News analysis Health Business

Ugandan traders battle Mulago’s breakthrough Coffee’s future lebrating

Indians over fish maws heart bypass surgery in dilemma Ce

Issue No. 509 Feb 23 - March 01, 2018 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8
Years

Fight over Shs44 trillion

mobile money
Telecoms protest State House move
to monitor business

Money
60m
transfered
MTN
Mobile
Money
55 m
Airtel
Money

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Independent Publications Limited, Plot 82/84, Kanjokya Street, P. O. Box 3304, Kampala, Uganda
Tel: +256-312-637-391/ 2/ 3/ 4 | Fax: +256-312-637-396 | E-mail: editorial@independent.co.ug,
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INBOX

Issue No. 509 Feb 23 - March 01, 2018

Money
60m
Fight over transfered
Shs44 trillion MTN
mobile money Mobile
Money
Telecoms protest 55 m
State House move to Airtel
monitor business
Money
The Week The Last Word Analysis Business Arts &
Culture
4|Parliament The problem 14|Mulago’s 24|Coffee’s future
honours Heart breakthrough heart in dilemma:
institute surgeons with Africa: bypass surgery: Kampala
35|Mistress
of sculpture
If our The doctors and the conference
celebrates 25
countries patients tell their story discusses ways of
years
increasing output;
4|Parliament vets remain poor, but many wonder
newly appointed it’s because its who would buy it 37|Hands-free
judges amidst phone
complaints
leaders and 16|Fish maw wars:
use while driving:
elites are too Ugandan traders battle
25|NSSF in How safe is that?
Chinese, Indians, over
kind to their corporate
lucrative business
4|Districts with people to force citizenship drive:
Elderly grants see Fund’s customer
reduced poverty transformation satisfaction rate
levels has grown from
49% seven years
ago to 92% as at
the end of last
December

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, Agather Atuhaire, Julius Businge.
DESIGN/LAYOUT: Sarah Ngororano, Harriet Jamwa.

PUBLISHER: Independent Publications Limited, Plot 82/84, Kanjokya Street, P. O. Box 3304, Kampala, Uganda
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2 Feb 23 - March 01, 2018

 Offline

The President Museveni

receives the interim
report from lady
Justice Catherine
Bamugemereire who
leads the commission
of inquiry into land
matters shortly after
their meeting at the “A church that hears nothing when the
State lodge in Kawumu
Luwero on Feb 15. noise of disagreeable and discordant
governance is everywhere and evident, is
a deaf church.” Justice James Ogoola urging
religious leaders to speak out on politics

Deborah Malac, the

American Ambassador
to Uganda giving a
speech during the 16th
African fine coffee
conference on Feb
15. She pledged to
work with the coffee “Everything in this country is attached
farmers to boost
yields for export to the
to Ghosts. Ghost refugees, ghost schools,
USA.   INDEPENDENT/ ghost MPs and Cabinet ministers. We
JIMMY SIYA have ghosts everywhere and corruption
is motivating these ghosts.” Prof.
Venansius Baryamureeba, former presidential
candidate

Women of Nakasongora
matching in a campaign
against cancer. This
campaign was sponsored by
Uganda Non Communicable
Diseases Alliance. (UNCDA)

“If the NRM feels Museveni has

overstayed it will recall him but the
NRM does not feel that way right now”
JOfwono Opondo, Government spokesperson,
on Jacob Zuma’s forced resignation by the ANC

NGOs in trouble over International marketing Money MPs

20 alleged misappropriation
of refugee cash 50 firms that will be hosted
at the Pearl of Africa Shs20bn requested for revival
of cooperatives
Tourism Expo

Feb 23 - March 01, 2018 3

week
Boda Boda riders set
to be registered Parliament honours Heart institute surgeons
Amidst increasing complaints
about the Boda Boda industry
being unregulated, the
government will soon start
registering all cyclists in
Kampala once drafting of
guidelines is complete. Kampala
City Council Authority’s
Director for Corporate Affairs
Peter Kaujju revealed this to
journalists saying they are
currently engaging relevant
authorities where the industry
falls to see what’s required
for the registration exercise to
kick off. He said the plan is to
release a registration roadmap
highlighting which areas to be
registered first in addition to
ousting guidelines which will
provide the procedure one
has to follow to engage in the
business which will involve
taxes to be paid, areas gazatted
as stages, identification for
riders and the procedure to elect
leaders among others.
This move however follows
sharp disagreements between
leaders of several Boda Boda
associations and allegations
of some of them involving in
criminal activities that recently
Abdallah Kitatta, the leader
of a faction Boda Boda 2010
was arrested over engaging in
criminal activities. However, in
2013, the authority attempted to
register Boda Bodas operating
in the city but the exercise was
halted by police as many of
them resisted the exercise and
rivalry between the different
associations intensified.
Dial
4 Feb 23 - March 01, 2018
Parliament on Feb.15 moved
a resolution to honor sur-
geons from the Uganda Heart
Institute who have success-
fully conducted two surgeries
on patients suffering from
Coronary artery heart disease.
Dubbed, triple and double
coronary bypass heart surger-
ies, the operations conducted
by a team of 14 experts from the
heart institute led by surgeons
Dr. William Manyilirah and
Parliament vets newly appointed judges amidst complaints
The 14 judges to the High
Court and the Court of Appeal
appointed by the President
were last week vetted by parlia-
ment’s appointment committee.
However the speaker Rebecca
Kadaga headed committee
didn’t confirm all of them
as they received complaints
against five nominees; Justice
Stephen Musota and Justice
Christopher Madrama, nomi-
nated for appointment as Jus-
tices of Appeal. The others were
Paul Gadenya, Alex Ajiji and
*134 * 7#
Tom Mwambu were the first
of the kind in the country to be
done by local doctors whereby
patients who have previously
required the treatment have
had it done abroad.
In a resolution, Ruhinda
North MP Thomas Tayebwa
asked that parliament makes an
annual allocation of an equiva-
lent of a sum of Shs10billion to
the institute successively the
next five years commencing
Asiimwe Tadeo, nominated for
appointment as judges of the
High Court.
According to a Feb.15 state-
ment from Parliament, the
complainants against the judi-
cial officers included Kercan
Prosper, a Grade II Magistrate,
who complained about his
administrative transfer from
Nabweru Court to Kiboga. He
said his transfer was malicious
and intended to frustrate his
pursuit of a master’s degree.
Another one – Male Mabirizi
from FY 2018/2019 to cater for
the improvement of services at
the institute.
Meanwhile, the Institute has
registered a growing trend in
heart operations whereby this
year they are planning to carry
out 650 operations of which
400 of these are catheterization
procedures, 100 open heart
surgeries and 150 closed and
other surgeries like the bypass
procedures.
complained of being prevented
from sitting at the bar.
According to parliament,
once the complaints were
received, the office of the
speaker set out to investigate
the matter as the complainants
had already filed their griev-
ances with the Judicial Service
Commission (JSC).
The appointments committee
however is said to have estab-
lished that all the complaints
filed with the JSC had no merit
and proceeded to vet them.
*terms and conditions apply
 Week

Districts with Elderly grants see reduced poverty levels Kirumira legally before
elderly and other vulnerable people. In police tribunal, court
what can be seen as the most significant
contribution of SAGE to growth and Buganda Road
development yet, analysis of the UBOS Court on Feb.15 dis-
household survey 2016/17 established missed embattled
that poverty increased across the former Buyende
country from 19.7 per cent in 2013 to District Police com-
mander and Assis-
21.4 percent in 2016—an increase of 1.7
tant Superintendent
per cent. However, in SAGE districts the
of Police Moham-
story was different with poverty rates
mad Kirumira’s
falling from 31.1 per cent to 30.8 per
application that
cent—a drop of 0.3 per cent. In 15 non- sought uncondi-
SAGE benefiting districts with similar Mohammad Kirumira
tional release from
socio-economic characteristics as the 15 police custody,
SAGE benefitting districts, the poverty work.
having spent more However Kiru-
rates in non-SAGE benefiting districts than 48 hrs without
increased from 21.7 per cent to 23.5 per mira’s Father
being charged. Abubakar Kawooya
SAGE districts have witnessed improved cent—an increase of 1.8 per cent. A 2016 Grade One
agricultural output UNICEF-sponsored evaluation of SAGE who filed this appli-
Magistrate Robert cation together with
using UBOS 2009 and 2013 national Mukanza dismissed
Districts that received grants from household survey data compared the his Lawyer Jude
the application on Mbabali were not in
the Ministry of Gender, Labour and 15 SAGE districts against 15 similar grounds that Kiru-
Social Development have seen a drop districts. The study showed that SAGE court to receive the
mira being a police ruling.
in poverty levels, according to a recent contributed to a six-percentage point officer at the rank Kirumira has
analysis by Uganda Bureau of Statistics increase in employment and an 80 per of Assistant Super- been in detention
(UBOS). While poverty levels in districts cent growth in median wages in SAGE intendent of Police, since Feb.01 when
have generally gone up, the study versus non-SAGE districts. A more recent is legally before the he was arrested by
notes that districts which have been study just released, conducted by the Police Disciplin- the Police Flying
receiving monthly grants of Shs25000 United Nations University/University of ary Tribunal, and Squad in Bulenga
under the ministry’s Social Assistance Maastricht in the Netherlands, University legally confined in a Wakiso district.
Grants for Empowerment (SAGE), have of Manchester (UK) and the School of gazetted place pre- Since then he has
seen poverty levels decline. Some of Social Sciences of Makerere University scribed by the law. been held at Nalufe-
the districts include; Amudat, Apac, helps explain how SAGE contributes to Magistrate nya Detention
Kaberamaido, Katakwi, Kiboga, Kole, growth and development. SAGE is run Mukanza noted Centre in Jinja and
Kyankwanzi, Kyegegwa, Kyenjojo, under the Expanding Social Protection Buganda Road has been appearing
Moroto, Nakapiripirit, Napak, Nebbi, Programme by the government of Court has therefore before the police
Zombo, Yumbe etc with over 154,000 Uganda through Ministry of Gender and no jurisdiction to tribunal of charges
beneficiaries. The grant targets the supported by UK and Irish Aid. question or interfere of misconduct and
with the tribunal’s corruption.
competence and
Ethiopia declares state of emergency Toxic substances
after Prime Minister resignation found in foreigners’ Sam Mwandha is
bodies, Kayima new UWA boss
Ethiopia’s Prime have been lost too. A
Minister Hailemariam day after the Prime Sam Mwandha has replaced Andrew
Desalegn’s Minister’s resignation Seguya as the new Executive Director
announcement that he the country’s Minister The police spokesperson of Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).
had resigned came off for Defense Siraj Emilian Kayima revealed to Mwandha a Veteran Conservationist
as a surprise. In this Fegessa said a state of journalists on Feb.19 that foreign with experience spanning 20 years in
Feb.15 televised speech, emergency was imposed substances were found in bod- wildlife management and conservation
Desalegn said he had on the country and that ies of the two foreigners they competed and beat the incumbent and
resolved to step down it will last six months. discovered dead in top Kampala Achilles Byaruhanga of Nature Uganda
to allow for smooth He said government has hotels. The two foreigners – for the job.
reforms, a thing that made efforts to curtail Tersvouri Toomajuha Petteri Mwandha has been serving as a chief
happened for the first violence but the fights from Finland and Alex Sebas- of party at African Wildlife Foundation.
time in the country’s have continued and tian from Sweden were found Before that, he worked as Executive Sec-
history. infrastructure has been dead at Pearl of Africa Hotel on retary at Greater Virunga Transbound-
This happens amidst damaged a thing that is Feb.05 and Sheraton Kampala ary Collaboration (GVTC) and also at the
unrest in the country forcing the government hotel on Feb.06 respectively. Authority as Director for Conservation.
where outbreaks to come up with more The bodies were cleared for Once confirmed in this position, he
of violence have measures to normalize evacuation last week after post- will now be in charge of all the national
displaced many people the situation. mortem exams were completed parks, sanctuaries and community wild-
whereas some lives life areas across the country

Feb 23 - March 01, 2018 5

Week

MTN reduces Trial date for Gashumba fraud case set

data rates Buganda Road Court has set sonate Ministry of defense the Republic of South Suda-
next Monday February 26 as officials and fraudulently obtain nese Ministries of Agriculture,
MTN Uganda has revised the date to hear a case in which money from two Dutch nation- Health, Education, Finance and
data rates to continue the drive Kampala City socialite Frank als, under pretext of offering Transport.
towards ensuring offering Gashumba and his brother them tenders to supply farm Chief Magistrate James
affordable internet to Ugan- Innocent Kasumba are accused equipment to the said Ministry. Ereemye Mawanda set the
dans. The reduction in data of fraud. Prosecution further alleges trial date after Resident State
is expected to drive further The two are said to have con- that Gashumba and Kasumba Attorney Jonathan Muwaganya
internet connectivity, facilitate nived with a Tour and Travel were found in possession of informed court that investiga-
business growth and enable guide Ismail Kiyingi, to imper- narcotics and forged IDs from tions in the case are complete.
communication through inter-
net-based channels. The rate
reduction, according to Wim
Vanhelleputte the MTN Ugan-
da CEO, is an indication that
as uptake and internet usage
continues to grow, the inter-
net rates will also continue to
fall. “What we are currently
witnessing is data revolu-
tion coming into full swing.
The reduction in pricing is
by over 100%, indicating our
commitment towards internet
connectivity and affordability
for all,” he said. The revised
data bundles are not just
price based but also include
increased volumes for a lower
price. For instance, the lower
data bundle threshold has
been increased to 15MBs from
10MB at a price of Shs250. For The Gashumba brothers in the dock with the co-accused
Shs5000, a customer would
get 325MB.
MPs visit sugar factory after Lugazi leaders’ petition
On Feb.13, members of par- The committee headed by Isin- treatment plant where he told
liament attached to the Natural giro South MP Alex Byarugaba them that it’s where the water
Resources Committee visited had also received reports that is collected and treated before
Sugar Corporation of Uganda the factory directly discharges being released and that the
Limited (SCOUL) factory in water waste into the nearby allegations were unfounded.
Lugazi Municipality following streams without treating it. But, they conceded that some
a petition by local leaders that However, the MPs were measures put in place by the
the area is suffering from foul guided on a tour by Mehta National Environmental Man-
smell after the factory failed to Group of Companies Regional agement Authority (NEMA)
properly dispose off their waste. Director Suresh Sharma to their were not being followed.

6 Feb 23 - March 01, 2018

Humour Did you know?
This super wood
could replace steel

Engineers at the University of

Maryland, College Park (UMD)
have found a way to make wood
Former Buyende District Police Commander Muhammed Kirumira facing various more than 10 times stronger and
charges, protested the bail conditions he termed as “harsh”. The conditions required
him to get a senior officer above his rank to stand surety for him. tougher than before, creating a
natural substance that is stronger
than many titanium alloys. “This
new way to treat wood makes it 12
times stronger than natural wood
and 10 times tougher,” said Liang-
bing Hu of UMD’s A. James Clark
School of Engineering and the lead-
er of the team that did the research
published in the journal `Nature’.
“It is both strong and tough, which
is a combination not usually found
in nature,” said Teng Li, the co-
leader of the team and Samuel P.
Langley Associate Professor of
mechanical engineering at UMD’s
President Museveni has warned religious leaders to stop provoking him with calls to leave power stating that Clark School. His team measured
he won’t accept to be guided on issues which he knows better. the dense wood’s mechanical
properties. “It is as strong as steel,
but six times lighter. It takes 10
times more energy to fracture than
natural wood. It can even be bent
and molded at the beginning of
the process.” The team also tested
the new wood material and natu-
ral wood by shooting bullet-like
projectiles at it. The projectile blew
straight through the natural wood.
The fully treated wood stopped
the projectile partway through.
“This kind of wood could be used
in cars, airplanes, buildings -- any
application where steel is used,”
South Africa’s new president Cyril Ramaphosa took the oath on Feb
15 after being elected by the parliament in Cape Town Hu said.

Feb 23 - March 01, 2018 7

 News analysis Health Business
Maize everywhere, After the Mengo Sugar price to lebratin
but no store anywhere Hospital death drop further Ce g

Issue No. 508 Feb 16 - 22, 2018

Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

Years

Shs700bn loan saga

The politics behind calls to censure
Kasaija, fire Muhakanizi

Inbox
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www.independent.co.ug

Letters are Africans have enough resources

welcome ! Refer to: “Fashionable with foreigners (ii) mort- There are enough
The Editor welcomes short and nonsense” (The Indepen- gage the future of the whole resources to spare. It is the
concise letters from our esteemed dent Feb.09). Mwenda nation including the yet-to- management aka gover-
readers on topical issues. Please subscribes to the ‘man-eat- be-born by incurring unnec- nance which is defective.
send them to:
The Editor, The Independent man’ school of thought. The essary debts (iii)neglecting You don’t have to industri-
Publications Ltd, politicians request for votes youth and unwittingly alise Uganda. Agriculture
P.O Box 3304, with polite bows but with creating a criminal society and the good God-given
Plot 82/84 Kanjokya St, secret malevolence in their ala kifeesi and others (iv) climate, Uganda can feed all
Kamwokya. hearts. The bribes are just neglecting public health neighbours and export all
Kampala,Uganda.
bait with which they lure giving rise to occasional sorts of produce to far-off
Email: editor@independent.co.ug the helpless voter in order epidemics outbreak (v) lands. Uganda Agriculture
to get the opportunity to underpaying professionals can be locally developed
attain the ultimate goal of leading to brain drain (vi) and will solely feed the
power. With power they condoning and abetting Middle East and earn ten
Mwenda defeats himself get much. I personally
wouldn’t have any quarrel
corruption leading to incul-
cating theft as a habit (vii)
times than polluting the
lake and countryside mbu
Refer to: “Fashionable nonsense” (The with that if it helps them to failure to be proactive but oil extraction; which oil
Independent Feb.09) .It is very interesting lead opulent lifestyles and only reacting when crime accruals (knowledgeable
to see how people’s attitudes on politics other excesses which are has spiraled out of control, people are saying) are
change overtime. Some of us who have been despicable to cultured folk. and (viii) being irrespon- already half eaten.
following Mwenda from the early days at My concern is when they sible, heedless, inattentive Rwasubutare
the Monitor newspaper wonder what it is (i)stupidly start to damage and negligent yet you are
that makes a man change his outlook on the environment in cahoots in-charge.
politics. To argue that the fundamental rea-
son for Africa’s misery is poverty or lack of
resources while at the same time showcasing Why Museveni cannot resign State enterprises
Rwanda’s tremendous achievements with
the least resources is self-defeating. Africa’s Of recent Africa has seen a president and making losses
problem is not “poverty”, it is bad gover- a prime minister resign in the same weeks.
nance period. What does this say about President Yoweri Refer to: “State-owned enterprises
Museveni who has been a president for saddled with losses” (The Independent
Mulumba over 30 years? You will note that the former Feb.09). It’s unfortunate to see Bank
president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma who of Uganda, the Uganda Electricity
and the former Ethiopian prime minister Distribution Company Ltd, among
Muhakanizi, Kasaija Hailemariam Desalegn were put into their others that are making such losses.
positions by their political parties. That why The enterprises that make losses have
Shs700bn saga it was easy for the same party supporters an element of not running purely as
to hold them at ransom while Museveni is a business. Imagine Ugandans are
having a field day as a leader. crying to have power and you cannot
Refer to: “The Shs700bn loan saga” (The This is because no even give it to them. It means there is a
Independent Feb.16) and calls to censure the one sent him problem in the way it’s managed. The
Minister of Finance, Matia Kasaija, and the to liberate COEs and MDs; the top leaders have to
PS/Secretary to Treasury, Keith Muhakanizi. Uganda. see organisations they head as purely
If the Muhakanizis of this world were to Perhaps business. A successful CEO must smell
be hailing from the N or E of the country Museveni’s money and must make money in a
the story would read differently today. style of reasonable time. The opportunities to
Remember the naughty girl Kabakumba management generate and make money are there.
Matsiko? But these guys case is far worse would perfectly suit For example some villages are very
but believe me they will survive the axe not Africa. rich but live in darkness yet that’s an
that they are innocent but the W factor will Winnie opportunity to give power and charge
come into play. My grandmother taught me them. Leaders style up.
to believe the simple biology that “blood is
thicker than water!” Ntoni Timbyetaho,
CEO Financial Planning Campaign
Odongkara -East Africa

8 Feb 23 - March 01, 2018


The problem with Africa
By Andrew M. Mwenda
If our countries remain poor, it’s because its leaders and
elites are too kind to their people to force transformation
L
ast week, President Yoweri Mu-
seveni tweeted a picture of himself
pushing a bicycle in some village
“promoting” an irrigation scheme. It
was a masterstroke in the politics of dealing
with peasants whose support he desires.
The problem was the medium of broad-
casting his initiative – Twitter.
The Uganda social media crowd dislike
Museveni. Being educated and urban,
they see agriculture as a reflection of
backwardness. I agree. No country where
most people depend on agriculture for a
livelihood is rich. Trying to help peasants
become better at what they do may be good
politics and even improve their lot but it
cannot transform them. The future pros-
perity of Africa will depend on ending the
peasantry.
Ending peasantry has historically been
accompanied by brutality, as I will demon-
strate later in this article. African leaders,
including Museveni, have been accused of
being brutal towards their citizens. This, it
has been argued, explains Africa’s inability
to transform from poverty to riches. Yet
African leaders do not seem willing to
employ the level of brutality that countries
in Europe used to eradicate the peasantry.
For many years I believed it is the brutality
and greed of African leaders that kept our
people in poverty. Today I want to stand
this argument on its head and argue that
Africa is poor because its leaders (and elites
broadly) are too kind to their people. This
is because they have not broken free from
primordial values of the peasants in villages
from which the vast majority of them come.
So they lack autonomy in the formulation of
their values and decision-making processes.
This change of mind came from years of
introspection and reflection. It was inspired
by my love of philosophy, which has led
me to read history voraciously. I took my
lesson from Lord Bolingbroke via Will
Durant that “philosophy is history teaching
by example.” But most critically, it was
inspired by Socrates who taught that “phi-
losophy begins when one learns to doubt,
especially to doubt one’s strongly held
beliefs, dogmas, and axioms.”
When reading the history the Western
world, especially the United Kingdom and
United States, I get appalled by the violence
and brutality ordinary people had to suffer
The Last Word
for capitalist transformation to occur. Even a
casual reading of novels by Charles Dickens
on the UK and John Steinbeck on the U.S. is
enough to horrify anyone about the tragic
effects of this transition.
In the UK, masses of people were dis-
placed through wholesale land-grabbing
called the “Enclosure Movement.” The
aim was to open up these lands for com-
mercial agriculture; to rear sheep – because
wool had become very profitable. What
followed? Deprived of his right to use
common land, the peasant could not main-
tain himself as a farmer. And since there
weren’t factories to employ him, he became
an agricultural worker – reunited to the
same land through the agency and initiative
of capital – or became a beggar, a robber,
often a pauper.
The English parliament, terrified by
paupers, passed laws tying them in desig-
nated workhouses which one clergyman
called “Houses of Terror”. Those found
wondering (often looking for work)
were declared vagabonds and would be
whipped, branded, and mutilated. That is
how the UK created an industrial working
class out of the peasantry. The govern-
ment and elites of UK were not “kind to
their people” as many British citizens and
African elites reading re-written British his-
tory have come to believe.
Karl Marx said that capitalism came
to the world dripping with the blood of
labour. He was right. When the Europeans
came to colonise Africa in order to open
it up to their industrialists at home, they
confronted the same challenge of how to
create not only a monetary economy but
also a labouring class out of the peasantry.
In Uganda specifically, the British wanted
“natives” to produce cotton (to pay for the
Uganda Railway) and also provide labour
on public works. But Africans were sub-
sistence farmers producing food for their
own consumption. They did not want to
produce crops they did not consume or take
jobs on public works to earn money they
did not need.
To transform a subsistence economy into
a monetary economy, the British needed
to create demand for money among the
natives. The solution was extortionate taxa-
tion. The only way to get money to pay
tax was by selling one’s labour to public
Opinion
works or selling cotton to the British (that
is the origin of calling it a “cash crop”). So
the British instituted a brutal and violent
tax collection system using local chiefs. To
create incentives for effective (and ruthless)
measures to collect taxes, the British govern-
ment used to pay chiefs a commission on
taxes they collected.
The lowest head tax was the value of a big
he-goat, today at Shs 150,000 to Shs 250,000
depending on which part of the country
you are. (Uganda abolished graduated tax
when it was Shs 5,000). Africans diverted
their energies from producing food to pay
this tax with tragic consequences. Food
production plummeted and people starved
to death.
Jan Jorgensen in `Uganda, A Modern His-
tory’ has recorded this tragedy: in Buganda,
the population declined from over one mil-
lion in 1888 to 650,000 in 1920. In Busoga,
the population declined from about one
million in 1890 to 220,000 in 1923 – it was
genocide. Thus although our people could
not eat cotton, the British proved that cotton
could eat them.
It is on the basis of this knowledge of
capitalist development that I am inclined to
believe that if Africa has not transformed,
at least as rapidly as we would wish, it is
not because our leaders and elites broadly
are greedy and brutal. It is because they are
too morally tied in webs of social obliga-
tions with their people to act brutally to
transform our nations as the Europeans
did at home and in the colonies. The other
restraint could be the unwillingness of the
“international community” to tolerate it.
Hence Museveni, his arch rival Kizza
Besigye along with most Ugandan elites
campaign to protect the people from “land-
grabbers”. Yet land-grabbing, if it is by
Ugandans, would be a sign of an incipient
capitalist class seeking to introduce the
commercial motive into agriculture. In pro-
tecting peasants’, Museveni, Besigye and
other elites in Uganda may achieve some
humanitarian objective but at the price of
disabling the very mechanisms that have
historically facilitated the penetration of
commercial relations into agrarian struc-
tures and thereby transformed societies and
created the wealth of nations.
amwenda@independent.co.ug
Feb 23 - March 01, 2018 9
cover story

Fight over Shs44 trillion

mobile money
Telecoms protest State House move
to monitor business

Money
60m
transfered
MTN
Mobile
Money
55 m
Airtel
Money
10 Feb 23 - March 01, 2018

A
By Haggai Matsiko
fight is raging between
telecom operators on one
side, and the Uganda
Communications
Commissions (UCC), the
Uganda Police Force,
and State House on the other, over
moves to monitor the Shs44 trillion
mobile money business.
At the heart of the fight is a push
by President Yoweri Museveni to get
full access of the telecom data systems
through the multi-billion technology
called Intelligence Network
Monitoring System (INMS) that
government put in place last year.
While Uganda has multiple telecom
companies, the fight to defend
business secrecy appears to have been
left to the two telecom giants—MTN
Uganda, which says it controls 55%
of the telecom market share or about
11.2 million subscribers, and its main
challenger; Airtel Uganda.
Although Museveni acquired the
INMS to monitor mainly the data
and voice operations of the telecoms,
the current disagreements appear to
stem from the push by government
departments to pry into mobile
money, which is the biggest cash cow
of the telecoms. Mobile money, which
has been growing very fast, had a
value of Shs44 trillion at the end of
2016. That is what the Uganda Police,
State House, and the Ministry of ICT
want to get involved in.
Since telecoms started operating,
they have been doing what is called
self-declaration to the sector regulator,
UCC. But with the entry of mobile
money, which requires financial sector
regulation, and the advent of cyber
security and terrorism which implies
roles for security agencies, several
control wars have erupted.
At the centre of the fight are the
telecom operators, the Inspector
General of Police Gen. Kale Kayihura,
President Museveni’s son, Maj. Gen.
Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who also
doubles as the Presidential Advisor on
Special Operations, ICT Minister Frank
Tumwebaze and sector regulator, UCC
boss Godfrey Mutabazi.
The fight is an escalation of
incidents from as early as November
last year when UCC directed that
telecoms grant the Uganda Police
access to their Mobile Money
operations data. The telecoms
protested.
In a letter dated November 13, for
instance, Airtel Uganda noted that
from section 5(1) (u) of the UCC
Act, the obligation and function to
President Yoweri Museveni
Eng.Godfrey Mutabazi
establish an INMS lies exclusively
with the UCC and not the Uganda
Police or any other department/agency
of the Government of Uganda.
“We are not aware of any
amendment to this provision or any
other law or regulation that provides
for INMS for Uganda Police,” notes
V.G Somasekhar, the Airtel Executive
Director in a letter to UCC.
Apart from this, Airtel noted, the
Mobile Money services is regulated
by Bank of Uganda under a different
law and as such does not fall with in
the category of services that should be
cover story
monitored by UCC through the INMS
created pursuant to section 5(1) (u)
of the Uganda Communications Act,
2013.
Airtel had earlier in an October 23,
2017, letter raised concerns about the
legality of INMS being implemented
by Uganda Police contrary to
section 5(1) (u) of the Uganda
Communications Act, 2013.
In conclusion, Airtel said it would
await the requisite Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) among others,
which would define among others;
the technical requirements for UCC’s
INMS; the parameters to be monitored
by UCC through the INMS; the scope
of information to be accessed by UCC
through the INMS and the commercial
terms in respect of Airtel’s resources
that will be used by the UCC for the
INMS and other related matters.
Insiders say MTN also raised some
objections but was not as assertive as
Airtel Uganda. Insiders suspect the
telecom giant is not keen to stir up a
storm with the government at a time
when it is looking to get a renewal of
its concession, which expires this year.
The Independent wrote emails to both
MTN Uganda and Airtel Uganda for a
comment. The two had not responded
by press time.
State House’s role
Mutabazi copied his directive in
the letter to ICT Minister, Frank
Tumwebaze, IGP Kayihura, the former
Director ICT, Amos Ngabirano and
Maj Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Muhoozi’s involvement is a
window into the involvement of
State House. President Museveni was
directly involved in procuring the
technology, which among others also
monitors Mobile Money operations,
international calls and other data
operations.
It is not clear how much was
invested in the technology but at the
time it was being procured, estimates
put the cost at between $20-30 million
(Shs 66 billion—99 billion).
After several frustrated attempts
to procure the technology, President
Museveni finally awarded the deal to a
company called Global Voice last year.
Global Voice had always chased the
deal through spy-turned businessman,
Abu Mukasa. Abu Mukasa used
to work for the External Security
Organisation (ESO) but with the right
god fathers, he became a big time
broker.
He was at one point an aide de
camp to Justice Minister Kahinda
Otafiire and later switched camps
and got closer to Amama Mbabazi,
Feb 23 - March 01, 2018 11
cover story
former Prime Minister. Mukasa, had
co-founded Hits telecom, which was
later sold to Orange, making him
Orange’s first Ugandan director, and
brought a company to procure the
technology. The company known as
GlobalVoice, was founded by former
Haiti President-- Laurent Lamothe.
Under this company, Mukasa had
pitched to run the technology in
the arrangement of Build Operate
and Transfer (BoT) because the
government at the time didn’t readily
have the money to procure it.
Museveni at some point consulted
with Peter Kahiji, the director
technical services of IT sector
regulator, NITA-U.
President Museveni also brought
on board Josephine Wapakhabulo,
the daughter to the late James
Wapakhabulo, who was Uganda’s
speaker, foreign affairs minister and
Deputy Prime Minister.
Ngabirano, Kayihura and UCC
Executive Director, Godfrey Mutabazi
had all worked on the procurement of
the technology before Wapakhabulo
came in. It is not strange; therefore,
that Mutabazi is asking that the
telecom companies allow the police to
monitor their activities.
12 Feb 23 - March 01, 2018
Police is also being asked to manage
the technology because initially,
insiders say, for President Museveni,
the biggest motivation to procure the
technology was in its security features
like enabling eavesdropping. It is not
yet clear how the fall- out between
President Museveni and police has
affected this arrangement. Insiders
who spoke to The Independent say
State House is now in charge of the
technology.
Apart from its security features, the
technology was also expected to put
an end to suspected under-declaration
of revenue by the telecoms.
Since telecoms have been “self-
declaring”, the UCC has only been
levying fees on them basing on what
the telecoms say they earned.
UCC collects an annual levy on
telecoms gross revenue of 2 per cent.
The levy is too critical, it constituted
27% of the Commission’s projected
revenues in the financial year
2014/2015. And UCC is required to
remit 1% of the operators’ levy to the
Consolidated Fund.
However, in his 2015 report
published this year, the Auditor
General, John Muwanga, added his
voice to those that have raised as a red
flag, the fact that the regulator relies
on the operators audited financial
statements to raise invoices of the 2%
levy on the revenue.
“A review of the revenue collection
system revealed that the Commission
has not yet built capacity to
independently verify the revenue
figures reflected in the operators
audited financial statements to
counter the likelihood of audit risk/
or collusion,” the report reads, “As
such, there is a risk of under collecting
revenue for the Commission in the
circumstance.”
At the height of the MTN mobile
money scandal, it was alleged that the
operator had been under-declaring
the volumes of its Mobile Money
platform. Apparently, MTN was
reportedly making Shs14 billion a day
but was declaring Shs9 billion.
In his 2016/17 budget speech,
President Museveni claimed that
the telecom companies were under
declaring and as a result evading an
estimated $400 million per year in
taxes.
Big money targets
Apart from the monitoring aspect,
insiders say, the technology might also

bring the country closer to dealing
with a telecom fraud known as voice
traffic termination fraud or SIMbox
fraud, which costs telecom companies
revenue and the government taxes.
International studies have indicated
that network operators lose about
3% of the annual revenue due to
fraudulent and illegal services. Some
researchers put the total losses from
the underground mobile network
industry to be $58 billion in 2011.
Apparently, fraudulent SIMboxes
hijack international voice calls and
transfer them over the Internet to a
cellular device, which injects them
back into the cellular network.
As a result, callers from abroad end
up appearing as if they are calling
with local numbers.
The calls become local at the
destination network like MTN,
and the cellular operators of the
intermediate and destination networks
do not receive payments for the call
routing and termination.
Besides causing the financial
loss, an international study shows
that SIMboxes degrade the local
service where they operate. Often,
cells are overloaded, and voice calls
routed over a SIMbox have poor
quality, which results in customer
dissatisfaction, the study adds.
In Uganda, some of the major
players in this fraudulent trade also
happen to be major players in the
telecom sector, senior officials in
cabinet and some Chinese dealers.
The trade is very lucrative, insiders
claim. While telecom companies
are always co-owned, revenue and
losses shared on top of paying taxes;
for simboxes, apart from the initial
capital injection, there are literally no
expenses, no taxes at all since it is an
underground business.
An owner of a simbox can earn up
to $10,000 dollars a day from just one
simbox, those knowledgeable about
the industry claim. That is about $
350,000 a year. And with multiple
simboxes, the figure goes up to
millions of dollars.
But as simbox operators make
these billions, registered operators
and government are the major losers.
Simboxing hurts telecoms business of
international call termination, which is
big business with agreements between
telecom companies in millions of
dollars. For instance, for a person
using Vodafone to call an MTN
subscriber in Uganda, Vodafone pays
part of what it charges the caller to
MTN.
What simbox operators do is hijack
Airtel CEO V.G Somasekhar
MTN CEO Wim Vanhelleputte
the call before it lands on the MTN
servers, bypass MTN servers, and
the call goes through a local line.
Therefore, MTN charges the owner of
the line the local rate but the owner
of the simbox receives a higher rate
for helping convert an international
call into a local one. Simbox operators
receive their cash outside the country
to avoid being traced.
Uganda’s Financial Intelligence
Authority early last year noted it was
investigating revenue diversion and
tax evasion in the sector amounting to
$140 million (over 470 billion) in lost
revenue.
cover story
The fraudsters pay only an eighth
of the money they should have
paid to the main voice operators in
termination fees.
In a March 19 2015 letter, the FIA
boss, Sydney Asubo, warned Mutabazi
that over the past three years the
country had lost up to $144 million
accruing from incoming international
telecoms traffic that is disguised as
local traffic by simboxes.
Apart from the losses to telecom
operators and government in tax
revenue, fears remain that the
untraced billions made by those
who own simboxes can be used to
jeopardise national security.
Estimates indicated that government
loses 45 per cent in tax revenue and
operators like MTN over $10 million a
month.
Mutabazi told The Independent
that government decided to have
INMS managed by “the authorities
managing it” – a vague description
because of the lack of clarity, because
of the overlaps of its functionalities—
it has aspects of monitoring traffic,
data, voice and security, among
others.
“We wanted to prevent wastage and
duplication of resources where there
are multiple systems,” he told The
Independent, “But UCC has visibility of
the system and we use it to also play
our part.”
Mutabazi said they had explained
this to the telecoms in a bid to get
them to comply.
“Unless they are afraid to be
monitored,” Mutabazi said, “But
Mobile Money runs on telecom
infrastructure which is regulated by
UCC. The point INMS is monitoring
is on the switch when it is all still data
and not money in the bank.”
Mutabazi said that from his stand
point, the players understand this is
the same way they understand that
local interception is provided for in
the security laws.
“We have explained this,” Mutabazi
told The Independent in telephone
interview.
Mutabazi was responding to
concerns raised by the telecoms over
the implementation of the monitoring
technology. These concerns are
contained in correspondences between
the sector regulator and telecoms
copies of which The Independent has
seen. Mutabazi said that the telecoms
had since pledged to grant the
required access. It remains unclear,
however, when the access will be
granted and what impact that will
have on especially mobile money.
Feb 23 - March 01, 2018 13
rwanda
`Genocide against the
Tutsi’ recognised by UN
By Francis Byaruhanga
W
ith one month left for
Rwanda to commemorate
24 years since the 1994
genocide against the Tutsi,
the United Nations General Assembly
has unanimously adopted a decision
on the “International Day of Reflection
on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi
in Rwanda”. The decision corrects
inaccuracies that existed in the
previous resolution, A/RES/58/234,
which omitted to name the Tutsi as the
group targeted for extermination.
14 Feb 23 - March 01, 2018
The General Assembly designated
April 7, as the International Day
of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide
against the Tutsi in Rwanda and
adopted the resolution that corrects
the terming of 1994 Genocide in
Rwanda and replaced it with the
“Genocide against the Tutsi”. This
is in recognition that defining
genocide without explicit reference
to whom it was committed against
falls short of the true meaning of the
genocide definition with expansive
interpretation.
This was during the 77th plenary
meeting of the UN General Assembly
on sport for development and
peace, and on causes of conflict and
promotion of durable peace and
sustainable development in Africa last
on February 09 at UN Headquarters
New York.
Amb. Valentine Rugwabiza,
Rwanda’s Permanent Representative
to the UN, while presenting the
draft addressed the International
community that the decision aimed
to correct historical inaccuracies
contained in the previous resolution
adopted 14 years ago.

She stressed that the unanimous
adoption of the decision by the
UN General Assembly, is a strong
statement that the UN will not be
a platform for genocide denial and
revisionism.
Amb. Rugwabiza further stressed
that the present decision on the
International Day of Reflection on the
1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in
Rwanda, is a tribute to the inalienable
dignity of the victims, and the courage
and resilience of the survivors of the
1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
She said: “The text captures the
historical facts of what happened in
1994, which is a ‘Genocide against the
Tutsi in Rwanda’ and leaves no room
for ambiguity.”
Historical accuracy and words are
vital while referring to the Genocide,
she said.
“The tactics of Genocide denial
and revisionism are well known and
documented. Some people, mostly
those who were involved by action
or omission, promote the theory of
double Genocide in the futile belief
that such suggestion might divert their
own responsibility,” she noted.
According to Amb. Rugwabiza, the
day of reflection “offers us as members
of the international community” an
opportunity to consider the factors
that lead to such mass atrocity and
“renew our collective pledge” of
“never again”.
She said that it serves as an
educative opportunity for future
generations to equip them in fighting
all forms of hate and Genocide
ideology.
More importantly, she said, in these
worrying times where we witness
increase in expressions of divisionism,
extremism and hatred in many parts
of the world, it sends a clear message
that the United Nations is a platform
rwanda
for the promotion and protection of
human dignity of all people and will
not serve as a platform for any form of
Genocide denial or revisionism.
Speaking on behalf of the African
Group, one of the five regional groups
in the UN, Amb Anatolio Ndong
Mba, Permanent Representative of
Equatorial Guinea to the UN, said they
welcome the adoption by consensus of
the draft decision.
Amb. Mba said it was the least
they could do to honour the memory
of the children, women and men
brutally murdered 24 years ago
and to remember all the victims of
“this tragic and dark chapter of our
history.”
“At this moment, we stand with the
Rwandan people and salute the huge
strides they have made to recover
from that unspeakable event to shape
a bright future for the country,” the
diplomat said.
Genocide by Definition
By the definition Genocide is
causing serious bodily or mental harm
to members of the group; deliberately
inflicting on the group conditions
of life calculated to bring about its
physical destruction in whole or in
part; imposing measures intended to
prevent births within the group; and
forcibly transferring children of the
group to another group.
The word genocide came way
back in 1944, thanks to a Polish-
Jewish lawyer called Raphael
Lemkin. He sought to create a new
term to describe Nazi policies of the
systematic murder of Jewish people.
Lemkin used the ancient Greek word
genos (race, tribe) and the Latin cide
(killing) to come up with the new
word, “genocide.”
Raphael Lemkin spent 4 years
pushing for genocide to be added to
international law. Ultimately, in 1948,
the United Nations Convention on
the Prevention and Punishment of
Genocide was adopted, and it entered
into force in 1951.
The Convention defined genocide
in legal terms based on Lemkin’s
work, and is the basis for genocide
prevention efforts today.
The convention also further defines
it as a crime against all of humankind,
its harm being felt not only by the
group targeted for destruction,
but by all of humanity. There it’s
imprescriptible, with no time limit,
and it can be punishable at all times as
long as the wrong doer still exists.
Feb 23 - March 01, 2018 15
news analysis
Cyril Ramaphosa addresses a rally to commemorate Nelson Mandela’s centenary year in Cape Town, South Africa. Reuters/Mike Hutchings
The Ramaphosa moment
How many Messiahs can one country take?
By David Everatt
M
atamela Cyril Ramaphosa
– forgive me, President
Ramaphosa – is self-
evidently a private and
reserved human being. Since his
decision to contest the leadership of
the African National Congress (ANC),
he has been the subject of an endless
series of “think-pieces”, more or less
informed including by this author, as
well as a year or more of attack videos
and smears from those he ultimately
defeated at the 2017 ANC elective
conference. His private life has been
examined, and people have tried to
double-guess every move he has made,
or should have made, or is about to
make.
The man must be squirming. Worse
16 Feb 23 - March 01, 2018
than the attention, however, is his
recent elevation to Messiah status in
the media and the popular imagination.
He maketh Zuma to bugger off. He
maketh the currency to rise and
pessimism to fall; he will cleanse where
others defiled; and he may lead South
Africans towards the promised land
– or, for the non-believers, will it be
down the garden path?
Messiahs are an expression of the
need for the yoke of oppression to
be lifted, by a god-anointed action
man (there are precious few female
Messiahs in history) who does what
mere mortals cannot. Nelson Mandela
was South Africa’s first Messiah,
but was seemingly born for the role,
relished it, and given the massive
damage to economy and society in late
apartheid, almost everything he did
was inevitably positive. The economy
grew, rainbows were believed in, the
national football team Bafana Bafana
were football champions. Anything was
possible.
In Ramaphosa’s case, the context is
horribly similar. The economy has been
smashed by the labyrinthine tendrils of
corruption and state capture that have
insinuated themselves into every aspect
of public life, compounding those
already present in the private sector.
For every state owned enterprise
there is a private sector player like
KPMG, and for every bribe that is
accepted, someone else offered it.
Zuma tended his corrupt garden well,
and South Africa feels like it is the
early 1990s again: political killings are
rife in KwaZulu-Natal, the economy is
in tatters, racial tensions are high, the

poor are getting poorer, the rich richer,
and the country’s sports people seem
unable to win a game of tiddly-winks.
What kind of president?
What kind of president will
Ramaphosa be? Will he, like Zuma’s
predecessor Thabo Mbeki, gravitate
towards foreign affairs, the African
continent, and playing a global role
in various summits and multilateral
bodies? Or will he be more Zuma-like,
and regard the secret and security
forces as his natural base?
The last 10 days should have
answered part of this question.
Because of Ramaphosa’s chess moves
the country has seen the true colours
of everyone in the ANC’s top six
leadership and beyond. He and all
South Africans now know where many
of his enemies are. Those desperate
to be reborn Ramaphosa-ites have
become visible, and he knows (as South
Africans do) who can be trusted and
who not. He has forced people to play
their roles out in public, for all to see
and learn, and better to understand the
challenges he faces.
More importantly, the state
utility Eskom has been completely
reconfigured with a new board, and
fear has begun to percolate through to
all those eating South Africa’s public
funds.
But the most significant moves
were left to the very end. Zuma’s last
day as president – not in any way
coincidentally – began with the news
that the home of the powerful Gupta
family had been raided and arrests had
been made.
The second masterstroke was to
allow Zuma to show his true colours in
a rambling interview on state television
to the nation. Everyone was given a
taste of what Ramaphosa has had to
deal with.
Once Zuma knew that his time was
up – his Gupta buddies being arrested,
his son Duduzane being looked for and
some of his lieutenants deserting him –
he declined into self-pity.
Zuma myths
For years the world has been fed
several myths about Zuma. That he
was steeped in strategy and that he was
news analysis
a master tactician. There was also the
fable that he had dirt on everyone and
would never be outmanoeuvred, that
even a wounded lion is dangerous, that
he may be down but never out, and so
on.
Instead, the terrible sadness of
a crumpled bully was in evidence
on SABC TV. He spent 30 minutes
spinning silly yarns about the lack of
accusations or evidence against him,
insisting he was innocent, trying to
blame anyone but himself. It laid bare
the truth – Zuma is merely PW (Botha)
rebooted. Apartheid president Botha,
nicknamed the Groot Krokodil (big
crocodile), was a hardliner who refused
to leave office and alienated everyone
even in his own National Party.
Zuma’s incoherent television
appearance was an old jackal meeting
an old krokodil. Each filled with a
sense of victimhood, denying any
wrongdoing, both responsible for
destroying the economy, the social
fabric, and any number of lives.
Ramaphosa left Zuma to show all
South Africans his overweening
vanity, his inability to distinguish
right from wrong, and his arrogance.
Shakespeare could not have plotted it
better. Ramaphosa emerged as the true
strategist.
A mere mortal
Ramaphosa is no Messiah, and when
the post-Zuma champagne corks stop
popping, South Africans need to assess
him as a mere mortal. One who is
inheriting a country laid almost as bare
as the country Mandela inherited in
1994.
Ramaphosa has a massive job ahead
of him, in trying to reignite national
pride, self-belief, and mutual trust.
He also has to salvage the ANC’s
reputation and win the next election in
2019, no mean feat in itself. It would
also be nice to win a match or two.
The man, rather than the Messiah,
has shown he can move multiple chess
pieces at once – and win. The last 10
days have seen him completely eclipse
his enemies within, having defeated
those without when he was elected
ANC president in December. This will
be a quiet president, in place of Zuma’s
inane giggling and braggadocio that
has gone. But as the saying goes,
always watch the quiet ones…
David Everatt is Head of Wits School
of Governance, University of the
Witwatersrand
Feb 23 - March 01, 2018 17
news analysis
By Andrew S. Kaggwa
A
row has developed between the
Ministry of Agriculture, Animal
Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF)
and fish exporters on one side and
fish traders on the other over the sale of fish
maws.
Siraje Walusimbi, an executive member of
the Uganda Fishmaws Traders Association
(UFTA), which brings together traders in
fish maws, says the trade in maws is very
lucrative.
“What we get from the sale of a fish maw
is double or three times what we get from
the fish itself,” he says.
Walusimbi explained that whereas the
price for fish maws fluctuates with the
dollar, a kilo goes for between Shs700,000
where a kilo of fish is bought at Shs7,000 at
the factory. He says, however, to harvest a
kilo of maws, one has to harvest them from
several fish, especially if the fish are below
50kgs. But in some cases a fish weighing
50kgs and above, one can contain a fish
maw weighing a kilogramme. This would
mean the fish maw alone would go for
Shs700,000 whereas the fish (at Shs7,000 per
kilo would be bought at Shs350,000 at the
factory.
Until now, the practice has been that
when Nile Perch is caught, the maw is
the property of the fish supplier. Some
suppliers remove the fish maws before
selling the fish. Even when the suppliers
take the fish to factories, the arrangement is
18 Feb 23 - March 01, 2018
Fish maw wars
Ugandan traders battle Chinese,
Indians, over lucrative business
for the factory owners to give back the fish
maws to the suppliers who in turn sell them
to Chinese traders who export them mostly
to China. The fish factories, on the other
hand, are mostly owned by Asians and the
fish is mostly supplied by Africans.
New directives on fish maws
But fish maw money now seems doomed
after two stern directives from MAAIF
regarding their sale.
First was a letter titled ‘Fishmaw
handling and processing’ by the Director of
Fisheries Resources, Dr. Edward Rukuunya
to the Chairman, Uganda Fish Processors
and Exporters and Association (UFPEA).
The letter dated December 12, 2017
and said the fish maws should only be
sold to recognised and licensed fish maw
processors and exporters. It also said fish
maws should be bought by factories in the
fish and not given back to the fish suppliers.
“This will enhance accuracy,
transparency, and accountability in data
gathering, food safety and overall increased
contribution to the national economy,” Dr.
Rukuunya’s letter reads in part.
A second letter dated January 10, 2018
from Pius Wakabi Kasajja, the Permanent
Secretary MAAIF, prohibited the practice
of ‘gutting fish at landing sites and other
unauthorised places”. It was addressed to
the Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs) of
all districts in the country.
“It has come to the attention of the
Directorate of Fisheries Resources that
gutting of fish is rampant in many landing
sites and unauthorised places. This act is
detrimental and compromises the safety
and quality of fish products and may render
our fish unacceptable to key local, regional,
and international markets,” the letter reads
in part.
Quoting the Fish Act and The Fish
Quality Assurance Rules, 2017, the letter
instructed the CAOs to prevail over
fisheries officers and inspectors in their
areas of jurisdiction to ensure that this
‘illegal activity is stopped forthwith”.
It goes on to instruct the CAOs that
should they find that some landing sites
within their areas of jurisdiction are

continuing with the practice, they should
take stun measures which may include but
not limited to closing the landing sites.
The letter was also copied to the head of
the Fisheries Protection Force to carry out
compliance enforcement.
But when the commander of the Fisheries
Protection Force, Maj. James Nuwagaba,
was contacted by The Independent on
phone, he refused to confirm whether they
had started enforcing that directive.
Following the two directives, on January
12, 2018 MAAIF invited what it had called
a stakeholders meeting at the Kajjansi
Agriculture Research and Development
Centre. In this meeting it was only UFPEA,
UFTA, AFALU; the Fisheries Protection
Force who were invited.
However, other fish traders got know of
the meeting and they stormed it accusing
MAAIF of corruption and it ended
prematurely.
Another meeting convened by Wakabi
for what he called “key actors and licensed
stakeholders in the fishing industry”
had been scheduled to take place at the
MAAIF, Directorate of Fisheries Resources
Boardroom at Entebbe on Jan. 25.
In a letter dated Jan.16, Wakabi said the
earlier meeting at Kajjansi was “interrupted
by uninvited actors forcing key stakeholders
to abandon it”.
But this second meeting, The
Independent has learnt, has been postponed
for unknown reasons. The fish traders insist
it was because of the pressure they had put
on the ministry over those directives.
Fish traders cry foul
However, the fish suppliers are now
crying foul that the two directives are a ploy
by the fish processors and exporters, who
are mostly Asian, to push Ugandans out of
business. They cite the example of the latter
directive on not gutting fish outside factories
as designed to prevent them from removing
fish maws from fish before taking them to
the factories.
They say that since the directive from
the ministry, the factories processing fish
have now refused to give back fish maws to
suppliers.
Siraje Walusimbi, an executive member of
the Uganda Fishmaws Traders Association
(UFTA), which brings together traders
in fish maws, says they have 20 member
companies which trade in fish maws with
12 owned by Chinese traders and eight
owned by Ugandans. However, it is only
the Chinese companies which process the
fish maws.
Alex Mukasa, a fish trader and a member
of another organization called Uganda
Fishing Industry Rescue Operation Team
(UFIROT), said it is the owners of the fish
factories who want to be to take all the
proceeds from the fish and are influencing
the ministry to give these directives.
“If the ministry doesn’t cancel this
directive we shall take them to court,” a
tough talking Mukasa said. He said, in any
case, the MAAIF does not have capacity to
implement the directive of not gutting fish
outside factories when the practice goes
on in markets which sell fish for domestic
consumption.
“All landing sites have fisheries officers
who ensure safety standards are kept and
have built concrete platforms where the fish
are cut and these have also been inspected
by European Union officials and found to be
safe and hygienic,” Walusimbi said.
They said the directorate of fisheries
should invite all stakeholders in the fish
business and not only caters for the interests
of the wealthy exporters and processors.
The traders also reject The Association of
Fishers and Lake Users of Uganda (AFALU)
that claims to be representing the interests
of fishermen, fish suppliers, and fish traders
and is now working with UPDF’s Fisheries
Protection Force to fight illegal fishing
activities.
Efforts to contact Dr. Rukuunya over the
new directives were futile as he was not
picking his phone. However, the Executive
Director, UFPEA, Ovia Katiiti Matovu said
the directives by the ministry are meant to
keep safety standards as required by the
international markets.
“We export about 75% of our fish to the
European Union and they regularly send
their officials to check on our hygienic
standards and if they realise that our fish
is not safe it is banned from their markets
as it was done some years back,” Matovu
explained.
Traders petition parliament
The Association of Fishers and Lake
Users of Uganda (AFALU), which other fish
traders associations accuse of siding with
MAAIF over the directives on fish maw, has
written to the Parliamentary Committee on
Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries
asking them to intervene in the row over
fish maws.
The Chairman of AFALU, Godfrey
news analysis
Ssenyonga Kambugu says they are the
recognised fish traders association and that’s
why President Museveni chose them to
work with the Fisheries Protection Force to
curb bad practices in fishing.
“We decided to petition parliament
because we have many members who
supply fish to factories and they have been
affected by the new directives and we need
a third party to mediate between us and
MAAIF,” Kambugu said.
He accused of MAAIF officials of making
the directives without consulting them and
only wanting to invite them to inform them
of the directives. He says AFALU members
want the ministry to withdraw the directives
before consultations start. He, however,
said they agree with licensing those in the
business.
The Deputy Chairperson of the
Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture,
Animal Industry and Fisheries, Robert
Ndugwa Migadde (Buvuma), who also
chairs a caucus of all legislators from
districts bordering lakes, confirmed that
they had received the letter from AFALU.
He said in a meeting, Dr. Rukuunya
explained that he was not conniving
with fish processors and exporters but
was regulating the trade in fish as the
country was losing a lot of revenue from
unauthorised and unlicensed traders.
Migadde said the fish industry has many
associations with some fighting each other.
“It is almost impossible to get one which
represents all of them,” he says and advised
them to get one platform to campaign for
their interests.
“Fish maws are more profitable than
most minerals being dug from different
parts of the country which has turned the
trade into a black market,” he said, “the
government was right to make directives
to regulate it though there was a need to
explain this carefully to all stakeholders
including the small players.”
Value of maws
Dr. Anthony Tabu Munyao of the
National Fisheries Resources Research
Institute (NaFRRI) says a fish maw, also
known as swim bladder or gas bladder
keeps some fish, such as Nile Perch,
buoyant. He says that in Uganda about
seven species of fish have fish maws
whereas others, like tilapia, have their maws
in membrane form.
Munyao says that of all the fish that have
a fish maw or swim bladder of the Nile
Perch has most market “because it’s big,
thick, and fatty”.
“We are still doing research on what the
fish maws are used for but we hear they
are used in producing absorbable sucures
(stitches used during medical operations)
and in production of aphrodisiacs (drugs to
increase libido),” Munyao says
Feb 23 - March 01, 2018 19
Coffee’s future in dilemma
Kampala conference discusses ways of increasing
output but many wonder who would buy it
U
By Julius Businge
ganda is currently imple-
menting an ambitious
plan – the coffee roadmap
– to increase coffee output
from the current 60kg 4.5
million bags to 20 million
bags by 2025.
This new target is higher than the
approximately 16 million bags that coun-
tries in Africa combined produce per
annum at the moment, a move that would
place Uganda among the top three coffee
producers in the world – Vietnam and
Brazil – and create more than 500, 000
new jobs.
It would also increase Uganda’s export
earnings from the commodity from over
US$500 million recorded in FY2016/2017
to around $2.2bn per year, attract financ-
ing to the industry to the tune of $1.3bn
and improve household livelihood by Shs
1.5million per annum.
But can the target be met at the time
some farmers are reducing their land
under coffee as a result of low coffee
prices?
This, among others, were the issues
discussed during the 16th African Fine
Coffee Conference and Exhibition, orga-
nized by Uganda Coffee Development
Authority (UCDA) together with African
Fine Coffees Association (AFCA) and
Agribusiness Business Initiative (aBi)
at the Kampala Serena Hotel from Feb
14-16 under the theme; 'Sustainable coffee
industry for social economic transforma-
tion'.
Nathan Nandala Mafabi, the Member
of Parliament for Budadiri County West
and chairperson for Bugisu Cooperative
Union (BCU) limited, which has over 270
Cooperative Societies engaging in coffee
value chain, said farmers are currently
demoralized by low prices which they are
offered by multi-national corporations
and are thus reluctant to increase coffee
production.
He said many farmers have cut on their
time for coffee activities and apportioned
it to other crops like grains where they are
assured of good returns in a short time.
“Some farmers sell their coffee at low
20 Feb 23 - March 01, 2018
Quick facts about coffee
Coffee is the second most
traded commodity in the world
It contributes 20-30% to
Uganda’s foreign exchange
earnings
In 2016/2017 Uganda exported
about 4.6 million 60-kg bags
of coffee (earned slightly over
$500 million) – which was
higher than 3.5 million bags
that were exported three years
ago per year.
October 2014; President
Museveni issued a directive to
Prime Minister to accelerate
coffee production from 3
million to 20 million bags by
2020-2015.
December 2015; UCDA and the
PM convened a stakeholders’
meeting in which an agenda for
a Coffee Lab was agreed upon.
March 2017: Coffee Lab held
culminating into a Coffee
Roadmap – a transformative
agenda for the Coffee Sub
sector.
April 2017: Museveni launched
the Coffee Roadmap
price before it even flowers,” he said,
adding that they do that because they
are poor and have to meet costs for daily
needs.
He said government needs to intervene
and support farmers especially in the area
of marketing their output.
Joseph Nkandu, the executive director
of the National Union of Coffee Agri-
business and Farm Enterprises (Nucafe)
– that has over 1 million farmers – told
The Independent on the sidelines of the
conference that if government is serious
about increasing productivity in coffee,
the farmer, who is the primary producer
of coffee, has to be supported in terms of
credit and extension services, organizing
them in groups, access to water for pro-
duction, training and making sure that
they add value to their coffee for margins
to increase.
“…and when margins increase, the
farmer will earn more and invest in the
quality of coffee and acreage to increase
productivity,” Nkandu said.
He said the farmers also need to
increase the number of trees planted in
an acre from the current 450 trees to over
1000. This, he said, can be complemented
by using genuine fertilizers – which boost
soil nutrients and drive up output.
He said some farmers have witnessed
an increase in earnings per acre by over
50% since they started using fertilizers
three years ago.
On coffee consumption, Nkandu said
demand is growing in Uganda as evi-
denced by the mushrooming coffee shops
– over 50 shops are operational to date
compared to a few 10 years ago.
“The best we have in this country
where there is no gamble is coffee; invest
there and have patience,” he said.
He added that government needs to
do awareness programs in partnership
with the private sector and other players
to people to increase coffee consumption
and production.
“What we need to do is; let us invest
in quality, brand and package our coffee
so well and the sky will be the limit,” he
said.
Fred Kawuma, the secretary general at
Inter-African Coffee Organization (IACO)

Contribution for each initiative to Uganda’s 20 million bags of coffee by 2025
Demand and
value addition
Build structured
demand (3 mn bags)
Brand Ugandan
coffee (2 mn bags)
Support local
coffee businesses
(2.32mn)
said there is need to address issues in the
value chain to place our coffee successfully
in the market.
He said as new investors come to Uganda
to join efforts geared towards value addi-
tion, raw beans can still be exported along-
side small volumes of roasted coffee to keep
Uganda’s coffee on the international market.
He said that liberalization of the coffee
market particularly in Uganda has seen
international coffee players who are primar-
ily interested in unprocessed coffee take
centre stage in the trade because they sign
contracts with roasters in developed coun-
tries to supply them with the raw materials.
This, he said, is because local entrepre-
neurs do not have capacity to process all
the coffee being produced and sells it on the
global market as a finished product. “That
is where key interventions are required,”
he said. This development comes at the
time Uganda’s coffee industry is facing a
number of challenges related to quality,
Uganda’s
20 million
bags of coffee
by 2025
Production
Strengthen farmers’
organizations
(6.88mn bags)
Support joint
ventures (2.6
mn bags)
Provide and
promote
concessions (1.7
mn bags)
limited access to credit by farmers and value
addition, limited access to land, ageing trees
and farmers, price fluctuation, pests and
diseases, poor markets as well as negative
perception on coffee growing by youth and
women. It also coincides with a number of
coffee producing countries including Ethio-
pia, Brazil, Honduras, Vietnam, Colombia,
Guatemala, Mexico, India, China, laying
down strategies to increase coffee produc-
tion, a move experts say, will continue
weighing prices of local coffee exports on
the international market amidst low con-
sumption locally.
The good thing, is key players like, Ishak
Lukenge, the AFCA board chairman, argue
that there is a lot of government goodwill to
support the coffee sector – citing the imple-
mentation of the coffee roadmap which is
underway.
“We need to develop the culture of con-
sumption in most African countries,” he
said during an interview with The Indepen-
business
Enablers
Improve quality
of planting
materials;
improve access
to quality inputs;
develop a coffee
finance program
(1.5 mn bags)
dent.
Lukenge said that the Continental Free
Trade Area (CFTA) set to be signed in March
2018 by 55 African countries, is good news
because it would provide an alternative
market for coffee at zero or small tax.
CFTA will become the second largest bloc
to the World Trade Organization (WTO)
that was signed in 1994. The CFTA will be a
market of about 1.3 billion people currently
and is expected to be about 2 billion by 2025.
Moses Ali, the first deputy prime minister
and deputy leader of government business
in Parliament, said the Uganda government
is committed to implementing the coffee
roadmap through strengthening the policy
and regulatory framework focusing on
among others, value addition, research in
new varieties, pests and diseases control,
youth and women engagement and offering
seedlings through government programs
like Operation Wealth Creation.
Feb 23 - March 01, 2018 21
business
KCCA nurses helping in Immunization of the public during the NSSF health camp on Feb 20.   INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA
NSSF in corporate citizenship drive
Fund’s customer satisfaction rate has grown from 49%
seven years ago to 92% as at the end of last December
By Independent
O
nce again, Uganda’s National So-
cial Security Fund (NSSF) held its
Annual Customer Connect Week
with a number of activities includ-
ing financial literacy trainings, investments
and medical health camps from Feb 19-23.
The activity, in its 5th year aims at
improving the livelihood of its members and
the rest of the public but also increase the
Fund’s customer engagement, update cus-
tomer records as well as collect feedback in
order to improve its overall customer service
experience.
Speaking during the launch of the event
at the Constitutional Square in Kampala on
Feb.19, NSSF Managing Director, Richard
Byarugaba, said this year’s Week themed
‘Revolving with our customer,’ a focused on
providing literacy on savings, investment,
retirements as well as provide free Hepatitis
B screening, Yellow Fever vaccination, diabe-
tes and high blood pressure.
This year’s event was organised in part-
nership with the Capital Markets Author-
ity (CMA), Uganda Registration Services
Bureau (URSB), Uganda Law Society (ULS)
and the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE).
“The Fund also focused on enrolling its
members to their e-service channels that
include Short Message Services and email
22 Feb 23 - March 01, 2018
alerts in order to improve convenience and
efficiency in their service delivery,” Byaru-
gaba said.
In terms of numbers, he said: “The
average usage of our e-channels is at 56%
on monthly basis while over the counter
engagements with the customers stand at
43%. We now want customers to be able to
self-serve anytime, anywhere, eventually
leading to reduction of queues at physical
service points.”
Byarugaba said through this and other
customer focused initiatives, the Fund’s
customer satisfaction rate has grown from
49% seven years ago to 92% as at the end of
December 2017.
Dr. Charles Kabugo, the director at the
government-owned, Kiruddu Hospital in
Kampala, appreciated NSSF contribution
towards improving the lives of its members.
He said it is time for the population to take
time and screen for various diseases includ-
ing Hepatitis B, diabetes and high blood
pressure.
“Many of our people are suffering from
these diseases and are not aware yet early
detection makes treatment easier,” he said.
“However busy you are, take some time and
undergo disease screening.”
This development comes barely a month
since the Fund and the Uganda Blood Trans-
fusion Service (UBTS) in partnership with
Equity Bank unveiled a week long blood
donation drive on Jan.08.
The initiative was to collect at least 4,500
units of blood to address blood shortage,
especially among others, expectancy moth-
ers, cancer patients, HIV positive patients
and accident victims.
According to the data from the World
Health Organisations, Uganda needs about
340,000 units of blood yet less than 200,000
units are collected annually as 99% of the
eligible population to donate do not do so.
This year’s Annual Customer Connect
Week came at a time the Fund’s contribu-
tions were soon hitting the Shs9 trillion mark
as a result of increased compliance and intro-
duction of voluntary contributions as well as
mobile platforms.
The company’s compliance towards
employee’s contribution has increased from
49% six years ago to 80% at the moment.
Last year, the Fund launched the NSSF
Electronic Collections portal that enables
employers pay NSSF contributions straight
to the Fund’s bank account along with pay-
ment schedules, which in turn enabled the
Fund to automatically post individual con-
tributions to member’s statements.
With customers nearly hitting two million,
the Fund looks forward to achieving the Shs
20 trillion by 2020.
Executive Style
Village Enterprise driving
entrepreneurship
What is your management
I
style as the CEO?
am an informal man-
ager who believes that
an organization should
be fairly flat and that the
most important people in
any organisation are those
on the ground implementing
programmes. We therefore
invest heavily in our staff
and try to promote them bot-
tom up.
Village Enterprise seems
to have been here for some
good time. What’s your mis-
sion?
Our mission is to end
extreme poverty in the East
Africa’s rural population.
We are currently working in
Uganda and Kenya but it is
our intention to work across
the sub-Saharan Africa. We
implement group-based
one- year programme,
which includes training and
enhancing establishment of
savings and business groups.
Later, the participants form
business groups, each with
three individuals as well as
saving groups consisting of 10
groups. These participants are
trained and provided with the
first cash transfer of US$100
to start the businesses while
still undergoing mentoring for
a year, and thereafter receive
their second transfer of US$50
as a follow-up.
How many business have
you facilitated to grow so far?
We have started over 39,000
businesses in rural Kenya
and Uganda over the last 30
years. Off these, 23,000 are in
Uganda.
Recently, you unveiled the
Development Impact Bond
(BID). How does this new
project work? wisely.
Village Enterprise was
selected by USAID and UK’s
DFID to implement the BID
for poverty alleviation in
Africa, model that has never
been done before. The dif-
ference between BID and the
traditional contracts is that the
former depends on measur-
able results. Previously, a lot
of money has been given with-
out knowing really what the
results are. This new develop-
ment is meant to ensure that
at the end of the program,
it has had an impact that it
intended to achieve – increase
the income and business
assets of business owners. We
are also rising capital from
investors who can provide an
aspect of financing so that we
can get the programme off the
ground. When we get paid
by the outcome funders, we
shall pay the investors back.
This allows private investors
to invest in social enterprises
like poverty alleviation and
also ensure that money is used
How far have you gone with
sourcing US$5million fund
Dianne Calvi
is the CEO
of Village
Enterprise
with
operations
in Uganda
and Kenya.
He spoke to
Isaac Khisa
about the new
innovations
in fighting
poverty in
rural areas.
for this Development Impact
Bond?
We are about two-thirds
in rising capital and quite
confident that we shall raise
the entire amount. We have
at the moment US$2.6million
and close to US$2million in
commitment. We are confi-
dent and hope to close the
fundraising exercise at the
end of April. We are going to
self-fund the programme with
over US$1million to the Bond.
How has the performance so
far of the Enterprise Village
businesses?
Village Enterprise has led to
increase in food consumption,
assets, savings and other busi-
ness related activities among
the communities. There’s also
a positive impact in all the
financial indicators as well as
subjective wellbeing such as
trust, integration and women
empowerment.
What are the criteria for se-
lecting the groups to partici-
Feb 23 - March 01, 2018
pate in this program?
We target extreme poor
in a participatory process
where community mem-
bers identify individuals
perceived to be very poor.
They then come together
as a larger group, who
again self-select whom they
are going to work with in
groups of three. Over the
years, we have seen these
groups continue to work
together, increased savings
and diversified their invest-
ment portfolio.
How are these so called
investors going to inject
capital into these busi-
nesses?
This program is designed
in a manner that investors
will invest in this Impact
Bond and then we will start
the business working with
the owners and the inves-
tors will be paid back based
on average increase in income
and assets of these businesses.
We plan to start over 4,600
businesses.
What are some of the chal-
lenges you face, if any, as you
implement your programme?
Some of challenges are cli-
matic changes such as drought
where we have had to teach
people how to develop year-
long business plans so that
they can think about risk
mitigation and the cycles of
drought and rain seasons.
The areas that we work in are
very remote and thus far from
markets and formal financial
institutions.
Where do you see Village
Enterprise in the next five
years?
We hope to see successful
implementation of the Impact
Bond in Kenya and Uganda
and also expand throughout
the Sub-Saharan Africa.
23
business
banking Beverages

Centenary Bank Coca-Cola excites consumers with new product  

allocates Shs500bn for ingredients.
agriculture financing Launched on Feb.12 at the company’s

C
entenary Bank has allocated Shs-
500bn to boost agriculture financing
this year, according to the lender’s
head of agribusiness and agricul-
tural finance, Evans Nakhokho.
Nakhokho, who was speaking during the
16th African Fine Coffee Conference and
Exhibition in Kampala on Feb 15, said the
bank is ready to finance all the agricultural
activities along the value chain.
This comes barely a month since the
Conrad Van Niekerk, Coca-Cola's MD addressing
consumers and journalists at the launch of Fuze
Tea in Namanve.  Independent/J.Businge.
bottling plant in Namanve, officials said,
the preservative-free beverage comes in two
flavors – peach, apple and lemon grass –
meant to appeal to busy consumers looking
for a refreshing and delicious drink while
they entertain, socialize or work.
“We recognize that our consumers’ have
diverse tastes and preferences, and the
launch of Fuze Tea gives us a unique oppor-
tunity to give our consumers a refreshing
beverage to enjoy as they go about their
busy schedules.

Uganda Agribusiness Alliance released its
2017 report on agriculture financing noting
that majority of the population who need
the agriculture funds are yet to have access
despite increased allocations by govern-
ment, private players and the donor commu-
nity towards Uganda’s agriculture financing.
U
ganda’s beverage company, Coca-
Cola has launched a new drink
- Fuze Tea – a unique blend of tea
extract and fruit flavors created
through a process that ensures a delightful
fusion of tea, fruit, herbs and other natural
The brand promises to deliver a unique
great tasting refreshment with the benefits
of tea,” the company’s Brand Manager, Mir-
iam Limo said. Fuze Tea is currently avail-
able in 52 countries worldwide. Uganda is
the first country to launch it with rollouts
expected to follow in other markets.

Commodities
banking
Foreign coffee buyers push Kenyan prices 3-year high
Ecobank gets

C
offee roasters and buyers flocking the season began on Oct. 10 to $280 per bag
to Kenya in their annual pilgrimage – the highest since February 2015. US$200million boost

U
for the pick of the crop have driven “This is the time we have the best quality
average prices for the beans to the of the beans in the market,” Nairobi Coffee gandan
highest level in three years. Exchange Chief Executive Officer Daniel Small and
The cost of a 50-kilogram bag of AA Mbithi told Bloomberg in an interview. medium
grade coffee fetched $679 at an auction on Kenya’s coffee export volumes declined enter-
Feb 13, the most since $751 at a sale last from 10, 803,598 kg in 2016 to 10,361,488 in prises banking with
year, according to data supplied by the 2017 on the back of unfavourable weather the Togo-based Eco-
Nairobi Coffee Exchange. conditions during harvesting period. bank Transnational
The average price has risen 50 % since Incorporated (ETI),
have a chance to
Aviation borrow part of $200
million, FMO, the
Jambojet to buy four aircrafts for new expansion Dutch development Ecobank Group

J
bank, has made CEO, Ade Ayeyemi
ambojet, a low-cost subsidiary of Sudan, Congo, Tanzania and Burundi. available for SME
Kenya Airways, plans to buy four air- “The applications were made in October growth across the member states.
crafts in the next 18 months to support last year and we are hopeful that by the end continent. In line with the
its local and regional expansions. of the year we shall have started flights to at Ecobank Group Ecobank Group’s
The airline’s CEO Willem Hondius said least two of these countries,” he said. CEO, Ade Ayey- strategic develop-
during the carrier’s maiden international “To expand, we need to increase our emi, said new ment objectives,
flight to Entebbe on Feb 15 that they expect capacity. We shall therefore get four more transaction will at least 75% of the
delivery of two used Bombardier Q400 air- aircraft by early next year, increasing our greatly enhance the $200 million will be
crafts in June and two new ones next year. fleet size to eight.” lender’s capacity to directed to SMEs
He said the Kenyan government, on Jam- One way ticket to between Nairobi and serve its SME cli- across various sec-
bojet’s behalf, has already applied for rights Entebbe has been priced at Shs 400,000 sub- ents. A least 75% of tors of the economy.
for the carrier to fly to Rwanda, Ethiopia, ject to revision in future. the facility is expect- Jürgen Rigterink,
Hondius said they are considering two ed to be directed to CEO at FMO said
options to acquire the planes since the busi- SMEs across vari- the new investment
ness does not have enough cash for outright ous sectors of the gives an opportuni-
purchases. economy. ty for SME’s to have
This development comes nearly two Ecobank has access to credit and
years since Jambojet was granted regula- branches in 36 therefore stimulate
tory approval to fly to 16 routes including countries, including their growth and
Entebbe, Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam, Zan- Uganda and the rest is job creation and
zibar, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza, Kigali, Juba of other East Afri- revenue generation.
and Bujumbura. can Community

24 Feb 23 - March 01, 2018

 business

aYo Uganda micro insurance

hits 500,000 customers
By Julius Businge important tool in getting

O
ver 500,000
customers have
signed up for
MyHospital and
MyLife micro-insurance
covers offered by aYo Uganda
Limited since opening shop
in Uganda in Sept. 2016.
This was confirmed by
the firm’s Chief Executive
Officer, Edwin Kwesiga.
aYo Uganda is a subsidiary
MTN's Wim Vanhelleputte (CEO), Olivier Printout (chief marketing of aYo Holdings Limited, a
officer) announcing 100% reduction in data pricing on Feb.20 in joint venture between MTN
Kampala.   INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA Group and MMI Holdings.
Speaking to The
Independent on the sidelines
of the new aYo two months
promotion dabbed “Fuuka
Don ne aYo”, Kwesiga said
they have paid out over Shs
100 million in form of claims
to over 150 customers.
“We are on course to
becoming the biggest
insurance service provider,”
he boasted, adding that in
the next three months, they
target to have increased the
number of customers on
these products by 100% to
one million.
Micro insurance is a very
low income earners out of
poverty as it protects them
against losses that threaten
their progress.
Thomas Sekanwagi, aYo’s
marketing manager said
their entry into insurance
aims to increase insurance
penetration that has muted at
1%for many years compared
to an average of over 2% for
the East African region.
Kwesiga said one of
the challenges they are
dealing with, is the negative
perception by people that
insurance companies do not
pay the insured (client) when
the loss occurs.
In defense, he said that
aYo does not require a lot of
paperwork like it is for other
big policies that insurance
companies offer. “We
process and pay our claims
in 72 hours,” he said.
Meanwhile, the new
promotion will see those
signed up for it stand a
chance to win instant MTN
airtime worth Shs10, 000
daily and entered in a draw
to win Shs 1 million every
week for eight weeks.

(L-R) Stanbic Bank Head of Corporate Communications and CSI, Cathy

Adengo, together with Daniel Ogong, FUFA Executives Magogo and Rogers
Byamukama, holding a dummy cheque on Feb 13. The bank offered
Shs300million sponsorship to the Uganda Cup.   INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA

Weekly share price movement (Feb 20)

Security Feb 20 Feb 13 Movement
BATU 30000 30000 00
BOBU 109 113 3.5
CENT 1,650 1,621 1.8
DFCU 682 682 00
EABL 8,862 8,971 1.2
EBL 1,533 1,558 1.6
JHL 17,940 18,015 0.4
KA 574 599 4.2
KCB 1,632 1,621 0.7
NIC 15 13 15
NMG 3,767 3,891 3.1
NVL 510 510 00
SBU 29 29 00
Gilbert Assi (L), the managing director at Vivo Energy Uganda handing UCHM 111 118 5.9
over a certificate to Kenneth Kibiegon Rotich a truck driver for good UCL 29 29 00
performance in speed limiting for the year 2017. Another 120 drivers were UMEME 410 410 00
recognized.   INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA
ALSI -- -- --

Feb 23 - March 01, 2018 25

business
By Allan Kinani
The plight of a woman
The tale of a Zombo and memories of Mahatma
Gandhi’s words on the evil of man
T
he scorching sun shot through
the trees that were shading
us, as the clock ticked noon.
A gush of fresh, replenishing
breeze swayed across, sweeping
the dry leaves under our feet and
seats. The scenery was everything I
envisioned when I was dispatched
by my Programs Manager, as part of
the Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA)
team, to organise and supervise a
women’s consultative meeting in
Zombo district, Northern Uganda.
The meeting brought together women
from over four villages, who shared
their experiences; including stories
on human rights issues that affect
their daily livelihoods, with a view of
devising potential solutions.
The conversation that lasted over two
hours, opened with a panel discussion,
before it was opened to the rest of the
participants, who took turns at sharing
their stories - of daily challenges, pain
and struggles, with an ease that was
as reassuring as it was empowering.
One of the women, possibly in her
40s, had a particularly arresting tale.
Smartly dressed in her multi-coloured
kitenge, she stood to speak, her face
visibly wary, betraying of a history
of pain. Her eyes shut, and raising
her left hand, she lazily pointed to
the skies, like one seeking spiritual
deliverance.
After what seemed like an eternity,
she managed a cordial greeting to the
rest of the room that was already tense
with anticipation. From the murmured
replies, one could sense they either
knew her story, or were equally
anticipating a touching tale. And
touching it was! She told of suffering
at the hands of her own family,
narrating an ordeal of experiences that
stripped her of her rights, dignity, and
freedom.
Her story told of the still prevailing
reach of patriarchal norms in her
society, where she tills land that only
boys and men can inherit, and whose
fruits, when harvest time comes, she
26 Feb 23 - March 01, 2018
has no say over, that privilege being
the preserve of the husband who
then uses the proceeds to facilitate
his nights in local bars, drinking, and
lavishly spending on other women.
As she spoke, the other women
sympathetically looked on,
murmuring approvingly. They
understood her pain, they related to
her story. She spoke of her husband’s
family that crowds her home and
keep around. How they ridicule and
disdain her, compel her to do their
laundry and expect her to provide
food for them while they sit and drink
all kinds of distillates. She spoke of
her deteriorating health, which was
not being given priority because the
husband prefers to look good and eat
well rather than take her to the nearest
The
experience
for me was
a revelation,
an eye-
opener of
how much
our society
has to do to
elevate the
status of
women
medical centre.
Her skin was pale, tears were
streaming down her eyes. She seemed
inconsolable as she went on with her
narration, wondering –rhetorically,
why women continue to suffer as men
enjoy all the privileges of just being
born male. She wondered whether
a better day lay ahead, when she
will wake up to a realisation of their
(women)’s rights. Will her daughters
complete their education before they
are married off? Will she ever get the
due right to own family property like
the men? Will she ever exercise the
right to control her sexuality and have
her views and opinions listened to?
She wondered loudly about all these.
As I listened to her story, goose
bumps started growing all over my
body. Her pain became my pain, as
I realised how privileged I was. It
occurred to me that this is the kind
of life that millions of women in
Uganda are subjected to; their rights
constantly trashed and trampled
upon. Mothers like her continue to die
because they cannot afford medical
care services, with society for the most
part relegating women to being sex
objects and punching bags; raped and
violated at will.
The experience for me was a revelation,
an eye-opener of how much our society
has to do to elevate the status of women,
especially in the rural areas. And as
I left Zombo that evening, Mahatma
Gandhi’s words kept re-echoing in my
ear: “Of all the evils for which man has
made himself responsible, none is so
degrading, so shocking or so brutal as his
abuse of the better half of humanity; the
female sex!”
Allan Kinani works at the Centre for
Policy Analysis

By Fred Phaswana
Keys to a new South Africa
The new leader; Ramaphosa will need to urgently
attend to them if the country is to chart a new course
J
acob Zuma resigned as South Africa’s
president – an inevitable move, fol-
lowing the African National Con-
gress’ withdrawal of its support. Two
decades after Nelson Mandela tried – and
failed – to pass the presidency to Cyril
Ramaphosa, the former deputy president
and current ANC head has become South
Africa’s leader. And the challenges that
Ramaphosa will face are almost as daunting
as those Mandela confronted in lifting his
country from the ruins of apartheid.
Nearly a quarter-century ago, four years
after Mandela was released from prison,
South Africans celebrated the birth of
an inclusive, constitutional state. During
Zuma’s tenure, however, that euphoria
evaporated. Amid allegations of endemic
corruption, ratings downgrades, corporate
malfeasance, and deepening malaise among
state-owned enterprises (SOEs), South
Africa’s regional and international standing
weakened.
For many, Ramaphosa represents a
return to national strength. He has vowed
to restore credibility to the management of
South Africa’s affairs, and to reinvigorate
the values of democratic inclusion. His
simple gestures, like starting meetings and
rallies on time, are departures from Zuma’s
more aloof approach.
But returning accountability and good
governance to South Africa will require
much more than punctuality. Three key
areas will need urgent attention if the
country’s incoming leader is to chart a new
course.
The first challenge, restoring faith in the
country’s rule of law, may be the hardest
to meet. Zuma’s “capture” of businesses,
the National Prosecuting Authority, and
cabinet appointments. was so complete that
untangling the webs of influence will take
time. But restoring public confidence in
these vital institutions must be made a top
priority.
Second, Ramaphosa’s government, when-
ever it is seated, will need to move quickly
to reform the state’s relationship with State
Owned Enterprises (SOEs). Zuma treated
these businesses as vehicles for personal
gain, and their mismanagement under-
mined economic growth and development.
An economy characterised by poverty,
inequality, and unemployment will never
recover if the drivers of wealth are not oper-
ating effectively.
For example, mining continues to be a
significant contributor to the South African
economy; if managed properly, the sector
could be a powerful lever for supporting
the growth of upstream manufacturing.
South Africa has some of the world’s largest
deposits of chrome and manganese, min-
erals that are essential for the manufacture
of electric vehicles, wind turbines, and other
components of the so-called Fourth Indus-
trial Revolution.
Unfortunately, because Zuma’s govern-
ment misused resource wealth by redis-
tributing mineral rents to loyal clients, trust
between the mining industry and the state
is nonexistent. And the only way to restore
it – and thereby increase exploration and
production – will be to overhaul legislation
and regulation to ensure stronger protection
of industry interests.
Restoring trust and accountability to
the business environment would attract
investment, create jobs, fill state coffers, and
improve redistribution, especially to those
for whom employment prospects remain
limited. This final point is key; in recent
years, South Africa’s welfare programs have
been threatened by poor governance and
Zuma treated
these businesses
as vehicles
for personal
gain, and their
mismanagement
undermined
economic growth
and development
comment
mismanagement, and can be reformed only
if economic growth returns.
Finally, Ramaphosa will need to invest
heavily in South Africa’s education system,
a sector that Zuma largely neglected. A
good place to begin would be with early
childhood education, where spending often
yields high long-term rewards. With the
youth unemployment rate currently at a
staggering 39%; putting more young people
to work will require rethinking how future
generations are trained.
South Africa is a small country, but with
the right reform-minded leadership, it can
reassume its regional role as an economic
and political powerhouse. In fact, this may
be the ideal time to make changes at the
top; much of Africa is undergoing similar
shifts, which could bring new opportunities
for economic cooperation. In neighboring
Zimbabwe, for example, the end of Robert
Mugabe’s misrule could reignite growth
linked not only to natural resources, but
also to value-added products, services, and
trade.
As South Africa navigates its own
presidential transition, the country must
redefine its role in an evolving geopolitical
landscape. To do that, the country must
reassert its role as an influential actor, while
pursuing a more dynamic, effective, and
integrated investment strategy. Strong
diplomacy and commercial outreach will be
essential, and South Africa’s leaders should
embrace and develop membership in eco-
nomic clubs, like the BRICS group of major
emerging economies (which also includes
Brazil, Russia, India, and China).
South Africans are ready for new leader-
ship. But to achieve a future defined by full
employment, social justice, strong gover-
nance, and international credibility – the
era that Mandela represented – Ramaphosa
will need to return to the path from which
Zuma so egregiously strayed.
Fred Phaswana is National Chairman of the
South African Institute of International Affairs.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018.
Feb 23 - March 01, 2018 27
comment
By Alexandra Borchardt
Free speech in the filter age
Firms cannot be allowed to profit from damaging content,
while avoiding responsibility for its consequences
G
ermany’s Network Enforcement
Act – according to which social-
media platforms like Facebook
and YouTube could be fined €50
million ($63 million) for every “obviously
illegal” post within 24 hours of receiving a
notification – has been controversial from
the start. After it entered fully into effect in
January, there was a tremendous outcry,
with critics from all over the political map
arguing that it was an enticement to censor-
ship. Government was relinquishing its
powers to private interests, they protested.
So, is this the beginning of the end of
free speech in Germany?
Of course not. To be sure, Germany’s
Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz (or NetzDG)
is the strictest regulation of its kind in
a Europe that is growing increasingly
annoyed with America’s powerful social-
media companies. And critics do have some
valid points about the law’s weaknesses.
But the possibilities for free expression will
remain abundant, even if some posts are
deleted mistakenly.
The truth is that the law sends an impor-
tant message: democracies won’t stay silent
while their citizens are exposed to hateful
and violent speech and images – content
that, as we know, can spur real-life hate
and violence. Refusing to protect the public,
especially the most vulnerable, from dan-
gerous content in the name of “free speech”
actually serves the interests of those who
are already privileged, beginning with the
powerful companies that drive the dissemi-
nation of information.
Speech has always been filtered. In
democratic societies, everyone has the
right to express themselves within the
boundaries of the law, but no one has
ever been guaranteed an audience. To
have an impact, citizens have always
needed to appeal to – or bypass – the
“gatekeepers” who decide which causes
and ideas are relevant and worth ampli-
fying, whether through the media, polit-
ical institutions, or protest.
The same is true today, except that
the gatekeepers are the algorithms that
automatically filter and rank all contri-
butions. Of course, algorithms can be
programmed any way companies like,
meaning that they may place a premium
on qualities shared by professional
28 Feb 23 - March 01, 2018
journalists: credibility, intelligence, and
coherence.
But today’s social-media platforms are
far more likely to prioritise potential
for advertising revenue above all else.
So the noisiest are often rewarded with
a megaphone, while less polarising,
less privileged voices are drowned out,
even if they are providing the smart
and nuanced perspectives that can truly
enrich public discussions.
If the algorithm doesn’t do the job of
silencing less privileged voices, online
trolls often step in, directing hateful and
threatening speech at whomever they
choose. Women and minorities are par-
ticularly likely to be victims of online
harassment, but anyone may be targeted.
The German blogger Richard Gutjahr, for
example, became the object of conspiracy
theories and the target of intense harass-
ment after being present at two terrorist
attacks within two weeks of each other.
Victims of online harassment often
respond with self-censorship, and many,
with their sense of security and even self-
worth eroded, remove themselves from
social media altogether. In this sense,
by offering blanket protections in the
name of “free speech,” countries actually
privilege hate speech. But why should a
victim’s rights count less than those of
their bullies?
In a democracy, the rights of the many
cannot come at the expense of the rights
of the few. In the age of algorithms, gov-
ernment must, more than ever, ensure
the protection of vulnerable voices,
even erring on victims’ side at times. If
already-vulnerable people are besieged
by mobs of extremists and aggressors, it
is entirely understandable that they will
fear speaking up. If that happens, “free
speech” is dead.
Not all NetzDG critics dispute this
assessment: some agree that the speech
of the vulnerable does need extra protec-
tion. But they argue that the necessary
protections are already in place. After all,
severe insult and incitement to hatred
and violence are prohibited, and perpe-
trators can be prosecuted. French Presi-
dent Emmanuel Macron, for example,
favours focusing on strengthening the
judicial system’s ability to deal with hate
speech and misinformation.
But, in the digital age, speed is decisive.
The technology is instant, and online
posts can be shared widely within min-
utes. Democratic institutions move rather
slowly – much too slowly for police and
the courts to be effective in fighting trolls
and online hate. And many victims are
not in any position to hire a high-quality
lawyer, as Gutjahr did. Relying on the
state’s most cumbersome institutions
alone is not an effective strategy for
protecting free speech on today’s digital
communication networks.
Hate speech and other kinds of dan-
gerous and illegal content must be
attacked at the source. On one hand,
there is a need for increased media lit-
eracy on the part of consumers, who
need to be taught, from a young age,
about the real-world consequences of
online hate speech. On the other hand
– and this is what the NetzDG attempts
to ensure – social-media platforms must
ensure that their products are designed
in ways that encourage responsible use.
But this is no quick fix. On the contrary,
it demands a fundamental rethink of
business models that facilitate and even
reward hate speech. Firms cannot be
allowed to profit from damaging content,
while shrugging off responsibility for its
consequences. Instead, they must revise
their algorithms more effectively and
scrupulously to flag content that humans
should monitor and assess, while
entrenching in all of their business deci-
sions an awareness of their responsibility
in the fight for truly free speech.
This may contradict the straightforward
business logic of doing whatever
maximizes profit and shareholder
value. But it is, without a doubt,
what is best for society. The German
government is right to push companies
in the proper direction.
Alexandra Borchardt is Director of Strategic
Development at the Reuters Institute for the
Study of Journalism.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018.
www.project-syndicate.org

By Stephen Chan
Africa’s leadership gap
The continent’s democracies badly need a new
generation of leaders, but where are they to be found?
I
n every single African country, young
people make up the majority of the pop-
ulation – and they are generally very
ill-served by their ageing governments.
Young leaders, where they can be found,
don’t just come with energy; the right ones
can bring new ideas, technocratic compe-
tence, and a new idealism. Instead, some of
the continent’s biggest populations are led
by old men and their old cronies, who have
depressingly little to offer.
What does the future hold for Africa’s
older, most entrenched leaders? Some seem
determined not to be moved: Joseph Kabila
is determined to cling to power in the
Democratic Republic of Congo, as is Yoweri
Museveni of Uganda. Other grand old men
who’ve tried to hang on haven’t done so
well, but their successors are hardly a breath
of fresh air.
The ouster of Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe
and the departure of South Africa’s Jacob
Zuma have respectively brought Emmerson
Mnangagwa and Cyril Ramaphosa into
office. But the two usurpers carry alba-
trosses round their necks.
Both are saddled with unreformed,
unhappy political parties. Mnangagwa is
forever associated with Zimbabwe’s history
of lethal violence; Ramaphosa, meanwhile,
is associated with the 2012 police massacre
of innocent people at Marikana. Change at
the top is often no change at all.
In Nigeria, meanwhile, septugenarian
President Muhammadu Buhari is in
poor health, and his bold promises have
evaporated. A former president, Olusegun
Obasanjo, has publicly advised him not
to contest the next elections because of his
health, but it was Obasanjo himself who
helped the sickly Umaru Musa Yar’Ardua
become president; he promptly died in
office, leading to the disastrous elevation
of his inept vice-president, Goodluck Jona-
than.
It’s bad enough that these leaders are
creaking and unimaginative. But to make
matters worse, none of their likely replace-
ments or opposition leaders have youth
on their side. None are nearly as sprightly
as Canada’s Justin Trudeau, France’s
Emmanuel Macron, or Austria’s Sebas-
tian Kurz. More conspicuously still, no
aspiring female president is anything like as
youthful as New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern.
One of the only exceptions is Liberia’s new
president, former footballer George Weah,
who will try to take his country forward.
Expectations are high, but Weah has never
run a ministry, let alone a government.
As far as most of Weah’s fellow demo-
cratic governments are concerned, no clean
break from the past is on the horizon. So
with the old guard holding on, what hope is
there for change?
Getting real
One thing that can be said about Rama-
phosa, at least, is that he has enough money
not to be readily bought. But the same is not
true of those around him, among whom are
many Zuma loyalists.
As for Mnangagwa, he is making a won-
derful show of talking the talk. After all, he
has to: Zimbabwe is bankrupt, and his level-
headed outreach to the rest of the world
amounts to a refined form of begging.
His predecessor, the oldest president of
them all, turned increasingly inwards until
his own country entered its catastrophic
economic decline. It will take much more
than a well-spoken leader to correct that.
And Mnangagwa’s government is now so
militarised, with generals in the cabinet and
former General Constantino Chiwenga as
Joseph Kabila
is determined
to cling to
power in the
Democratic
Republic of
Congo, as
is Yoweri
Museveni of
Uganda
COMMENT
vice president, that the iron fist which took
care of Mugabe could yet come down on
him.
After decades of a government in denial,
Zimbabwe needs 2018 to be a year of
realism. The road to recovery will be long
and arduous. For years the country has
had no financial plan, and its Western and
Chinese backers will be deeply wary of its
new claims to fiscal probity. If Mnangagwa
thinks he can talk the talk without walking
the walk, he will soon be disabused.
South Africa’s leaders, on the other hand,
need to choose where to start as they try
to clean house. Their efforts at positive
discrimination and black economic empow-
erment have largely failed. What devel-
oped was a class of lacklustre businesses
dependent on ANC contracts and contacts.
Nothing expanded, nothing grew. Instead,
small and medium enterprises need incen-
tives to grow – tax holidays, perhaps, rather
than privileged contracts; flexible credit, but
savage reprisals and foreclosures if they’re
wasted by mismanagement.
But at the centre of it all is educational
provision. Many in South Africa believe that
to reduce or reverse the terrible biases and
inequalities that still persist more than two
decades after the apartheid era, mass access
to higher education is required. If that’s
going to happen, university education has
to somehow be made free.
As for Nigeria, real change won’t come
any faster. If it can muster the nerve and
sensitivity, the government needs to get
behind reformers such as the Emir of Kano,
who is step-by-step trying to change things
in the conservative Islamic north. He argues
that only by bringing the conservatives
along with him can he stifle the region’s
violent fundamentalist groups, among them
Boko Haram.
This stately, pragmatic style is perhaps
the best many young Africans can cur-
rently expect from their leaders. There will
be no “youthquake” in Africa in 2018. If
they don’t make way for younger succes-
sors, African elders need to sharpen their
thinking, and fast.
Stephen Chan is Professor of World Politics,
SOAS, University of London
Feb 23 - March 01, 2018 29
Dr. William Manyilirah illustrates how the bypass surgery was done on a dummy heart during an interview with the Independent on Feb.15.  INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA
Mulago’s breakthrough
heart bypass surgery
The doctors and the patients tell their story
V
By Flavia Nassaka
ictor Ndawabo, 58, a Con-
golese national, was unusu-
ally lucky from the moment
doctors first discovered he
had coronary artery disease
(CAD).
The condition which presents with dan-
gerous blockage in the vessels that carry
oxygen-rich blood to the heart is often fatal
since it tends to develop with few symp-
toms.
Doctors call it ‘a silent killer’ because
some patients – usually older men of 45
years and above— are unaware they have a
problem until they suddenly collapse.
They may develop symptoms like palpi-
tations and shortness of breath and crushing
pain in the chest (angina) which has been
described as similar to someone carrying a
30 Feb 23 - March 01, 2018
heavy weight on the chest.
Doctors say the pain could be made
worse by exercise, for instance climbing
stairs, but if the blockage is severe, one will
get pain even when at rest.
Luckily for Ndawabo, he did not col-
lapse. But he experienced the immense pain
in the chest and started finding it almost
impossible to get on and off his bed. When
he failed to get treatment in his country, he
headed to Uganda and the Uganda Heart
Institute (UHI).
Doctors at the institute found Ndawabo’s
two arteries had been blocked. It was a
severe condition and they resolved to con-
duct a form of surgery called Coronary
Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG), which is
the third line of treatment in such cases.
Normally they would have started with first
line treatment—medical therapy—involv-
ing taking medicines to control the risk fac-
tors for CAD such as high blood pressure
and to stop blood clots from forming in
the arteries of his heart. If that failed, they
would go to second line, which involves
procedures that involve putting stents
(really gutters) in the blood vessels to keep
blood flowing.
But Ndawabo’s condition was so severe
that the doctors resolved to conduct the
Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG).
Once again Ndawabo was lucky because
this procedure, local medical experts say,
would have been impossible in Uganda if
he had come to the institute three months
ago.
Getting the equipment
Dr William Manyilirah, a consultant
cardiothoracic surgeon who led the surgery
team says doing CABG requires an Internal
Mammary Artery (IMA) Retractor, which

allows doctors to lift one half of the patient’s
breast bone and gain access to and harvest
the affected blood vessel. The Internal Mam-
mary Artery Retractor was only acquired
last December and Ndawabo was the sec-
ond patient to benefit from it.
Ndawabo was admitted for surgery
on Jan.31, but a team of 14 experts led by
Manyilirah had a week before done the first
successful surgery of the kind that involved
bypassing three arteries of the heart of a
45-year-old Ugandan patient.
Despite doing several of these procedures
in South Africa where he trained for four
years, Dr. Manyilirah had not done any in a
Ugandan medical facility.
The only time the institute conducted
such surgery (a double vessel CABG) was
in early 2016. But it was supervised by a
visiting South African professor of cardiac
surgery and the patient developed compli-
cations and had to be taken back to theatre.
The surgery took unusually long because
of lack of prerequisite equipment at the
time, improvised equipment was used to
perform the CABG.
“We didn’t have enough modern equip-
ment. You have to be exceptionally skilled to
use the ones they used in 2016,” Manyilirah
says.
Another important set of equipment are
the micro instruments (dissectors, scissors,
and needle-holders, among others), very
fine small instruments to handle small ves-
sels.
Manyilirah says the surgery is done in
three stages. First, the experts begin by har-
vesting the grafts (arteries and veins) from
the breast bone, forearm or legs. Then they
disconnect the heart and lungs and connect
them on a heart-lung machine for the sur-
gery. The third stage is the actual grafting
(connecting new vessels). Finally, the patient
is taken off the heart-lung machine to allow
the heart and lungs to function on their own.
“It’s called a bypass because if you got
an obstruction here,” he says pointing to a
dummy heart he used to illustrate what they
did, “We don’t unblock it; we actually put a
new vessel.”
In Ndawabo’s case, the surgeons harvest-
ed an artery from behind the left half of the
breast bone and a superficial vein from the
leg and connected it in front of the blockage.
Although it involved arresting the heart
and lungs, this was not an open heart sur-
gery but rather doctors worked on the sur-
face of the heart. It appears that after these
successes, more patients are lining up for
similar procedures.
Dr Manyilirah says patients who undergo
the bypass surgery should be able to leave
hospital in about five to six days but he
extended hospital stay in order to monitor
the patients well. While the first patient left
on the eighth post-operative day, Ndawabo
left on the ninth day.
“One spent three days in ICU and another
An all Ugandan team of the Uganda Heart Institute surgeons on Jan.24
conducts an historic coronary artery bypass grafting surgery.   COURTESY PHOTO
four, but a day or two in ICU is enough
under normal circumstances,” he said, not-
ing that the procedure alone lasts five to six
hours.
Until now, the Institute which received
about 500 patients with coronary artery dis-
ease last year, has been doing mainly coro-
nary angiography - a procedure that uses
a contrast dye and X-ray pictures to detect
blockages in the coronary arteries. At least
four to five patients undergo this procedure
every week. Some of these patients undergo
a stent operation, where a small metal mesh
tube that is expanded inside the artery is
placed to allow blood to flow efficiently.
Eventually having bypass surgery offered
at the Institute means patients will not incur
huge costs on medical services abroad.
Challenges ahead
But Dr. Tom Mwambu, one of the sur-
geons behind the procedure told journalists
on Feb.09, that the challenge is that people
who want treatment may not get it at the
time they need it.
Mwambu, a consultant surgeon who
trained both in Japan and India, says despite
upgrading the Institute to start doing com-
plex heart procedures in 2013, Uganda
Heart Institute only has one operating the-
atre and only one catheterisation lab.
He said while they have capacity in terms
of human resource to do three bypass sur-
geries per week, the facilities they need to do
this are lacking.
“Many patients are waiting. They should
be attended to when they walk in but we
can’t work on them immediately. Even the
critical care team can’t handle many patients
at once,” he said. He said ideally, the coun-
try should install more theatres.
Dr. John Omagino, the Institute’s Execu-
tive Director agrees and says they plan to
set up more theatres once they get their
health
independent facility and shift from Mulago
Hospital complex where they are currently
attached. Already construction of the facility
valued at $65million is under way.
“We are now an autonomous institution
but we are still transitioning from being
under Mulago Hospital. When we get a new
home, we will get more theatres, more labs
and recruit more staff,” he said.
Currently the institute has four surgeons
and two are in training. It has 12 cardiolo-
gists, eight for adults and four for children.
Omagino says of the 12,000 patients visit-
ing the institute annually half are found to
have heart disease and therefore have to be
treated by that small team. And, 85% of all
heart diseases can be controlled with simple
lifestyle changes.
For Coronary artery disease for instance,
the risk factors are uncontrolled high blood
pressure, smoking, a lot of alcohol con-
sumption, diet high in fat, obesity, family
history and aging.
Manyilirah explains that blockage results
from a chronic process involving slow
reduction in the size of the lumen of the
blood vessel caused by deposition of abnor-
mal fats or cholesterol. With time as it builds
up it narrows the lumen.
What sparks a heart attack is a clot caused
by turbulence in blood flow at the narrowed
segments of the artery and the heart ends
up not receiving blood leading to irregular
heart beat which gives little blood to the
body.
“I was anxious when Dr William told
me about this,” Mr Ndawabo told The
Independent on Feb.09 when he was being
discharged from hospital, “I feared it was
difficult.”
“My health is now good. I can talk, I can
eat, I can walk. I am satisfied,” the man who
is now part of the history of cardiology in
Uganda said. He is also unusually lucky.
Feb 23 - March 01, 2018 31
health
New blood test
can detect 8
types of cancer
R
By Tereza Pultarova
esearchers have developed a
new blood test that can de-
tect eight common types of
cancer, including the notori-
ously elusive liver and pan-
creatic cancers. Some day,
doctors may be able to use this method to
spot cancers in their early stages — before
the onset of symptoms — thus improving
patients’ chances of successful treatment
and survival.
The test, called CancerSEEK, looks for
a number of compounds in the blood that
are thought to be early signs of cancer.
These include 16 different cancer “driver
genes” — genes that are associated with
tumors — and eight proteins, according
to the study describing the test, which
was published Jan. 18 in the journal
`Science’.
“The sort of ultimate vision is that at
the same time that you are getting your
cholesterol checked when you are getting
your annual physical, you will also get
32 Feb 23 - March 01, 2018
your blood screened for cancer,” said lead
study author Joshua Cohen, a medical
and doctoral student at the Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine.
What’s more, the test appears to be
able to screen for five cancers for which
screening tests aren’t currently available:
ovarian, stomach, esophageal, liver and
pancreatic. These cancers typically don’t
cause symptoms until they reach more
advanced stages of the disease, when
treatment becomes difficult.
Liquid biopsies
What differentiates the CancerSEEK
test from previously developed so-called
“liquid biopsy” tests — tests that look
for markers of cancer in the blood — is
the use of two types indicators (genes
and proteins) to get more accurate results
across a wider range of cancers, Cohen
told Live Science.
The test uses an artificial-intelligence
algorithm to analyse the combinations of
genes and protein biomarkers found in
the blood sample and identify which type
of cancer the patient likely has, Cohen
said. The tool could be particularly
important for general practitioners, who
could administer the test and then send
their patient for additional testing to
verify the result, he said.
For example, if the blood-test results
suggest stomach cancer, a doctor could
recommend the patient get an endoscopy
to confirm the results, Cohen said. Simi-
larly, test results pointing to colon cancer
could lead to a colonoscopy.
To study how well the blood test
worked, the researchers tried it on about
1,000 patients with known diagnoses
of cancer that hadn’t metastasized,
or spread to other parts of the body.
These cancers included breast, ovarian,
stomach, liver, pancreatic, esophageal,
colorectal and lung. The researchers also
enrolled about 800 healthy patients with-
out cancer to serve as a control group.
The test detected cancer with 69 to 98
percent accuracy, the study found. And
the more advanced the cancer, the higher
the accuracy.
But for cancers in an early stage — for
example, stage one cancers — the test
accurately detected cancer just 40 percent
of the time. Independent experts see this
relatively low figure as the major weak-
ness of the test.
Low sensitivity?
“The sensitivity of the test in stage one
cancer is quite low, about 40 percent,”
said Dr. Mangesh Thorat, deputy direc-
tor of the Barts Clinical Trials Unit at the
Center for Cancer Prevention at Queen
Mary University of London. Thorat was
not involved in the new study.
“Even with stage one and two com-
bined, it appears to be around 60 per-
cent,” Thorat told Live Science. “So the
test will still miss a large proportion of
cancers at the stage where we want to
diagnose them.”
The blood test also detected cancer in 1
percent of the control group, according to
the study. This could either mean that the
test has a 1 percent false-positive rate (in
other words, it falsely points to cancer 1
percent of the time) or that the individu-
als do in fact have cancer that has not yet
been diagnosed, Cohen said.
“The test needs to be validated in a
large-scale study that would evaluate tens
of thousands of healthy individuals to
confirm the sensitivity and specificity,”
Cohen said. “It’s really important to con-
firm the results and demonstrate that this
test would work in a real-world” setting.
Cohen said the researchers want to
increase the sensitivity and accuracy of
the test by including additional types of
biomarkers

Researchers explain what
makes employees happy
By Agencies
W
hat is the key to
being happy? More
specifically, what
is the key to being
happy at work? More money,
more time off, family benefits?
Researchers suggest that they
may have found the answers.
Unless you’ve been hiding
under a rock, you’ve probably
heard the hit song “Happy” by
Pharrell Williams. The lyrics
encourage listeners to “…clap
along if you know what happi-
ness is to you.”
Which begs the question,
what is the key to being happy?
More specifically, what is the
key to being happy at work?
More money, more time off,
family benefits?
That’s what researchers at
The University of Alabama
want to know and they may
have found some answers.
Dr. Jonathon Halbesleben,
associate professor of human
resource management and
organisational behavior at the
Culverhouse College of Com-
merce, has spent his career
researching what makes people
happy and more productive in
their jobs.
“When people feel like they
have meaningful work and it’s
adding to what the company is
trying to accomplish -- particu-
larly if they buy into the compa-
ny goals -- that can be the most
powerful force to keeping peo-
ple happy,” says Halbelsleben.
Halbesleben’s research shows
that pay and benefits only get
employees so far and these ben-
efits don’t necessarily contribute
to workplace happiness.
“What you need to do is have
that (pay) at a baseline level that
people can be satisfied with it,
and then these social factors
like how meaningful their work
is, how well they get along
with their coworkers -- these
things play a much larger role,”
explains Halbesleben. “The
people that ask a lot of ques-
tions about pay and these basic
things, they tend not to be real
happy in their jobs. The people
that stay in their jobs and are
really happy are people who
often, from the beginning, are
asking about opportunities for
growth.
Companies known for mak-
ing their employees happy like
Google and LinkedIn often pay
less than expected, but they may
have found the key to creating a
happy workplace.
Whistle
while you
work!
“Those are really good exam-
ples because many of those
companies actually pay below
average,” says Halbesleben. “I
think a lot of people don’t even
know that people often take a
pay cut to work at Google. And
the reason is, they do a really
good job at identifying talent
that can contribute in meaning-
ful ways, and then they give
them the space to contribute in
those meaningful ways.” Hal-
besleben adds that companies
like Google give their employ-
ees freedom and room to grow.
His research indicates that
companies need to find people
they trust to do the job and then
let them do the job. “At Google,
there is a set percentage of time
within the workweek that an
employee can do whatever they
want with that time, and it’s not
whatever you want as long as it
makes Google more profitable,
it just gives them the freedom
to develop these new, crazy
ideas that they don’t have to
worry about it intruding on the
other work that they should be
doing,” explains Halbesleben.
“So rather than coming into
work each day and you’ve got
this to-do list and you’re just
checking it off, it’s a chance to
sort of shape the job in a way
that you really, truly enjoy. I
think a lot of these companies
do a really good job of that and
as a result people are really
happy there.”
So why aren’t more compa-
nies following Google’s lead?
“I think a big part of it some-
times is hard for companies
to give up sort of the control.
Standardization has just been
ingrained in everything that has
been produced in America for
so long,” says Halbesleben.
There is also new research in
something called job crafting.
The idea behind job crafting is
that the employee creates the job
description they’re interested
in, one that suits their skills, and
that makes them happy.
“On the surface that sounds
really scary because you’re like,
look at all these people doing
their own thing, Halbesleben
says. “Take for example profes-
Feb 23 - March 01, 2018
health
sors at a university -- the courses
have to get taught. You don’t all
decide that you’re going to craft
your jobs, but not teach. The
work gets done, but employees
might naturally reconfigure
how the work gets done and
who does what work in a way
that better suits their desires,
their talents, and their aspira-
tions for the future. And as an
employee, working with your
coworkers to craft your jobs in a
way that puts you in that place
that makes you happy, that’s
going to be really important.”
Another factor to job happi-
ness that is important, but often
overlooked is the time employ-
ees are not on the job. Research
consistently shows it’s a huge
contributor to job satisfaction.
“So actually switching off
from work for a while, not
checking your email at night,
these types of things, go a long
way to the time at work being
happier and more productive,”
says Halbesleben. “There’s a
whole line of research about
recovery that looks at that issue
of what people do in their
off time. And it consistently
finds that having time away
from work -- truly away from
work -- gives people a chance
to recharge their batteries and
come back to work in a much
better place, be more productive
and less stressed.”
Source: University of Alabama,
Culverhouse College of Commerce
33
 ART | BOOKS | SOCIETY | TRAVEL | CULTURE
Mistress of University in Kampala,
Nabulime started carving
against the traditional stereotype
sculpture
that women cannot be sculptors.
She has since become an
inspiration to many young
women whom she teaches at the
celebrates
same university. Her message is
that they too can be successful
in a patriarchal society and art
field.
25 years
As has become her badge,
Nubulime is showcasing works
carved out of battered piece of
wood or root stumps that she
salvages from imminent decay
and waste. These she integrates
R
By Dominic Muwanguzi into objects of art, with particular
interest of preserving their
enowned Ugandan natural form. Her technique is
sculptor, Dr. Lillian recycling and conservation of
Mary Nabulime of nature in art with a narrative.
Makerere School Nabulime can be creative,
of Fine Art, is cheeky and introspective at the
celebrating 25 same. While interrogating the
years of art making with an subject of womanhood, she
amazing display at Afriart on underlies it with a delicate topic
7th gallery located in Industrial of HIV- AIDs. With awareness
Area, Seventh Street, on the The that public sex talk is still
Studios Building. regarded as taboo, she tactfully
The exhibition features blends it with other subjects that
highlights of a journey that nonetheless stimulate debate,
started 25 years ago when, as a questions and answers. Her
young art student at Makerere interpretation is objective and
34 Feb 23 - March 01, 2018
blameless.
It is evident that Nabulime’s
art raises dialogue on critical
and sometimes delicate issues
of society, but her technical
innovation; figuratively working
with hardwood and synthetic
media, makes such a venture
palpable to the audience.
In one of her previous exhibits
`Dreams and Consequences’,
the artist adopted the Musizi
tree that was growing next to
the sculpture studio, into her art.
She used the trunks to sculpt
large hardwood sculptures on
womanhood; specifically the
lifestyle of female university
students. It can be argued also,
that the hardwood adopted
in her art like Mahogany,
Musizi, Muvule is a metaphor
for women strength and
natural endowment. This is
evident in how she titles her
sculptures like bold, Courage
and flamboyant. To create
an authentic conversation on
technical innovation, she fuses
her wooden sculptures with
metallic / aluminum plates that
she skillfully embellishes on the
body of the sculpture. In this
case, the aesthetic benefits stand
 arts

The Obama portrait

By Kehinde Wiley stories that can unfold on a physical

O
ver the course of the past year,
I have had the life-changing
honour of painting President
Obama’s portrait for the
Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.
On Monday, we unveiled it to the
world.
I’d like to tell you a bit about it.
In choosing the composition and
colors for this painting, I sought to
create an allegorical index to President
Obama’s life story -- using key
botanicals that reference his personal
presence in the world. Jasmine from
Hawaii. Chrysanthemums from Chicago.
Blue African Lilies from Kenya.
And the nature of the president’s pose
is not sword-wielding or swashbuckling.
It’s contemplative. Humble. Open to the
world in its possibilities. A man of the
people.
As an artist, my practice is the
contemporary reinterpretation of
painting. I’m inspired by its history,
by its mechanical act, and the human
plane. And what drives me is this notion
of a history that is at once welcoming
of those human stories -- while
being dismissive of those that don’t
correspond to some accepted notion of
respectability.
And my aim was to use the universal
language of painting to arrive at a much
more inclusive commentary of our own
collective potential.
The particular honour of being the
first African-American painter to paint
the first African-American president
has been, for me, beyond any individual
recognition.
It is bigger than me, and anything I
could gain out of this. It presents a whole
field of potential for young people --
particularly young black and brown kids
who might see these paintings on museum
walls and see their own potential.
Art can function in practical, descriptive
ways -- but it can also inspire in so many
resounding multiplicities. That is my hope
for this painting. Thank you.

out. Her recurring motifs are non-

traditional; red acrylics on lips
of the feminine sculptures, and
stylish mini-dresses that embody
the modern notion of women
empowerment.
Additionally, her sculptures ''The particular
are four dimensional instead of honour of being the first
the traditional three dimensional.
This is a significant departure African-American painter
from the sculptures she was to paint the first African-
making 25 years ago as a American president has
student artist at Makerere.
Then her sculptures were still; a
been, for me , beyond any
quintessential characteristic of individual recognition''
figurines. The current format of
her artwork connotes a departure
and highlights her tendency to
innovate and experiment.
Miniatures in terracotta
medium are also a regular feature
in her exhibits. Often presented
in series form: in groups of twos
or threes, the clay works suggest
a rather theatrical expression
similar to characters in stage
drama. Built with a notion of
simplicity in mind, the artwork
is often a figurative showcase of
the mundane lifestyle of young
women, for example gossipers.
The various facial expressions
worn by these caricatures make
it easier for their audience
consumption.

Feb 23 - March 01, 2018 35

Drug dealer kidnaps medical staff, makes them vaccinate community against yellow fever
Thomaz Vieira Gomes, also known as
2N, is considered one of the most danger-
ous criminals in Rio de Janeiro, but recently
he actually did something decent, albeit
still illegal, for once. He and his gang kid-
napped two male nurses and made them
vaccinate the poor people of his slum
A real `throne’ finally!
I’m pregnant: woman
tells man with
billboard
A woman from San
Luis Potosí, Mexico came
up with an ingenious
way of notifying the man
who allegedly got her
pregnant and then cut off
all contact, even blocking
her on Facebook, that her
pregnancy test came out
positive. She installed a
bizarre advertising billboard
on top of a building on the
city street, complete with
his photo, full name, and
the very personal message.
The billboard went viral
on social media and most
people found the billboard
hilarious. It’s not clear if the
stunt was successful and
the anonymous woman was
finally able to get in touch
with Carlos Orozco.
36 Feb 23 - March 01, 2018
against yellow fever. and vaccine doses as they could find, and
For months, Brazil has been dealing with kidnapped two of the male nurses on duty
a yellow fever epidemic that has already that night. They then drove to the Ama-
left dozens dead. On January 27th, the relinho bar in Salgueiro where the two
young gang leader and a few of his cro- nurses spent hours administering yellow
nies descended on a local state-run clinic fever vaccines to members of the local com-
in two black cars, took as many syringes munity.
Bad headache changes woman’s accent
Some people call the toilet the
“throne room” but let’s us be hon- diagnosed with
est; finding clean and decent-smell- the unusual
ing public toilets is hard enough, but
condition in
one that makes you feel like royalty?
2015. She was
Normally, I would say such a place
diagnosed with
doesn’t exist. Unless you are at this
Foreign Accent
petrol station toilet in Quezon, the
Syndrome, an
Philippines. It features gilded wall
and ceiling decorations, a big gilded extremely rare
mirror, a small chandelier and even 45-year-old her to speak in condition, with
a wooden throne frame around the Michelle Myers, various foreign only 60 cases
toilet bowl. And Petron makes no from Phoenix, accents – British, reported since
secret of wanting its customers to Arizona, suffers Australian, Irish 1907. “Rare
feel like real-life kings when using from Foreign – despite having diseases are
their spectacular facility. Hanging Accent Syn- never traveled very emotional.
on the walls is a big sign – with a drome, a very outside of the You feel very
gilded frame, obviously – that reads rare condition United States. alone, isolated,”
“At Petron you are KING!” that causes Myers was she says.
Couple’s dream sinks Indian woman poses
A young couple who quit their jobs and sold everything they as man, marries two
owned in order to buy a boat and go on an epic sailing adventure
had to put their bold dream on hiatus - after their sailboat sank just women for dowry
two days into their voyage. Tanner Broadwell and Nikki Walsh had
been planning their once-in-a-lifetime adventure for over two years Krishna Sen had always been
and invested over US$10,000 (Approx.Shs36 million). The couple a bit of a tomboy, but in 2013 she
stocked the boat and on Feb.06 set off from Tanner Springs in Florida, went a step further, adopting a
USA. The first day went by as planned. But not the second as disas- male persona on social media
ter struck at 8.45 pm and their boat, named Lagniappe (Creole for and approaching women online
‘bonus’) sank with all their belongings. They were rescued. in hopes of starting a romantic
relationship with them. She
started wearing men’s clothes,
cutting her hair short and even
changed her name to Sweety
Sen. Over the course of three
years, the disguised woman
managed to convince two
women to marry her, and then
started pressuring them and
their families for dowry. Sweety
Sen was recently arrested and
told police that he never allowed
his wives to touch him during
the day, and only consummated
their marriage at night, in total
darkness, using sex toys she had
bought online. A medical
Hands-free
phone use
while driving
How safe
is that?
By Motoring Guru
U
nder the Traffic and Road Safety
(Restriction of Use of Mobile
Telephones) Regulations, 2004,
the use of mobile telephone while
driving is restricted and punishable by law
in Uganda.
Under the regulation, a person shall
not—(a) while driving a motor vehicle, use
a hand-held mobile telephone; or (b) while
instructing a learner driver, in the process of
driving, use a hand-held mobile telephone.
According to the regulation, any person
who contravenes it is liable, on conviction,
to a fine of not less than five currency
points (Shs100,000) and not exceeding ten
currency points (Shs200,000), or to impris-
onment not exceeding on year, or both.
Interestingly, the regulation makes the
following exemption: “A person does not
contravene regulation 3, if he or she is using
a hands free kit or similar device inserted to
the mobile telephone.”
This exemption is interesting in light of
what is known about the impact on driver
concentration while using a hands free
device. Many experts have argued that use
of hands-free mobile phones should be
regulated in the same manner as use of the
hand-held mobile phone. They argue that
using any phone while driving is a major
cause of distraction, irrespective of whether
the call is hands-free or not, legal or illegal.
They say that chances of having an accident
while using a hands-free phone increase
four-fold.
Scientists at the University of Sussex in
2016 conducted studies that showed that
drivers using a phone in its hands-free
mode are as distracted as when holding it.
They discovered that phone conversations
cause the driver to visually imagine what
they are talking about and that this activity
uses the same part of the brain as normally
used to watch the road. The effect of the
distraction is almost the equivalent of driv-
ing at the threshold of the drink drive limit.
It means the chances of you having an acci-
dent using hands-free increases four-fold.
The stakes are just too high.
Often, such people are busy business
owners or managers who use the car as an
Scientists
showed that
drivers using
a phone in its
hands-free
mode are as
distracted
as when
holding it
extension of the office. They negotiate deals,
set up appointments, or teleconference
while driving. On the social from, many are
individuals involved in critical relationship
discussions and even emergencies.
In reality, they are involved in conversa-
tions that require concentration. One expert
in Britain said according to an online report:
“If you’re just talking, you’re thinking about
your conversation, the journey has gone
and you don’t remember those last 20 miles.
“It is time the Government acted to put
an end to the menace of hands-free and they
need to impose a penalty commensurate
with drink driving.”
Another study sponsored by AAA Foun-
dation for Traffic Safety in the U.S., has
given the latest “up-to-date risk estimates
related to the most common ways drivers
use smartphones while behind the wheel.
It says texting while driving increases the
odds of a crash two to eight times, while
driving and talking on mobile devices—
even handsfree—makes an accident four
times as likely.
It confirmed that drivers who engage in
visual-manual tasks while behind the wheel
elevate their risk of a crash. In the AAA’s
view, any tasks that require them (drivers)
to take their eyes or attention off the road is
a distraction and should be avoided while
the vehicle is in motion; this includes the use
of handheld or hands-free cell phones.
Feb 23 - March 01, 2018 37
 Profile
Malaika Nnyanzi on lessons
from her mother
By Agnes E Nantaba
M
alaika Nnyanzi is
a fast rising radio
and TV personal-
ity in Uganda
with a growing audience. She
co-hosts the morning show
‘D mighty breakfast’ with
Brian Mulondo on KFM. She
is also an MC for events and
an actress who has featured
in several films including the
popular ‘Beneath the lies’. Em-
ceeing is another job she loves
doing and her first gig was for
the NEYO concert.
One does not have to look
too deep to find the source
of her bubbling energy and
passion, Nnyanzi will tell you
matter-of-factly that she is
motivated by the love of good
things. And since good things
cost money, she has no choice
but to hustle.
Her typical day starts as ear-
ly as 3:45am to prepare for the
breakfast show after which she
proceeds to edit for Vodafone
and this feeds into the evening
gigs as MC closing the day at
about midnight. But even with
such a long day, Nnyanzi is
happy to work.
“I made a decision to sleep
when I have earned it and until
then, I work while I still can,”
says Nnyanzi.
“My mother taught me to be
a hardworking person”.
Nnyanzi is the only girl and
last born of the two children
of Mr. and Mrs Nnyanzi. She
was born in Nairobi Kenya at a
time when her father, a former
army man was exiled. The
family later relocated to Ugan-
da; settling in the heart of
the city before resettling
in Kampala’s suburb
of Bugolobi.
There, she
went to Safari
Kindergarten,
Kampala Par-
ents School,
38 Feb 23 - March 01, 2018
Gayaza High School and com- private life unlike TV. It was
pleted high school at Makerere not long before she started
College. She graduated with receiving invites for radio jobs
a Bachelor of Science in Inter- and two years down the road,
national Business at United she called it quits with urban
States International University Television to take up her
in Nairobi. In Nairobi, she current position on
says, she worked as a models KFM radio
manager doing productions
for Swahili Fashion Week and
Zambia Fashion Week among
others across the region. She
joined the media when she
returned from Kenya after the
six year sojourn.
“When I returned to Ugan-
da, my initial plan was not to
stay for too long but return to
Kenya and start something
new,” said Nnyanzi.
“I was still thinking on my
next move and discovering
myself”.
As a person who never sits
back but finds something to
do, Nnyanzi’s next move was
to try out several other jobs;
including marketing and man-
aging models back in Kenya.
Even when she had not done
a media job before, Nnyanzi
chose it over a corporate job
just as something she had
always loved to do. She
started with Urban TV
hosting `Urban Today’ and
later `Fashionista’.
“The job rediscovered
me and opened up my
world,” she says.
But, as an admirer of
top radio personalities,
Nnyanzi equally
loved radio which,
she says, gives
room for a

Malaika Nnyazi’s Liteside
Any three things we don’t
I
know about you?
love dancing. People
think I am very
friendly and I am
polite. I also like to
keep to myself because I
am a private person.
What is your idea of
perfect happiness?
I love to be with my
friends, dancing and
watching movies.
What is your greatest fear?
Snakes and mediocrity
scare me.
What is the trait you most
deplore in yourself?
When someone upsets
me, I shut off completely
which is very unfair to
the other person since it
doesn’t give them chance
to explain or correct.
What is the trait you most
deplore in others?
Negative people who
always find the bad in
everything and those who
can’t tolerate a different
opinion.
Which living person do
you most admire?
Beyonce and Bonang
Matheba. I also respect
Crystal Newman for
she has shown everyone
that you can be a lady,
mother wife and media
personality. And even
with all that, she
remains calm.
What is your greatest
extravagance?
They say I love shoes too
much but there is no such
a thing. I just love shoes.
What is the greatest thing
you have ever done?
Being the only one
to interview and host
NEYO in Uganda; it was
also great being the first
Ugandan to host the
Namibian Annual Awards
and Rockstar TV.
What is your current state
of mind?
I am just a happy person.
What does being powerful
mean to you?
My mother is the best
definition of a powerful
person. Power is being
able to use the brick stones
thrown at you to build a
house. My mother uses
those things to build and
gets even better.
What do you most dislike
about your appearance?
I have always been small
but people make too much
fuss about it. It made me
somehow hate my body
but of recent, I am learning
to love myself.
Which living person do
you most despise?
I am just so busy to start
despising me.
What or who is the
greatest love of your life
Without a doubt, it has
to be my mother. She
taught me every value
in life. The love she has
doesn’t stop with us but
spreads to others.
When and where were you
happiest
When I got my radio job
was a dream come true.
The feedback was positive
and there is nothing
greater than loving and
being loved back. Every
step and stride I have
made in my career has
been a happy one for me.
When I graduated with
a first class degree, it
was so amazing. When I
returned to Uganda and
still struggling, I requested
to borrow my Mum’s car
only to be surprised with
my own. That car means so
much to me and I pledge
never to sell it but pass it
on to my children.
Which talent would you
most like to have?
I wish I could sing.
If you could change one
thing about yourself, what
would it be?
I want to get bigger in
size.
What do you consider
your greatest
achievement?
Everything I have
achieved is great.
If you were to die and
come back as a person or a
thing, what would it be?
Everything about
Beyonce.
Where would you most
like to live?
I can live anywhere in
Africa.
What is your most
treasured possession?
My shoes.
What do you regard as the
lowest depth of misery?
Burying your child is
just too much.
What is your favorite
occupation?
I never pick from my
children because all of
them feed into each other.
However, radio is my
training ground.
Feb 23 - March 01, 2018
Q&A
What do you most value
in your friends?
Their ability to
understand me; they love
me for who I am, support
each other and be there at
all times.
Who are your favorite
writers?
I am trying to learn how
to read because I listen
more.
Which historical figure do
you most identify with?
I can’t think of anyone.
Who is your hero of
fiction?
I love Natalie Portman;
she is able to capture an
emotion, falls and fits into
any character and has a
high level of passion. I love
and follow her for that. I
also love Bonang of South
Africa.
Who are your real life
heroes?
That has to be my
mother
What is your greatest
regret?
I know God does
everything in His time but
I believe that I delayed
God’s plan for me. I
think the if had I stayed
in our company, a year
longer and may be things
wouldn’t have turned out
the way they did
How would you like to
die?
I don’t want to go past
the age of 60 years unless I
am able bodied. But I also
want to go when Africa is
the dream destination.
What is your motto?
I was born to be great,
it’s not an aspiration, is my
destiny.
39
Global comment
By Aloysio Nunes Ferreira
A global refugee strategy
Brazil’s policy of open doors, and open arms reminds
us to offer safety to those united by hardship
R
ecently, leaders from Latin America
and the Caribbean met in Brazil
to discuss solutions to the global
refugee crisis. Observer countries,
international organisations, and representa-
tives of civil society also took part in the dia-
logue, which was co-hosted by the Brazilian
government and the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The aim of the two-day gathering was
to strategise new ways to assist the mil-
lions of displaced people in the region
and around the world. Their conclusions
will help form the regional contribution
to a new “global compact on refugees,”
which will be presented to the UN Gen-
eral Assembly later this year.
Addressing the plight of refugees is
one of the greatest challenges currently
facing the international community.
With some 65.6 million people forcibly
uprooted by violence, natural disasters,
and economic hardship, there are more
displaced people today than immedi-
ately after World War II. And, because no
country is immune to the consequences
associated with large movements of
refugees, only a coordinated response
can ameliorate the suffering. Rather than
closing borders, as some governments
have done, the international community
must work together to address the issue
of global displacement.
As we search for solutions, it is impor-
tant to remind ourselves that while refu-
gees may flee for different reasons, they
are united by hardship. As UN Secretary-
General António Guterres notes, refugees
are the “most vulnerable of the vulner-
able,” people who have been driven from
their countries, families, and friends, not
by frivolous impulse, but by persecution
and conflict. In other words, no matter
where refugees are going, they are run-
ning for their lives.
In response to this tragic reality – and
despite being saddled by a severe fiscal
crisis that has led to austerity measures
at home – Brazil’s government has accel-
erated efforts to protect those arriving on
our shores. Through the establishment
of new integration and resettlement pro-
grams, Brazil is reinforcing an open-door
policy toward refugees, the displaced,
and the stateless, while also signaling our
40 Feb 23 - March 01, 2018
leadership on this issue.
For example, in January 2012, Brazil
established a humanitarian visa program
to benefit Haitians forced to flee after
the devastating 2010 earthquake. More
than 85,000 Haitians migrated to Brazil,
and all had their legal status quickly
resolved, enabling them to work, study,
and use the public health-care system.
This effort not only afforded a degree of
dignity to the displaced; it also helped
insulate refugees from “coyotes,” smug-
gling networks that prey on the destitute
and desperate.
Then, in 2013, another humanitarian
visa program was created, this time to
benefit people affected by the conflict
in Syria; more than 10,000 entry visas
were eventually allocated as part of that
initiative. Finally, in late 2017, Brazil
adopted a new national migration law,
which guarantees migrants the same
legal protections as citizens, in line with
the human-rights principles that inform
Brazil’s foreign policy. The legislation
also helped simplify the naturalisation
process for the stateless, virtually elimi-
nating the issue of statelessness in Brazil.
Every country has a responsibility
These
multilateral
agreements
are in addition
to unilateral
policies
adopted by
countries in
the region
to help those in need. Nevertheless, at
the moment, some countries are doing
more than others to assist refugees. Of
the world’s refugee population, 84% are
currently hosted by developing coun-
tries. As that figure clearly shows, a new
approach, based on shared responsibili-
ties, is urgently needed. That is why the
regional meeting that Brazil hosting
this February was so important. Simply
put, Brazil wanted to share what it has
learned.
For decades, Latin American and Carib-
bean countries have pursued a unified
approach to aiding the displaced, while
our legal frameworks have set the global
standard for refugee protection. For
example, in 1984, the region’s landmark
Cartagena Declaration on Refugees com-
mitted signatories to the principle of
non-refoulement. Three decades later,
regional governments renewed this
pledge by adopting the Brazil Declara-
tion and Plan of Action, which aims to
end statelessness in the region by 2024,
among other goals.
These multilateral agreements are in
addition to unilateral policies adopted
by countries in the region. Such policies
include constitutional protections for
asylum seekers, provision of temporary
identification documents, and guaran-
teed access to public education, banking,
and health-care services.
As these measures demonstrate, gov-
ernments in Latin America and the
Caribbean have laid the groundwork to
strengthen the international response to
the world’s refugee crisis. Brazil’s goal is
to channel the region’s collective experi-
ence into a more equitable, global solu-
tion. After the region’s leaders meeting
in Brasília recently, and when they join
world leaders in New York later this
year, we must inspire one another to ease
the suffering of the many millions who
have suffered enough. Only through
open doors – and open arms – will the
world’s refugees find safety.
Aloysio Nunes Ferreira is the Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Brazil.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018.
We are live everywhere, Always