-
ment unveiled Operation Wealth Cre-
ation programme to raise household
incomes and lead to socio-economic
transformation.
It is estimated that more than 1.7mil-
lion of the country’s 40 million people
are involved in coffee growing coun-
trywide.
UCDA Managing Director, Emman-
uel Iyamulemye Niyibigira said coffee
is Uganda’s ‘cash cow’– the second
largest export earner for Uganda after
tourism.
He said the government is looking
at equipping households with skills,
financial support and inputs especially
to women, who provide 80% of the
labour to boost the crop’s export earn-
ings.
This development comes at the time
coffee export earnings in most coffee
producing countries is expected to
remain flat as bumper harvests sup-

26 Oct 12 - 18, 2018


press prices on the interna-
tional market, according to
the Geneva-based Interna-
tional Coffee Organisation
(ICO).
Latest data from the ICO
shows that coffee prices have
fallen from US$ 2.4 per kg
to US$2.05 per kg in August
this year citing bumper har-
vests.
“The current low prices
are as a result of a bumper
harvest of the Brazilian
2018/19 crop, expectations of
good crop harvests in other
major producing countries
and adequate inventories in
consuming countries,” ICO’s
statement reads in part.
Brazilian coffee export-
ers are currently struggling
to find shipping capacity
to transport a bumper crop
from the world’s top pro-
ducer, which could result
in supply delays to roasters
worldwide, according to
Reuters news agency.
The Brazilian government
expects to export around 60
million 60-kg bags compared
with 45 million bags record-
ed for last year.
Similarly, the US Depart-
ment of Agriculture esti-
mates that Vietnam’s coffee
production in 2018/19 would
reach a record 29.9m bags, a
2% increase from 2017/18.
Globally, coffee pro-
duction is estimated at
158.56million bags compared
to 159.05million bags, a
decrease of 0.3% from last
year.
Arabica production is
estimated to reduce by
6.6% to 97.16million bags
while Robusta is projected
to increase by 11.5% to
61.40million bags.
However, Africa’s produc-
tion is expected to increase
by 5.3%from last year with
an output of 17.3million
bags.
Global consumption is
projected to increase by 2%
at 162.12million bags with
major increases noted in
Asia and Oceania countries
and South America.
In the East African region
with the exception of Kenya,
Rwanda, Tanzania and Buru-
di expect to record a surge in
coffee export volumes citing
business
a fall in international prices.
Data from the Kenya
National Bureau of Statistics
shows that the crop’s export
earnings declined by 9% in
the first half of 2018 to Kshs The Management & Staff of Ham Enterprises
13.8 billion compared with (U) Ltd, congratulates H.E. The President of the
Kshs15.2 billion last year.
Rwanda’s annual coffee Republic of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni,
export revenues grew 10% to Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament and
$64.1million in 2017, accord- the people of Uganda as we celebrate the
ing to a new report by the
National Agriculture Export 56th INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY
Board (Naeb). Naeb cited
increase in production and
export volumes.
Similarly, Tanzania’s cof-
fee production is expected
to increase 15% from 1.15
million bags to 1.30 million
bags in the year 2018/19 as
a result of biennial bearing
cycle and favorable weather
conditions as reported by
Tanzania Meteorological
Authority (TMA).
The United States Depart-
ment of Agriculture report
indicates that ending stocks
for financial year 2018/19 Plot 923 Makerere Hill Road Ham Towers, Makerere 4th floor, Suite 402
are forecast up by 7% from P.O.Box 2183, Kampala.Uganda
FY2017/18 due to an increase Tel: +256-414 662 855 | Mob:+256-772 885 155, +256-772 507 088
in production. Email: hamenterprises2009@gmail.com |Website www. hamenterprises.co.ug
In Burundi, farmers expect
the country’s harvest to be
in the range of 15,000 to
17,000 metric tons this year
following good rainfall and
increased fertilizer use.
Minister for Agriculture
Animal Husbandry and
Fisheries, Vicent Bamulan-
gaki Sempijja reiterated that
the government targets to
export 20 million bags per
year by 2025.
He, however, said meet- LOW COST HOUSES BEING
ing this target will require INSPECTED BY H.E. PRESIDENT
YOWERI MUSEVENI.
synergy among all actors in
the coffee value chain and
related sectors. UGANDA PRISONS
He said there is need to
address issues related to
SERVICE
climatic change mitigation
and adoption, farmer coop-
eratives, access to finance as
well as increased participa-
tion of women at all levels of
the coffee value chain. Commissioner General of Prisons (C.G.P) & Deputy Commissioner
He said the new plan will General of Prisons (C.G.P) and the Uganda Prisons Service extend
also entail adequate budget congratulations to H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the President of
allocation to the agricultural Uganda and the people of Uganda on the
sector as well as increased 56th anniversary of Independence.
technical and efficiency in
allocation of resources for We wish the people of Uganda Peace and Prosperity
extension services and adop-
Address: Plot 13/15 Parliament Avenue Parliamentary Avenue, Kampala
tion of new technologies and
P.O. Box 7182, Kampala | Phone: 041 4256751
innovations.
Oct 12 - 18, 2018 27
Business
NSSF courts savers
New strategy of pay-out boosts confidence
By Isaac Khisa
U
ganda’s National
Social Security Fund
(NSSF) seems to be
determined to bring
more savers to its portfolio, its
statistics show.
The Fund’s latest Transpar-
ency Statement reveals that
though it recorded growth in
income from Shs788.6bn to
Shs1.34trillion, with nearly half
of it being unrealised, it paid
out dividends worth Shs1.1bn
to its savers for the year ended
June 30. This represents a 60%
surge in dividend pay-out.
NSSF recorded a seven-fold
growth in unrealised income
from Shs73.7bn to Shs560bn
during the period under review
citing a surge in the share price
for listed companies where it
has stakes across the East Afri-
can region.
In addition, the depreciation
of the shilling led to an increase
in the value of investments.
Unrealised income is profit
or gain that has been made but
not yet realised or collected
through a transaction– such as a
stock that has risen in value but
is still being held.
Significantly, though, is that
the dividend pay-out to the sav-
ers contributions was pegged
on both realised and unrealised
income.
This means that NSSF paid
dividends to its savers prior to
collection of some of its prof-
its or gains that substantially
contributed to the growth in
28 Oct 12 - 18, 2018
income amidst the risks of
non-collection or even losses,
financial experts told The Inde-
pendent.
The Fund paid a 15% interest
rate on savers contributions –
the highest ever in the country’s
history – for the Financial Year
2017/18 citing good perfor-
mance of the economy.
“NSSF’s decision to pay
15% interest to social con-
tributors based on realised and
unrealised income is okay as
they complied with a relevant
accounting standard in recogni-
NSSF Performance
Perfomance in Shs
Total income
Unrealised income
Dividend payout
Net income for the year
tion of such income but most
importantly is that the Fund
is trying to tell people that it is
capable paying high returns,
said Peter Otyanga Bere, a certi-
fied public accountant attached
to Alebtong District.
He added that such interest
pay outs attract more (volun-
tary) contributors or savers. The
payout means that NSSF has
enough cash generated from its
ordinary operations and that it
is better to invest with it than
save with the commercial banks
that usually give interest rate of
6-12% depending on the value
of saving, he explained.
Bere said the NSSF decision
implies that whereas they are
yet to collect a good chunk of
their income, the risks attached
to it are low.
He, however, said the move
could at times be risky in the
event that there are no proper
systems in place to mitigate
risks of writing off such unre-
alised income. Similarly, a
source who preferred anonym-
ity said NSSF’s inclusion of
unrealised income in payout
dividend may cost the workers
at some point in case of failure
2016/17 FY 2017/18
788.6bn 1.45trillion
73.3bn 560bn
681bn 1.1trilion
4.1bn 240bn
to come up with a good plan
to collect the contribution for
savers.
“The inclusion of unrealised
income in paying dividend to
savers may not well represent
its performance. This is because
once share prices falls, then, that
unrealised income may also be
wiped out,” he said.
He, however, said NSSF is
well positioned in that it has
diversified its investments.
NSSFs’ Assets Under Manage-
ment (AUM) has grown from
Shs5.68trillion in 2015/2016 to
slightly over Shs10trillion as at
the end of July 30, 2018, with
75% of the total assets invested
in fixed income (treasury bills
and bonds), 18% in equities
(listed companies), and about
7% in real estate.
The Fund states that 60%
of the assets are invested in
Uganda, 31% in Kenya, 8% in
Tanzania and 1% in Rwanda.
Some of the companies that
NSSF has substantially invested
include; dfcu, Umeme, Stanbic
Bank and Safaricom.
NSSF’s total savers con-
tributions increased by 14%
to Shs1.05trillion for the
FY2017/2018 comparedto the
Shs917billion in the previous
year.
This was the first time
in the history of NSSFthat
it recorded over a trillion
shillings in collections from
members citing a steady rise
in compliance level reported
at 81% over a three months’
period. Contributions from
the Fund’s voluntary members
totalled to 10,000 during the
period under review.
Benefits paid to qualifying
members rose by 29% to Shs-
360billion for FY2017/2018 from
Shs278billion the previous year.
On the other hand, the cost
to income ratio declined by 1%
to 12.6% for the Financial Year
2017/2018 from 13.4% the previ-
ous year.
NSSF currently has 2.2mil-
lion members but only 900,000
are active. The target is to have
at least 5 million by 2025.
 Business

2018 Trade Fair excites

Manufacturers at event ask for government support
By Julius Businge

U
ganda International Trade Fair
(UGITF), an annual event for
manufacturers, returned for its 26th
edition on Oct.2-10. The event that
was held at the Uganda Manufacturers As-
sociation in Lugogo attracted thousands of
tradeshow goers and exhibitors.
Besides their usual showcasing of their
latest products on the market and making
some sales, the event also enabled organis-
ers carry out training for those in farming
activities – coffee, piggery, and poultry.
Manufactures that The Independent spoke
to said they were using the opportunity to
showcase their products and increase their
sales in the near future.
Paul Alion, from Mehta Group of Com-
panies, which has participated in the previ-
ous tradeshows, said that such events give
them an opportunity to engage with its
customers.
“Our business of sugar, electric cables
and Carbon dioxide gas is growing partly
because of the visibility we get here and the
way we engage with our customers,” he
said.
“We are happy the numbers of people
coming here to ask about our products is He said they also agreed with Muloni ness and investment destination.
growing,” added Kabaseke, a sales execu- that they work with Umeme to ensure that She requested the government to speed
tive at Bidco Uganda Limited. areas with multiple meters for their mem- up the process of facilitating Uganda Devel-
“They are asking good questions and bers is combined to one so as to increase opment Bank to start issuing the Export
some are buying; it is good for us.” consumption as a group and hence lower Insurance Guarantees for exporters in
This year’s tradeshow was organized tariffs for large consumers. Uganda and also lobby South Sudan, DR
under the theme ‘enhancing value addition Birungi also revealed that they had Congo, Burundi among others to join the
through industrialization.’ agreed with the Trade Minister, Amelia Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC)
The manufacturers, however, used the Kyambadde, that UMA members are con- so that it is easy to access and utilize the
event to lure government change policies sulted during the process of the ongoing Islamic Insurance Facility to cover export
that would provide solutions to their his- development of the new industrial policy risks within the OIC countries.
torical challenges – high power costs, expen- and also in trying to access more external
sive credit from financial institutions, poor market. President’s basket of promises
infrastructure and limited markets. He added that they also had an engage- President Yoweri Museveni, who was
The manufacturers say solving these ment with the Minister of Finance (Matia represented by Kasaija said the government
challenges would support the economy Kasaija) pushing for UMA members to is prioritising manufacturing deliberately
given that manufacturing as a sector now get letters of credit whenever they supply under Vision 2040 and that the idea is to
contributes 5.4% to Uganda’s Gross Domes- goods to government – that would help have 50% of Ugandan exports being manu-
tic Product. them access credit from financial institu- factured goods – which would create more
UMA’s Executive Director, Daniel Birun- tions. jobs and earn Uganda foreign exchange.
gi, told The Independent in an interview “We believe that our policy advocacy is He assured the UMA that with more
that by day 04, the Fair had attracted 15,000 made stronger when we engage with these power projects coming onboard, the cost of
show goers and he was projecting the num- entities…we are optimistic this will go a power shall continue to reduce until “we
ber to go up to 300,000 by the end of the long way in addressing our challenges,” realize the US5cents/KWh for all manufac-
show on October 10 – higher than last year’s Burungi added. turers.”
245,000 show goers. Earlier, Barbara Mulwana, the chair- He also said government would do more
He said UMA officials met the energy person Board of Directors for UMA said in terms of boosting exports in addition to
minister, Irene Muloni, who promised to that attracting over 30 countries and 1300 dealing with the prevailing trade barriers
write a confirmation with regard to lower- exhibitors to the show was testimony to the within the EAC trading bloc.
ing the costs of electricity to ease the costs of growth of the industrial sector in Uganda “I noted all your challenges and all are
doing business. and the attractiveness of Uganda as a busi- solvable,” Museveni said in the speech.

Oct 12 - 18, 2018 29

Business
telecom economy

MTN Uganda start celebrations to mark 20 years Private sector

M
TN Uganda has ly for our customers,” Wim activities improve

commenced a
six-month-long
celebration
campaign to mark 20 years
of operations with a num-
ber of planned commemo-
rative activities.
Themed ‘Celebrating the
past, inspiring the future,’
the telecom firm will start
with an MTN@20 Expo at
the Kololo Independence
Grounds starting October
19-22 with visits by pupils
from various primary
around Kampala.
This will be followed up
with more expos across the
country.
AVIATION
“It has been an incred-
ible 20 years journey for
MTN Uganda. At the expo,
together with our partners,
we shall be showcasing
the part – where MTN has
come from – and what we
anticipate the future will be
for us and more important-
Vanhelleputte (Pictured)
the Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) MTN Uganda said.
The expo will celebrate
bits of history including
a museum to show the
journey of where the MTN
brand (in Uganda) has
come from but will also be
heavy on the future includ-
ing having a display and
test drive of the 5G pow-
ered - driverless car being
tested by the MTN Group.
Started with one custom-
er in 1998, MTN Uganda
has more than 11 million
customers at the moment.
U
ganda’s private sector activity
growth rose a 10-month high on
the back of increased demand for
products and services.
Stanbic Bank Purchasing Managers’ Index
(PMI) for manufacturing and services rose to
54.2 in September from 52.1 in the previous
month. Anything above 50 denotes growth;
anything below, contraction.
“The private sector made a swift turn-
around in September as the PMI rose to its
highest level since December 2017,” said
Jibran Qureishi, Regional Economist for East
Africa at Stanbic Bank.
“Sporadic riots in parts of the country had
slowed down economic activity last month,
however domestic demand is clearly look-
ing up. In fact, firms raised output costs in
September, something they wouldn’t have
easily decided to do if domestic demand was
weak.”
The bank’s executives also said good qual-
ity products had helped to stimulate client
demand leading to a rise in new orders.
Benoni Okwenje, the bank’s head of fixed
income said rising customer demand also
encouraged companies to engage in input
buying. The PMI is a composite index,
calculated as a weighted average of five
individual sub-components: New Orders
(30%), Output (25%), Employment (20%),
Suppliers’ Delivery Times (15%) and Stocks
of Purchases (10%).

KQ returns to Libreville

K
enya’s national week via Yaounde, using Kenyan capital.
carrier, Kenya either an Embraer 190 or a Kenya Airways pulled
Airways, will Boeing B738 aircraft in the out of Libreville in 2014
once again airline’s usual two class following the Ebola out-
connect Nairobi and configuration. The return break in West Africa, leav-
Libreville, Gabon, starting flight out of Libreville will ing the field to RwandAir
Oct.29. The carrier will also route via Yaounde and Ethiopian.
operate five flights a on the way back to the

csr

Mutungo Primary School crowned 2018 Fresh Dairy Schools Program Championship

M
utungo Primary School
emerged champions of the
2018 Fresh Dairy Schools Pro-
gram winning a newly built
nursery block, following a highly com-
petitive yoghurt cup collection challenge.
The 1st Runner Up prize went to
Murchison Bay Primary School who
won a newly renovated multi-purpose
hall while the 2nd Runner Up prize was
taken by Kirinya Catholic Primary School
winning 20 classroom desks.
Speaking during the grand finale event
held at Mutungo Primary School on Oct.
03, Fresh Dairy Marketing Manager, Vin-
cent Omoth said ‘Fresh Dairy has for two
consecutive years run a schools program
aimed at educating children on nutrition
with an inclination towards encouraging
the consumption of 1-Yoghurt-a-Day as a
healthy and nutritious snack.
This year’s Fresh Dairy’s School
Program which started on March 15
successfully reached at least 300,000
primary school pupils as well as teachers
and parents in over 350 primary schools
across Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono
districts, a time during which free
yoghurt was given out to all students for
sampling to further re-emphasize the
1-Yoghurt-a-Day nutrition message.
The Head Teacher of Mutungo
Primary School, Innocent
Bainomugisha thanked Fresh Dairy for
giving back to the community.

30 Oct 12 - 18, 2018

 Business

Rethink proposed
IRA reform-UIA
By Isaac Khisa “Moving the industry to a

I
nsurers seem to be deter-
mined not to let govern-
ment make the Insurance
Regulatory Authority of
Uganda (IRA) a mere depart-
ment at the Bank of Uganda
without a fight.
The Uganda Insurers Asso-
ciation (UIA) say they fund the
regulator and that the plan to
collapse it into a department
will reduce its independence,
create inefficacies and stifle
Airtel Uganda Managing Director, VG Somasekhar, joins his team and customers industry growth.
to celebrate the customer service week at the company’s premises on Clement “One of the key reasons
Hill Road on Oct. 04, 2018.  INDEPENDENT/ Julius Businge being fronted for the proposed
reforms is that many agencies
have exerted a lot of pressure
on the Government budget,”
said David Kuria, the UIA Vice
Chairman and the Managing
Director of UAP Old Mutual
Insurance.
“This does not apply to IRA
which delivers its mandate
through an established strate-
gic partnership with the pri-
vate sector and in fact is 100%
funded by the industry players
through annual contributions.”
He said the independence of
the regulator has allowed for a
mode of supervision that has
fewer ambiguities, less bureau-
DTB Kampala Road Branch Manager, Carol Nabulime (in red top) cracies and very supportive to
joins customers to mark the customer service week on Oct. 03, private sector business.
2018.   INDEPENDENT/SILVER OFWONO
regulator whose key mandate
does not explicitly relate to
insurance even if that regulator
is the Bank of Uganda- whose
key mandate is monetary pol-
icy- in our opinion as players,
will stagnate if not retard our
progress,” he said.
This comes a month since
the cabinet agreed to merge
several government agencies,
scrap some, and return others
to the sector ministries in the
next three years to reduce gov-
ernment expenditure, a move
that has elicited mixed reac-
tions. UIA CEO, Paul Kavuma,
said the country presents a
huge growth opportunity for
insurance penetration and that
it is their expectation that the
government provides condu-
cive environment to rise insur-
ance penetration from 0.83% to
3% by 2025.
“It is imperative that we do
this in an environment that is
sound and secure as has been
ably demonstrated by the
IRA,” he said. Uganda has 29
insurers, 5 Health Membership
Organisations and a one re-
insurance company. Industry
premiums have more than
doubled over the last five years
to Shs 737bn.

Weekly share price movement (Oct. 05, 2018)

Security Oct.05 Oct. 01 Movement
BATU 30,000 30000 00
BOBU 140 143 2.0
CENT 1,048 1,072 2.2
QCL 262 262 00
DFCU 849 850 0.1
EABL 7,040 7,009 0.4
EBL 1,516 1,515 0.1
JHL 17,713 17,277 2.5
KA 453 378 19.8
KCB 1,469 1,515 3.0
NIC 16 16 00
NMG 2,602 2,614 0.5
NVL 400 402 0.5
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Head of Diplomacy Amb. Alfred Nnam (L) SBU 33 33 00
receives Uganda Waragi bottle manufactured by Uganda Breweries Limited UCHM 34 34 00
from Agaba Tumusiime, the Uganda Waragi brand manager during a press
UCL 23 23 00
briefing at the ministry headquarters in Kampala on Octo.04. The product
UMEME 350 350 00
would be displayed at all foreign missions as Uganda celebrates its 56th
ALSI -- -- --
independence anniversary.   INDEPENDENT/ Julius Businge

Oct 12 - 18, 2018 31

comment
By Shirin Ebadi and Christophe Deloire
Defending democracy’s essence
The right to trustworthy information produced in a free
and pluralistic environment is under threat
O
n December 10, 1948, the United
Nations General Assembly ad-
opted the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, affirming the
view that “the will of the people” – democ-
racy – should form the basis of any govern-
ment. But seven decades later, the world’s
democracies are in peril. After a fourfold
increase in the number of democracies be-
tween the end of World War II and 2000, we
are now in a sustained period of political
regression. Once-open societies are veering
toward dictatorship, and in many countries,
despotic tendencies are strengthening.
These trends can be reversed, but only
if we agree on the causes of democratic
backsliding and target our solutions
accordingly.
That is easier said than done. In her
1967 essay “Truth and Politics,” the
philosopher Hannah Arendt noted that,
“Freedom of opinion is a farce unless
factual information is guaranteed and
the facts themselves are not in dispute.”
Unfortunately, Arendt’s farce has
become our reality.
For any democracy to be meaningful,
its people need access to trustworthy
information produced in a free and
pluralistic environment. But this basic
requirement is being tested as never
before. Around the world, oligarchs are
buying up media outlets to promote their
interests and increase their influence,
while journalists who report on issues
like discrimination and corruption are
met with intimidation, violence, and
murder. How can we guarantee freedom
of opinion under such conditions?
Information and communication tech-
nologies were supposed to give us more
freedom, not less. The early Internet
democratised news and ended the domi-
nance of traditional publishers and pro-
government conglomerates. But this ini-
tial promise has given way to an “infor-
mation jungle,” where deep-pocketed
predators outmaneuver an unassuming
public. Today, governments wage infor-
mation wars; politicians use social media
to spread lies; and corporate lobbyists
disseminate deceptive content with
ease. As a study from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology recently found,
32 Oct 12 - 18, 2018
fake news spreads online faster than real
news – often significantly so.
Simply put, the globalisation of infor-
mation has tipped the scales in favour
of those who view falsehood as a tool
of control. Dictators easily export their
ideas to open societies, whereas content
produced under conditions of freedom
rarely moves in the opposite direction.
This challenge has been magnified by the
growth of multinational technology com-
panies, which have come to dictate the
architecture of the public sphere.
In the history of democracy, mecha-
nisms have evolved to improve the accu-
racy and ethics of journalism. Although
imperfect and often invisible, these regu-
latory protections have brought many
benefits to users and producers alike. But
the pace of change in the media industry
– for example, between television and
print, or news and advertising – has
blurred the clear distinctions on which
these rules were originally based.
Protecting democratic ideals in this
conflicting environment is a vital and
historic task. That is why Reporters
Without Borders (RSF) is joining with
Nobel laureates, technology specialists,
Democracy, with
its roots in the
Enlightenment
ideals of
freedom and
reason, must be
defended
journalists, and human rights activists to
launch the Information and Democracy
Commission. As co-chairs of this inde-
pendent initiative, our goal is to refocus
global attention on the value of “a free
and pluralistic public space,” and to
offer solutions that enable journalists to
work without fear of reprisal and allow
the public to access accurate information
easily.
In the coming weeks, we will draft an
International Declaration on Informa-
tion and Democracy, and in coordination
with the leaders of several democratic
countries, work to secure support from
governments around the world. Our
efforts will accelerate in mid-November,
when global leaders gather in Paris to
commemorate the 100th anniversary of
Armistice Day and to attend the Peace
Forum and the Internet Governance
Forum.
Democracy, with its roots in the
Enlightenment ideals of freedom and
reason, must be defended. Democratic
governments and citizens must not fall
victim to fake news, “trolls,” and the
whims of despots. The International Dec-
laration on Information and Democracy
is intended to strengthen open societies’
ability to combat authoritarian forces.
We all have the good fortune to be alive
during a period of extraordinary techno-
logical potential. And yet, we also have
the responsibility to ensure that new
ways to share information are not turned
into tools of oppression. As the mission
statement of our commission succinctly
puts it: “Democracy’s survival is at
stake, because democracy cannot survive
without an informed, open, and dynamic
public debate.”
Shirin Ebadi is a Nobel laureate and
human rights lawyer. Christophe Deloire
is Secretary General of Reporters Sans
Frontières (RSF).
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018.

By Andrew Mafundo
The anti-counterfeit goods Bill
Government failed to realise that the cost of
prevention is much lower than that of inaction
I
t is well known that the trade in
counterfeit goods is a problem however
few realize just how serious the problem
is.
According to Uganda National
Bureau Standards(UNBS), 54 per cent of
products on the market are either fake or
counterfeits and lots of these, sadly, are
locally made.
Tens of thousands of brands have been
impacted not only through theft of sales
and dilution of hard-fought reputations
but also through consumer confusion.
Counterfeits cut across sectors and
pause serious health and safety risks.
The most common ones are food and
beverages, toiletries, watches, perfumes,
medicines, cosmetics and lightening
creams, toys, iron sheets, electrical
products, mattresses, weighing scales,
paints, diapers, sanitary towels, steel
bars, cigarettes, medical instruments,
vehicle parts, vet drugs, phones, motor
oil, condoms, agro-inputs among others.
This trend inhibits Uganda’s economic
growth since potential investors defer
from doing business in a nation where
they believe that their products will be
widely forged. The people are generally
unable to distinguish between authentic,
falsified and counterfeit products
and anyone can buy a fake version of
everyday goods.
The problem is exacerbated by porous
borders, corruption and weak laws and
poorly funded enforcement organs. In
2017, 232 metric tonnes of counterfeit
goods worth sh1.7b were seized by
UNBS and 48 Metric tons of substandard
goods worth about 950 million were
destroyed between July and December
2017.
In spite of this, the Anti-Counterfeiting
Goods Bill that was introduced in
2015 with the aim of combating the
importation and sale of counterfeit
products on the Ugandan domestic
market was early this year withdrawn
from Parliament by Cabinet, stating that
there are other laws that can address the
gap.
By doing so, government failed to
realise that the cost of prevention is
much lower than that of inaction, and
that as cabinet, it has a responsibility
of fighting counterfeits especially now
when there is a substantial increase in
domestically produced fakes and the
new trend of selling counterfeits on
social media platforms .
The scope of counterfeiting is so big
and worse in the case of counterfeit
medicines. The patients are unaware that
they are taking a substandard medicine
and their conditions can worsen and, in
critical cases, be fatal.
According to World Health
Organisation, up to one-third of anti-
malarials are fake. This can partly
explain why Uganda has the world’s
highest malaria incidence of 478 cases
per 1,000 populations per year.
Not long ago, the media was awash
with stories about use of formalin -an
embalming agent that was being used
to keep meat and fish free from flies
and ostensibly fresh for days. The same
preservative is known to be a cancer –
causing agent and often used to preserve
bodies in mortuaries.
Unfortunately, the individuals profiting
from these criminal actions take public
safety as secondary to their profit
motivation, well knowing that we have
weak laws and that can hardly bring
them to justice.
Globally, Counterfeiting results in
huge losses in tax revenue .Recent
research by ICF International, found
that across the East African Community
(EAC), $500million was lost annually
in revenues from unpaid taxes by
counterfeit goods and in the case of
Uganda, we lose more than Shs 1 trillion
in annual revenue.
Therefore, because trade in counterfeit
goods thrives more in an informal
environment than in a restricted and
regulated setting, the government needs
to think twice before it implements the
transfer of some of its sensitive agencies
back to their line ministries; namely
Uganda Registration Services Bureau
(URSB) as it might heavily impact on
the economy and safety of its people. It
is essential that we intensify Intellectual
comment
property enforcement and push to have
successfully litigations against those who
have infringed on patents or trademarks.
We salute the role played by UNBS and
recent efforts by The Anti-Counterfeit
Network (ACN) in partnership with
Private Sector Foundation Uganda
to address the counterfeit problem.
However, for sustained effort, we need a
joint ambitious cross-functional roadmap
well designed to take the fight against
counterfeits very seriously and with
good cause.
Our weak regulatory standards,
systems and tracking mechanisms and
moral decadence create loop holes in
which counterfeiters can thrive.
We, therefore, need an urgent and
substantial investment in the intelligence
and investigations as well as unrelenting
commitment by not only government
and its agencies but also industries,
manufacturers, religious organisations,
citizens and other stakeholders to tackle
the problem of counterfeits.
The government in consultation with
its legislative, judicial and executive
authorities should reintroduce the
2015 Anti-Counterfeiting Goods Bill
so that they jointly make relevant and
punitive laws, tougher penalties, border
controls and above all, a coordinated and
cohesive strategy backed by financial
support to offer protection of the health
and safety of its citizens.
The media through their Corporate
Social Responsibility departments ought
to be engaged to create broad-based
awareness among citizens and empower
them to identify counterfeit foods as well
as report and fight corruption among the
enforcers.
We must act now, and swiftly, if we are
to avert a deeper crisis.
Andrew Mafundo is Executive Director of
Citizens’ Concern Africa
Andrew.mafundo@gmail.com
Oct 12 - 18, 2018 33
Healthy wallets and
unhealthy bodies
Findings on obesity and economic status
A
By Shukri Mohamed & Tilahun Haregu
frica is experiencing a demo-
graphic and nutrition transi-
tion. More and more people
are moving to urban areas.
Slum communities currently
constitute about 56% of the
urban population in sub-Saharan Africa.
That’s more than 200 million people, more
than the entire population of Nigeria.
Even as under-nutrition or not getting
enough calories and nutrients – continues
to be a problem particularly among the
poorest, overweight and obesity are grow-
ing challenges in poor urban areas. Being
over a healthy weight invites a host of non-
communicable diseases.
Recent research suggests that rapid
increases in obesity are a result of complex
interactions between factors such as people
eating higher-calorie diets and engaging
in lower levels of physical activity. Genetic
and environmental factors also play a role.
Our research set out to establish the rela-
tionship between obesity and income levels
in poor urban areas.
Previous research has established wealth
as a potential risk factor. But there have
been questions about exactly what the link
is, and whether income and obesity levels
are linked even in urban slums where all
incomes are very low, yet there is some
variation in socio-economic status.
34 Oct 12 - 18, 2018
We set out to investigate the relationship
further. Our aim was to gain insights that
would inform strategies to manage obesity
in Kenya’s poor urban areas.
Our research found that there was an
association between relatively higher eco-
nomic status and levels of obesity in a slum
setting. The study suggests that obesity lev-
els are higher in the higher economic brack-
ets – and particularly among women.
The research
The study was done in two Nairobi
slums, Korogocho and Viwandani. Data
was collected between 2014 and 2015. More
than 2,000 adults between 40 and 60 years
of age were included in the study. Data on
weight, height, and basic socio-economic
variables were collected by experienced and
trained field workers.
We examined the association between a
measure of socio-economic status – calcu-
lated by combining information on living
conditions and household assets – and body
mass index which is used as a measure of
obesity.
We found that one fifth of our study
population was obese. And nearly six times
more women were obese than men – 32.2%
compared to 5.6%.
We found a strong association between
body mass index and socio-economic sta-
tus. Women higher up the economic ladder
were more likely to be overweight. The
association was higher for women than for
men.
Interventions
The findings support the idea that eco-
nomic status could potentially be used as a
predictor of overweight and obesity in slum
settings though this would need further
exploration. Such predictors could prove
useful for rapid assessments of health and
socio-economic status in slum populations.
But policymakers must strike a care-
ful balance. As incomes increase among
the very poor, body mass index increases
– which is good for those who are under-
weight. But for those who are already a
healthy weight, increasing incomes mean
slum dwellers have a higher likelihood of
becoming overweight or obese.
Women are particularly at risk. This
could mean that much needed socio-eco-
nomic development in urban slums could
also usher in unintended increases in over-
weight and obesity, putting slum dwellers
at increased risk of non-communicable dis-
eases – even as they continue to face threats
from communicable diseases common to
areas with poor water and sanitation facili-
ties.
Because of this, interventions that aim
to improve the socio-economic status of
individuals in urban slums should, as a
starting point, integrate health promo-
tion programmes targeted at prevention
of obesity. Future policies targeting the
health of slum populations should pri-
oritise interventions for overweight and
obesity among higher income groups, and
underweight for the poorest.
Shukri Mohamed is Research officer, African
Population and Health Research Center and
Tilahun Haregu is an Honorary Fellow,
University of Melbourne
 ART | BOOKS | SOCIETY | TRAVEL | CULTURE

C
By Dominic Muwanguzi

eramic art is rare

on the Kampala’s
contemporary
art scene despite
it being one
of the oldest
crafts in Uganda. It goes back
many centuries as a vocation
traditionally for the men.
Across Uganda, they made
clay pots to collect water,
cook and dine, and store food
and other items. In Bruno
Sserunkuma’s Buganda, the
potter was central and the
Kabaka often assigned each of
his chiefs a specific group of
potters to supervise and ensure
they provide the royal court
with these household utensils.
Over 25, the senior lecturer
at the Makerere School of
Industrial and Fine- Art
in Kampala, has sought to
integrate ceramics into his
academic and artistic practice.
He has been producing
ceramics on his chosen themes
of functionality, fragility and
surfaces (clay-bodies). To mark
his quarter a century in art, he
is exhibiting some of his work.

25 years of art
As an area of academic gardens. He uses the ceramics
study, Bruno interrogates the and motifs on the figurines to
diversity between earthenware create vibrant but comfortable
bodies and stoneware bodies. environments.

He says he prefers earthenware
bodies because he can paint on
them unlike stone ware bodies
that appear dull.
The artist has a background
inpainting and this is evident
in his ceramics that feature
figurative imagery of human
figures, African masks, and
flora and fauna. He says he
uses stylised and graphical
figurines to comment on social
issues around him as he picks
up a piece that he decorated
with motifs of brightly
coloured birds.
“This was to respond to the
bird flu epidemic that later
on wiped out many species
of birds,” he says, “I wanted
to preserve these types of
birds by painting them on this
cylinder surface.”
memories
Uganda’s top ceramicist,
Bruno, shows off
experience in new exhibit
Like the diverse motifs that
dominate his ceramics, the
artist deploys different forms
in his art; ovals, cylinders,
spheres and bowls. This
is mainly to emulate the
creativity of the traditional
artisans. But it also breaks
the monotony of single-form
presentation and stimulates
varied visual appreciation
and narrative for the public.
In this way, the artist creates
a fusion of the traditional and
contemporary in his art.
The functionality of
Sserunkuma’s art is brought
to the fore through the glazing
of these objects such that
they can occupy an office
space, and home interior
and outdoor sceneries like
Ceramics production is
an interesting conversation;
especially the preservation
of traditional household
wares against the onslaught
of contemporary utensils
like aluminum and plastic
objects that are common in
homes today. Visitors to the
exhibition can see firsthand
the conservation of Uganda’s
indigenous practices in
the contemporary age.
Bruno’s desire is to inspire
research that is crucial for
ensuring authenticity amidst
experimentation in art.
25 years of Bruno
Sserunkuma’s Ceramic
Philosophy: A Retrospective,”
exhibit opened on Oct.05
until Oct.19.

Oct 12 - 18, 2018 35

Prince William plays football in Kenya
The Duke of Cambridge, while on a
working visit to Africa, joined the Number
Two Company of Irish Guards for a training
session at the Laikipia Training Area in
Kenya. Prince William is a Colonel of
the Irish Guards. They are known in the
country as the British Army Training Unit
Kenya (BATUK) and the Duke, dressed in
uniform, showed off his skills during a
football match. William, who is an avid
Aston Villa fan, brought footballs along
for the kickabout, as he was introduced
to the players. There were hugs when
the Duke met his namesake William at
the match before presenting him with an
Aston Villa football shirt. The main focus
of William’s week-long trip has been on
conservation efforts, with the aim to stop
the illegal wildlife trade. In Namibia,
the Duke joined rangers as they tracked
black rhinos in the Kunene region. He
also visited Tanzania, where he met with
President John Magufuli.

Woman’s mints Woman gets iPhone gravestone

millions from her
constipation!
Judy Edwards has been
struggling with constipation
her whole life, but the prob-
lem only got worse with age.
A few years ago, a medical
professional advised her to
use a foot stool while sitting
on the toilet, and that worked
surprisingly well for her, so
she passed on the same advice
to her husband Bill, then to
their son Bobby Edwards. He
is the one who saw the money
by perfecting the foot stool
into a Squatty Potty, started
manufacturing and marketing
them. in the first year, 2011,
the Edwards sold $17,000
worth of Squatty Potty stools,
but by 2016, annual sales had
skyrocketed to $16 million,
and sales have been climbing
ever since. The Squatty Potty
helps people poop easier
because it relaxes a kink in
the human colon better than
sitting on the toilet.
First Russian in line for latest iPhone can’t afford it
A man named Valery
recently became the star of
what may very well be the
most epic fail in the history
of iPhone launches. After
becoming the first person in
a monstrously long queue to
set foot inside the Apple store
in Moscow to buy an iPhone
XS, he left empty-handed
because he couldn’t afford to
buy it. But what made this
particular event special was
that the first eight people at
An unusual gravestone
has appeared in a cemetery
in the Russian city of Ufa.
Shaped like an Apple iPhone,
the monument stands on the
grave of a young woman.
The gravestone pays close
attention to the handset’s
detailing - complete with
the head of the giant queue
evaporated minutes before
the store opened. It turns out
they had never planned on
an Apple logo, side buttons
and even a black and white
image of the deceased woman
showing on the screen.
According to a Russian
newspaper, the woman
worked in Apple smartphones
retail and service.
buying a phone, hoping to sell
their places in line for absurd
amounts of money, instead.
Russian media reported that
Valerie tried selling their place
online for a whopping 500,000
rubles (Approx. Shs29 million),
but tore his ticket in half at
the door after failing to find a
buyer. Another wanted Shs23
million but also left home
empty handed. Valery had
bought his place in line early
for about Shs3 million.
Melania wears
`Colonial-Era’
hat in Kenya
American First Lady
Melania Trump donned a
white pith helmet during a
safari in Kenya on 05, which
some claim is “evocative of
colonialists,” CNN reports.
The network reported that
the helmet was often worn
by “European militaries in
their colonies throughout
Africa and in India,” and
soon became a “popular
sun hat” for European
tourists in the 1930s. Matt
Carotenuto, a historian at
St. Lawrence University,
said “Her attire is a signal
of her understanding of
what Africa is in 2018,” Kim
Yi, a politics professor at
the University of California,
Riverside, told The New
York Times. “It’s tired and
it’s old and it’s inaccurate.”
Trump was on her first
extended international tour
and visited Ghana, Malawi,
Kenya, and Egypt.

36 Oct 12 - 18, 2018

Different cars same fuel consumption: Mercedes Benz CLA 250 (L) and Toyota Camry
Vehicle fuel consumption
The facts and the fiction
By Motoring Guru
R
egarding fuel consumption,
Ugandan motorists can be
grouped into two; those that
watch the fuel gauge and
those that drive on empty. Both carry
tiny jerry cans in readiness for a dash
to the fuel station whenever they run
out. Faced with this scenario, one
would expect that Ugandan motorists
know quite a bit about fuel economy
and are fuel consumption aware. In
fact, anecdotal talk gives that impres-
sion.
“Oh, don’t buy that vehicle, those
are fuel guzzlers”
“On buy that, those ones merely lick
fuel”
How often do you here such talk?
Usually they will tell you that Toyotas
consume less than BMWs or Mercedes
Benz. Unfortunately it is all misin-
formed street talk. The reality is quite
different.
Do you know, for instance, that the
BMW 440i Coupe C –class with the 6
cylinder, 3 litre engine consumes 7.8
litres per 100 while the BMW 230i
Coupe S –class with the smaller 2 litre,
4 cylinder engine consumes 8.4. litres
per 100km? And the Ford Focus, with
the smaller 2 liters engine consumes
8.5 litres, the 2 Litre Honda Accord
9.2 litres per 100kms? Even the Toyota
Corolla, with its tiny 1.8 Litre engine
consumes 7.6 litres of fuel. That is not
far from the consumption of the Mer-
cedes Benz CLA250, C-Class with a
2-liter engine.
So the only value from general talk
about the fuel consumption of dif-
ferent vehicles and models is the rec-
ognition that fuel is a daily expense
and should be a major determinant of
which car one drives. It is best to look
at the manufacturer’s information for
each vehicle. That way one can pick
the most fuel efficient and appropriate
size.
But motorists should also know that
fuel economy does not depend on the
car alone. It matters how you drive?
Do you drive only when you need
to? Do you follow the manufacturers’
operation and maintenance recom-
mendation for your vehicle?
Merely following fuel ratings for
various vehicles is not enough. It may
help you make an informed, energy
efficient purchase decision; especially
when you compare different vehicles.
But you must remember that vehicle
manufacturers give these ratings
based on tests carried out in standard,
controlled laboratory and analytical
procedures. They are not the condition
under which you drive your vehicle
on the road. Fuel consumption rat-
ings show the fuel consumption that
may be achieved with a properly
maintained vehicle driven with fuel
efficiency in mind. The ratings pro-
vide a reliable comparison of the fuel
consumption of different vehicles.
However, no laboratory test can simu-
late all combinations of conditions that
may be experienced by drivers. Your
vehicle’s fuel consumption will vary
from its published fuel consumption
ratings, depending on how, where and
when you drive. The drivers accelera-
tion, driving speed, the age and con-
dition of your vehicle, temperature,
weather, traffic and road conditions,
the drivetrain, and the powered acces-
sories (like air conditioning) installed
on your vehicle will affect the fuel
consumption of your vehicle.
In addition, small variations in
vehicle manufacturing may cause fuel
consumption differences in the same
make and model, and some vehicles
do not attain optimal fuel consump-
tion until they are “run in” for about
6,000 to 10,000 km.
Generally, however, these 5 fuel-
efficient driving techniques will
reduce your fuel consumption and
carbon dioxide emissions by as much
as 25%; accelerate gently, maintain a
steady speed, anticipate traffic, avoid
high speeds, and coast to decelerate.
Oct 12 - 18, 2018 37
INTERVIEW
Congolese doctor wins
Nobel Peace Prize 2018
D
enis Mukwege is a crusading gyn-
aecologist who has spent more
than two decades treating appall-
ing injuries inflicted on women in
DRC. On Oct.05 he was awarded the 2018
Nobel Peace Prize together with Nadia Mu-
rad; a former terrorist sex slave from Iraq
who became a UN Goodwill Ambassador.
They were honoured for their efforts to end
the use of sexual violence as a weapon of
war and armed conflict. In 2017, he gave an
interview to journalist Mattie Kahn from
the weekly American feminist newsletter,
Lenny Letter. It was run under the title;
‘The doctor who’s saved 46,000 Congolese
women — and isn’t done yet’. Excerpts:
Mattie Kahn: You went into medicine
to treat children but ended up focusing on
their mothers. How did that happen?
Denis Mukwege: When I learned medi-
cine, what I believed I should solve was a
problem of children because it was what
shocked me (as a child). But when I started
to work in my country for the first time, the
first day, two women died in giving birth. I
learned that you can focus on children, but
there are no children if mothers are dying in
giving birth. So, after one year, I decided to
become an obstetrician.
I worked in France for five years to get
the certificate to be an obstetrician. I did
that for fifteen years until the war started.
And when the war started, I was the only
OB-GYN in the region. And I started to hear
and then see women with fistula, with all
kinds of issues, and people brought them to
me because I was the only OB-GYN in the
area. I saw that, and I changed again. I stud-
ied. And now I’m a surgeon.
It would have been easier to just think, I
wish I could help, but that’s not my area of
expertise. It sounds like each time you came
across new problems, you decided, I’m
going to make that my area of expertise.
Most of the time, it’s easier to close eyes,
close ears, and say, It’s not my problem. I
don’t have expertise. I can’t do anything.
Then, you have your peace. But I think this
is a bad way. When people decide to be
indifferent, the consequences are ter-
rible. I say to everyone, “You can
do something.” Everyone can
learn. Everyone can be there
for each other. And it doesn’t
have to be big. Just compas-
sion can change someone’s
life, showing them empathy.
Just to approach someone
with your heart and share
38 Oct 12 - 18, 2018
the humanity of another. That can change stand also what happened. And most of
the world. the time, what happened is someone just
The women you treat — do you find that denied their humanity. So you need to give
showing that empathy and compassion them back this humanity, and if you suc-
can make a big difference in their healing ceed, there is a sense of hope, because they
process? can believe in themselves.
When someone rapes a woman, it’s just
to refuse her humanity. It’s just to say, “You
are nothing. I can do what I want on your
body. Your body doesn’t belong to you.
I can take it. I can use it.” When it
happens, many times women
will ask, “Why me? Why did
this happen to me?” And,
you know, (the reaction in)
our society is always to
say, “Oh, it was her fault.
Why was she there?
What was she doing?”
People are trying to
get different reasons to
explain why women are
raped. But there is no
reason. It’s not women’s
fault.
In the beginning, I did
the operations, and that
was it. But by the second
year, I started to under-
stand that I’m doing the
surgery, and I have to do
that, but I have an impres-
sion that not all women
are healed. I could see the
difference between the
ones who could decide
that Now I’m good, I can
start a new life, and the
ones who could not. So we
introduced the psychological
care, and that has been very
important.
When we are treating women,
it’s not just to treat their
bodies. You must
under-
 INTERVIEW
At Panzi, what does that pro- the hospital is known now, but because they are women, but that no one will return him.

A
cess look like?
woman needs to feel,
I’m again me. I’m
in my body. Many
times, you can see that
she starts to (put on) makeup.
Many times, that’s the first step;
she wants makeup. I once treat-
ed a sixteen-year-old girl. When
she came in, she was very quiet.
She couldn’t really accept (what
had happened to her). It was
very hard. I operated on her,
and we succeeded to repair the
fistula, and she became conti-
nent. But she wasn’t herself.
One day she came to me
with makeup on, and she said,
“Dad, how do you find me?
Am I beautiful?” And really,
it was like she shined. She just
shined. When we don’t want to
take care of ourselves, it means
we don’t believe our bodies are
ours. These women have the
impression their bodies—“It’s
not mine. I don’t want to touch
it.” When they really start to
heal, the first step is to accept
that “It’s me.”
Panzi has gained a real reputa-
tion around the world, and
your work is well-known.
When did you realise other
people were interested in the
techniques the hospital uses to
treat patients?
Oh, it took time. And it will
still take more time, because
the problem is still there. The
first time I was here, I think it
was in 2007, in New York; ten
years later, I am still doing this
advocacy around this problem.
It’s not that: OK, the world
knows what we do, so that’s
good and that’s wonderful. No,
no, I don’t think that. It needs
to be, “I know, and I want to
act to make a difference, to help
the women of Congo.” After
ten years, the world has still not
taken that action, and so the
issue continues.
What would it look like for
people in positions of power to
take that kind of action? What
needs to be done?
We have good resolutions
(against violence). But the pro-
cess is not really working as
it should work. The question
is, after seventeen years in try-
ing to help women, are there
enough women in the business
association? Enough women in
government? Enough women
in the law? We know the prob-
lem, and we know the solution.
It’s men who are still discussing
security and peace, and who is
suffering? It’s women, unfortu-
nately. It’s men who are on the
top, still. But who needs space?
It’s women.
We need to join our forces
— men and women. And so,
we do not give women space
because they are competent. We
give women space because they
can do a job differently and
make our world better.
Your work carries real risk.
Five years ago, you were al-
most assassinated, and the
threat was so grave you had to
flee Congo. Why did you de-
cide to come back?
Several years ago, I made an
assessment about the situa-
tion of women in Congo at the
United Nations. It was 2012,
and I said, “It’s not acceptable.
The international communities
are not doing enough. How
many more women must suf-
fer in Congo? When will the
world act?”
When I returned to Congo,
five people with guns came to
my place. They waited for me.
When I came back to my house,
they started to shoot. One man
was with me; he worked in my
home. When the bullets came,
he pushed me, and he’s the one
who was shot. He died in my
house.
It was a turning (point0 for
me, and especially for my chil-
dren. We left Congo and went
to Belgium. But the women,
they’re writing everyone,
even the president: “We want
our doctor back.” After two
months, these women decide
that, OK, so we are now sure
We must do it ourselves. Each
Friday, they start to bring fruits
and vegetable, sell it (at the
market), and bring the money
to the hospital to pay the ticket
(for my return).
These women don’t have one
dollar per day for their own
lives, but they could get $50
each Friday to pay for my tick-
et. They had been told the ticket
would be very expensive; it can
cost for not only me, but my
family, maybe $5,000, they said.
And they said, “We’ll do it with
our means, but what we want
is to get him back.” When these
women brought the money to
the hospital, I couldn’t resist.
When I arrived at my house
in Congo, they came with food,
chicken, beans, everything.
And they said, “We have here
what you need.” They were 25
women, and they said, “We will
stay here to be your security.”
In front of the police, they said,
“You are not able to protect our
doctor; now we are going to
protect him ourselves. If some-
one comes with guns, he will
kill 25 women who are mothers
before they reach him.” I’m
sure that many men love me,
but they could not do the same.
And this is what I know about
the strength of women. It’s
women who have a sense not
only for themselves but for how
we can be better together.

About doctor Denis Mukwege

He has helped 46,000 and more
Congolese women victims of abhorrent
sexual violence through surgery,
psychological treatment, and hope.
By Mattie Kahn
When Dr. Denis Mukwege was still a
child, his father, a pastor, would take him
on pilgrimages to visit the sick in Bukavu,
a city in the eastern Congo. Once, he and
his father went to see a child who was in
near-fatal condition. They prayed for him,
and after, Mukwege’s father stood to leave.
Mukwege was horrified. When he was sick,
his father didn’t rely only on prayer to heal
him. Mukwege insisted: “Give medicine to
this child.’”
“My dad said, ‘Denis, I’m not a medical
doctor,’” Mukwege remembers. He was
eight years old, and it was the first time he’d
ever seen his father at a loss. A moment like
that; “it leaves an impression,” Mukwege
tells me when I met him at an event in
late September 2017 to honor his world-
renowned efforts to end sexual violence
and treat its victims in Congo. And it’s that
experience that decided it — he would be a
doctor. Mukwege faced his father: “You can
pray, but I will give medicines.”
Three decades later, Mukwege, by then
trained as an OB-GYN, opened Panzi Hos-
pital, a complex of facilities built to improve
health outcomes for pregnant women in
Bukavu. But as patients streamed in, Muk-
wege realized he’d miscalculated the condi-
tions in the area. It wasn’t just the disease
and starvation. One by one, women arrived
with horrific, gruesome injuries; they’d
been so violently raped, their bodies had
been torn apart. Amid persistent war and
constant abuse, Mukwege has treated over
46,000 women. At Panzi, he and his staff
have implemented a five-pillar method,
devised to help women reclaim a sense of
self-determination in the aftermath of vio-
lence. The process includes medical care,
psychological treatment, economic support,
and guidance including job training, advice
on how to reintegrate into their communi-
ties, and aid to pursue justice in court. “We
can’t just treat the finger or the ear,” Muk-
wege explains. “We have to see the person
as an entire whole.”
A little while before our interview, a for-
mer patient sends Mukwege a 30-second
video. She’s young — maybe eighteen or
twenty. She talks quickly, her voice loud
and clear, like a bell. While we watch, Muk-
wege translates: “She’s learning to make
karate, so she can protect me” — she wants
to do for him what he’s done for her. Muk-
wege tells me he’s operated on this woman
ten times; he’s had to repair an obstetric
fistula, reconstruct her vagina, and remove
her uterus. He’s had to put her back togeth-
er. But “because we treat her,” he says, “we
bring her a life.”
I asked him where he finds the resolve
he needs to do his job, knowing that there
will be more patients — more women and
children and babies who arrive at Panzi
with such terrible wounds. Mukwege looks
up from the video. “I have this feeling that
even if it’s hard, I have to work,” he says.
He points to the woman, her face frozen
onscreen in a smile: “Look at her, and see.
Does this answer your question?”

Oct 12 - 18, 2018 39

Global comment
By Aliko Dangote
Africa’s future and Education
Africa needs another one million university-trained
researchers to tackle its pressing development challenges
I
t is time for an entrepreneurial and
knowledge revolution in Africa. Only a
properly educated workforce and en-
trepreneurial class will have the skills
and drive to thrive as new technologies
change the nature of work, leisure, the en-
vironment, and society – and to tackle our
continent’s most pressing challenges.
Many people in Africa and beyond
share this view. When French President
Emmanuel Macron visited Nigeria in July
2018, he offered a bold prediction: if Afri-
ca’s youngest entrepreneurs worked hard
and innovated, he said, they would change
their countries and transform the world.
Similarly, when Facebook’s Mark Zuck-
erberg visited a Co-Creation Hub in Lagos
in 2016, he was impressed by the “energy”
of the country’s youthful innovators – the
social entrepreneurs, tech companies, and
investors who are collaborating to solve
some of Nigeria’s toughest challenges.
But that energy can go only so far
without education. Indeed, while Macron
and Zuckerberg are right to be inspired
by Africa’s youth, the entrepreneurial and
knowledge revolution that is needed to
ensure a prosperous future for the con-
tinent can happen only if there is also an
education revolution. Simply put, we need
to get all of Africa’s children in school, so
that the next generation of entrepreneurs
has the skills it needs to succeed.
Africa faces huge challenges in reforming
its education sector. While access to edu-
cation has expanded dramatically over
the last 25 years, and more boys and girls
are in classrooms than ever before, many
young people are still not learning what
they need to thrive now and in the future.
If current trends continue, by 2050 some
one-third of Africa’s one billion young
people will lack basic proficiency in math,
reading, and other subjects. Millions will
be unemployable and unproductive.
Today’s educational shortcomings
weaken Africa’s development capacity.
According to the World Economic Forum,
Africa needs another one million univer-
sity-trained researchers to tackle its most
pressing health, energy, and development
challenges.
But educating those scientists and poten-
tial entrepreneurs is an uphill battle. Tech-
40 Oct 12 - 18, 2018
nology has transformed the modern work-
place, but curricula, modes of learning
and instruction, and teacher quality all
continue to lag. Even good schools exhibit
a gap between the skills students need –
like critical thinking and problem solving
– and what they are being taught. Unless
such shortcomings are addressed, Africa’s
future workforce will be unable to lead the
type of change many are expecting.
To be sure, Africa is not alone in facing
this challenge. According to a 2016 report
by the International Commission on
Financing Global Education Opportunity
(the Education Commission), where I serve
as a commissioner, by 2030, more than 800
million children – half the world’s school-
age population – will graduate or drop
out of school without the skills to secure a
decent job. This is a global learning crisis,
and it demands a global solution.
One of the biggest obstacles to improving
education quality is financing. Today,
only 10% of official development assis-
tance funds education programs in poor
countries. Clearly, that share needs to
increase. But even an increase in interna-
tional funding levels would not be enough
to ensure that every child in every school
On average,
the poorest
countries
spend just 3%
of their national
budgets on
schooling, while
middle-income
countries spend
an average of 4%
was learning. To accomplish that, we need
new approaches to supporting education
and new mechanisms to solicit and deliver
financing.
For several years, I have joined colleagues
from around the world in government,
civil society, and the private sector to help
the Education Commission study funding
solutions. Our big, innovative idea is to
create an International Finance Facility
for Education (IFFEd), which pools donor
funds to make it easier to secure loans from
multilateral institutions like the World
Bank and the African Development Bank.
It also seeks to help lower-middle-income
countries access credit at favorable rates
and avoid the debt trap of high-interest
loans. Ultimately, by leveraging $2 bil-
lion in donor guarantees, the IFFEd will
make $10 billion in grants and conces-
sional funding available to the some of the
world’s most challenged countries.
But change needs to start at home. The
facility will succeed only if African coun-
tries increase their domestic spending
on education. On average, the poorest
countries spend just 3% of their national
budgets on schooling, while middle-
income countries spend an average of 4%.
Our data indicate that those figures will
need to increase to 5-6% to make a lasting
difference. While investments in physical
infrastructure like roads and railways are
critical, investments in young minds are
equally important.
It costs about $400 a year to educate
a school-age child in Africa. That is a
fortune for a poor family struggling to
make ends meet. But for governments in
Africa and around the world, it is a small
price to pay to train the creators of future
prosperity. After all, as Nelson Mandela
famously said, “Education is the most
powerful weapon which you can use to
change the world.”
Aliko Dangote is an African industrialist,
entrepreneur, philanthropist, and member of
the Education Commission.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018.
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