News analysis Health Business

Fall armyworms are back, How much sex Bad 2016, gloomy lebrating
but governments help isnt makes us happy? 2017 for banks Ce

Issue No. 488 Sept 22 - 28 , 2017 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8
Years

Behind
Museveni
land tour
confusion
Cash handouts,
secret age-limit
talks and more

www.independent.co.ug
Celebrating


INSIDE: BUSINESS
Economic
POLITICS: Godber SUDAN: Matthew Musevenis vision
GOVERNANCE: FEATURE NEWS A NALYSIS NEWS A NALYSIS Why do experts, World Bank
anxieties

Charles Onyango- Tumushabe on Stein on the want shift in strategy?

Poverty looms as
gambling booms
Obbo on the new lessons from Ivory Souths walk to Foreign big-money Police PRO reappointed Experts divided NEWS ANALYSIS NEWS ANALYSIS BUSINESS

look of corruption Coast crisis freedom investment frenzy in again as major changes over HIV Teachers on Museveni can Shs 68 trillion
Tullows backyard rock force strategy new transfer save Zziwa but economy
policy what after?
Emirates Airlines in control

INDEPENDENT
Issue No. 239 November 09 - 15 , 2012 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8
THE

You Buy the Truth, We Pay the Price Issue 144 January 07 - 13, 2011 Ushs 4000, Kshs 180, RwF 1200, SDP 6

Issue No. 230 September 07 - 13, 2012 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8
Issue No. 347 December 12 - 18, 2014 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8
Obama II Win excites world Papal Visit

The Besigye, Museveni

How Museveni killed Amamas vision Exercise, diet against IMF cuts Ugandas 16-page
anti-Lukwago Bill for Uganda cancer of prostate growth prospects Special
Edition

problem

Secret
As seen from the
delegates conference
Issue No. 396 Nov. 27 - Dec 03, 2015 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8
Issue No. 395 Nov. 27 - Dec 03, 2015 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

oil deals
New rules to force www.independent.co.ug

CNOOC, Total, Tullow

to reveal money paid
By Haggai Matsiko

Welcome
Inside the hunt
www.independent.co.ug

Issue 347.indd 1 12/9/14 8:21 PM

Pope
for Al Shabaab
INTERVIEW NEWS ANALYSIS BUSINESS
Land grabbers
50 years of Joy & tears
All Makerere money Crane Bank

A SPECIAL INVESTIGATION
should be put in
one basket for
better staff pay
hit Entebbe






















opens Malaba
Branch
Shs 234 Bn brewery opens
INSIDE: Prof. Frederick Jjuko, Prof.Daniel Schydlowsky, Prof. John Ssali, Lawrence Kagwa, Mayanja Nkangi, Prof.
Mwambutsya Ndeebesa, Godber Tumushabe, Maj. John Kazoora, Yoga Adhola, Eliya Kisembo, Andrew Mwenda, Abbey
Francis
Ssemuwemba, Naomi Wolf, Simon Mayende, Moses Byaruhanga, Moses Matovu, Diplock Ssegawa, Ronald Kerajo 27: 11: 2015
By Andrew M. Mwenda THE ANNIVERSARY EDITION

www.independent.co.ug www.independent.co.ug Issue No. 280 August 30 - September 05 , 2013 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8
INTERVIEW INSIGHT BUSINESS NEWS ANALYSIS TRIBUTE: BUSINESS
Economy on Why
www.independent.co.ug
Issue No. 234 October 05 - 11, 2012 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8 Museveni Call rates stay up Independence Ali Alamin NSSFs
speech was thin but UCC says new
track- IMF on substance law will compel
Day in
pictures
Mazrui
Feb.24 1933 to
Shs 366
billion

Musevenis war within NRM

RWANDA: 37 men SUDAN: What are the COMMENT Prof. SPECIAL REPORT: SUDAN:INew BUSINESS: With RWANDA: SUDAN:Recent violence BUSINESS: Oct.13, 2014
accused of grenade implications for the Ian Buruma on Killed by the state currency still govt broke, oil Rwanda becomes in Abyei has potential Mobile money:
attacks are alleged ongoing stalemate in why Obama has at Kololo army base, shrouded in firms gain upper a Nyakatsiless to spark a wider north- So far so good,
FDLR agents Darfur? gotten it right buried in secret grave secrecy hand country south conflict but





 








INDEPENDENT INDEPENDENT INDEPENDENT
THE
THE

THE

Issue No. 218 June 15 - 21, 2012 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8 Issue No. 339 October 17 - 23, 2014 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

You Buy the Truth, We Pay the Price
Issue No. 154, March 18 - 24, 2011
Ushs 4000, Kshs 180, RwF 1200, SDP 6 You Buy the Truth, We Pay the Price Issue No. 157, April 08 - 14, 2011 Ushs 4000, Kshs 180, RwF 1200, SDP 6 You Buy the Truth, We Pay the Price Issue No. 158, April 15 - 21, 2011 Ushs 4000, Kshs 180, RwF 1200, SDP 6
Supplement
Uganda Health system
strengthening project
scholarships

Tight budget
scheme

The challenge behind the 2012/13 numbers What next

Banks make for Afande
Lord Mayor huge profits Kaweesi?
Lukwago 


  
Police boss Kayihuras
The Field Commander 


 

brings common mans Crane Bank


 
approach to the city billion

Besigye pays the price

FDC leader unleashes powerful strategy against Museveni

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www.independent.co.ug
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INTERVIEW: RWANDA: SUDAN: www.independent.co.ug Issue 339.indd 1 10/13/14 8:20 PM

RWANDA: SUDAN:IDanger of NEWS: Budget reading Economic turbulence War looms large in
www.independent.co.ug

Can its economy NGOs providing basic Whistleblower is ritual of same wont shake the South Kordofan,
services to almost Abyei and Darfur
accommodate its exposes smuggling old promises countrys optimism COMMENT
Q&A BUSINESS
Avalanche of banks
ROAD TO 2016 NEWS ANALYSIS BUSINESS
Richard Byarugaba Dont BoU committed
spiraling birth rate? 90% of the country ring inside tax body on reducing NSSF politicise `The country Foreign
suspense account fight against
corruption
EU to lead new UN
energy initiative World Paul Kagame, Yoweri Museveni, Barack Obama, Uhuru Kenyatta, Goodluck is about to be
plunged
TV wins
to ensuring
economic

INDEPENDENT
Jonathan, Bill Clinton, Augustine Ruzindana, Olara Otunnu, Ssebaana Kizito,
mourns Gerald Ssendaula, Pope Francis, Andrew Mwenda, Yusuf Sserunkuma,
Rebecca Kadaga, Kintu Musoke, Norbert Mao, Paul Kawanga Ssemwogerere,
into chaos stability
THE

Mandela
Issue No. 167, June 17 - 23, 2011 Ushs 4000, Kshs 180, RwF 1200, SDP 6

Issue No. 212, May 04 - 10, 2012

Amama Mbabazi, Ruhakana Rugunda, Prince William...
Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8

SUPPLEMENT:

Kayihura sacks
BUJAGALI LINE

Land grabbing,
You Buy the Truth, We Pay the Price Issue No. 159, April 22 - 28, 2011 Ushs 4000, Kshs 180, RwF 1200, SDP 6
COMMISSIONED
Issue No. 384 Sept. 04 - 10,2015 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

top police officers investors exposed

Museveni reacts, Oxfam, Uganda
Is it punishment or a purge? Land Alliance in trouble Issue No. 295 December 13 - 19, 2013 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8

2016
Election

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or war?
Security experts

Walk www.independent.co.ug
NEWS ANALYSIS
Corruption in
RWANDA
Rwandas
BUSINESS
NEWS ANALYSIS
Unwanted
INTERVIEW
Politics should
BUSINESS
In-flight catering
raise alarm over






to war
High costs threaten comes of age
low cost housing investors be a sacrifice -
F
C igh
Uganda business capital sector
Making resource
rich regions Dr Ian Clarke Wining but not winning, yet
orr ti
INTERVIEW:
Besigye wants to
RWANDA:
Is corruption on
SUDAN:
South Kordofans up ng
in Uga
nda 
 






American companies make?
inflows firm Rwanda targets medical tourism become food poor
ti
topple the govt - the rise in the EACs volatile governor on
Public anger greets Kabushenga cleanest country? vote
Museveni even
www.independent.co.ug

before he is swornin
INDEPENDENT Nelson
THE

NEWS A NALYSIS INTERVIEW BUSINESS

Mandela
You Buy the Truth, We Pay the Price Issue No. 162, May 13 -19, 2011 Ushs 4000, Kshs 180, RwF 1200, SDP 6 Issue No. 261 April 19 - 25 , 2013 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8
Issue No. 268 June 07 - 13 , 2013 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8 Why Ugandan We want a world Big dairy
www.independent.co.ug pupils dont class, first-world opportunity
learn Police Force
1918-2013
Uganda, Sudan How Monitor was






SUDAN:
South Sudans
COMMENT: Onyango-
Obbo: Museveni won
BUSINESS:
Ugandan business SPECIAL REPORT: RWANDA: INTERVIEW:
Cut down on
ICC trial looms over Special Commemorative Issue

closed, re-opened
From bitter rivals

enter arms race

How Musevenis

Kayihura, Kivejinja
free or fearful because he is bad, not women coming teargas and
good president into their own success is creating to friends - how
press? conditions for Kagame and increase teachers
his downfall Sarkozy reconciled pay- Prof. Kajubi

INDEPENDENT
THE

Issue No. 318 May 23 - 29, 2014 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8

You Buy the Truth, We Pay the Price Issue 152 March 04 - 10, 2011 Ushs 4000, Kshs 180, RwF 1200, SDP 6

Issue No. 181, September 23 - 29, 2011 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8

Museveni doubles military expenditure, The Inside Story www.independent.co.ug





NEWS ANALYSIS INTERVIEW BUSINESS

Makerere
Issue 295 copy peter new.indd 1 12/10/13 4:04 PM
Central Bank Ministers Bank profit

Inside Umeme




to investigate have become delight
Was it under fire MTN too lazy
Big regional trade boost
News analysis
Besigye gains in the east, 


 

Interview
WFP launches
Business
Low tea price EAC Top donor

bought Museveni sweeps the north related violence 
 

worries aid recipients

shares deal
Universitys problems go beyond












or stolen? pay and strikes



 


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%#$&




  




Issue No. 362 April 03 - 09 , 2015 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8
Issue No. 404 Feb. 05 - 11, 2016 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

















Electricity sector


 






Politicians battle over  


Shs800 billion








Sejusas money, investor

 
 
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arrest
www.independent.co.ug www.independent.co.ug
www.independent.co.ug What Museveni

camp feared
By Haggai Matsiko

NEWS ANALYSIS: Are government INTERVIEW NEWS ANALYSIS BUSINESS

HEALTH NEWS ANALYSIS BUSINESS

INTERVIEW: officials are lying on oil? Telecom fees to drop Health Spying Imperial Banks
Grounds exist for Museveni financial woes
Museveni is in REGIONAL: UNHCRs direction affirms Rwandas a rebellion - Col. insurance's on wrong
the midst of a stability, yet some refugees remain sceptical losing support, Online fraudsters empty promises `enemy Large consumers task Umeme
Tsunami Felix Kulayigye Besigye gaining threaten car market
BUSINESS: Greasy path for Ugandas oil industry

Issue No. 391 0ct. 23 - 29, 2015 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8
Issue No. 208, April 06 - 12, 2012 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8

www.independent.co.ug
Issue No. 185, October 21 - 27, 2011 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8

Fight over
www.independent.co.ug
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Why is Museveni
Fina M
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building regions nc inis

strongest army? oil pipeline STOP PRESS
World shocked as
government shuts
BUSINESS

Bad debts
relee qu try of
asesarte
r IV
NEWS ANALYSIS FOREIGN PRESS
UNEB In Uganda,
BUSINESS
Unhoused
News analysis
Musevenis bread and bullets
Health
Unease as only cancer treatment
Business

 

ERA announces
Uganda outspends Kenya on military 
 


 
down Daily Monitor
choking banks experiment its bust generation 


 machine breaks down investor quits 


Besigye predicts: 




 Chinese plans for Uganda oil and Red Pepper
Experts warn banks
on poor due diligence goes wrong before boom
Tenant versus landlord
Musevenis
regime is Issue No. 414 April 15- 21, 2016 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

collapsing Issue No. 266 May 24 - 30 , 2013 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8
Issue No. 355 February 13 - 19, 2015 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

Uganda: Defense Kenya: Defense

Tinyefuza Fallout Jennifer
Musisi
expenditure 2011 expenditure 2011
US$1.02 billion. US$735 million.

Museveni intervenes in
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Israel arms dealer case under siege
INTERVIEW NEWS ANALYSIS BUSINESS Concern over private
BUSINESS: PERSPECTIVE: Oil-bribes scandal agencies using security After Museveni, Kampala
Behind the
in historical perspective Lukwago Kyambogo EACs monetary
union minister, MPs, Lukwago spell
scenes at
By Andrew Mwenda
on Museveni
Universitys Mr. Fix it
Prof. Ndiege seeks to reconcile an of the unequal in turf wars out terms of engagement
Muhairwes exit and Musisi 





Time to eat, travel less

Issue No. 189, November 18 -24, 2011 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8
News analysis Health Business
Issue No. 294 December 06 - 12, 2013 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8 Massacre on IGG Mulyagonja launches 
 


 
 





Masaka road 







 





 
  



Museveni, Besigye Museveni Vs Mbabazi www.independent.co.ug

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Issue No. 431 Aug 12- 18, 2016 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

need to talk 














Experts warn of explosion if they dont 





 

  
 News analysis

 


  
Eastern DR Congo
erupts again
Health
 


 

skin bleaches
Business
Stanbic Banks
  
 
Social
 
 



pounce
Issue No. 432 Aug 19 - 25, 2016 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8
Top lawyers reveal details
of land grab plot

 






 



 
over Karuma, Isimba






 

Muloni, Kabagambe

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Issue 294.indd 1 12/3/13 3:09 PM

AmAzing
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Years of telling a story

 Issue No. 488 Sept 22 - 28 , 2017

The Week The Last Word Analysis Business Arts &

14|Rwanda again in Culture
4|Anti age limit Ugandas 22|Bad 2016,
top 10 investment
MPs summoned for gloomy 2017 for 35|Deaf art
interrogation
misguided nations: Uganda, Kenya,
banks: Experts
Tanzania, also ranked sends loud
debate: blame it on bad message:
economy, call for
Why many quick fixes
Exhibition
4|Parliament against
Ugandans are 17|Maize worm
chooses firm to stereotypes,
worries: Fall
audit auditor addressing the armyworms are back, marginalisation
generals office
wrong issue but governments
help isnt
5|Museveni woos
in the debate
27|What future
Qatar investors on lifting age for UDB?:
limits 29|12 strategies Experts debate
for health: Lancet 39|This car runs
fate of finance-
report shows the on firewood:
starved long-
Drivers convert
5|DPP appeals path to healthier term funder
their cars to
Kamoga and five lives for Africans is burning wood
others acquittal within reach instead of petrol
or diesel

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.
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2 Sept 22 - 28 , 2017
 Offline

President Museveni
congratulating Prof.
Barnabas Nawangwe
after being installed as
the vice chancellor of
Makerere University
on September 14 at
Makerere.

I am against it and I have met every DP

MP and they are all against the removal
of the presidential age limit.Kalungu West
MP Joseph Sewungu on age limit bill

Deputy Leader Of
opposition in the
parliament of Uganda,
Roland Mugume,
(R) addressing the
press at parliament
on the age limit bill.
Looking on is Julius If I were you I consider mediation. If
Ocen MP Kapelebyong you can settle this matter out of court,
County Amuria
District INDEPENDENT/ you would retain the relationship you
JIMMY SIYA had before. Otherwise, at the end of it
all, one of you will be hit hard.Justice
David Wangututsi on the Sudhir- Bank of
Uganda case

Richard Ssewakiryanga,
Executive Director NGO
Forum and president of
the Economic, Social
and Cultural Council
at the African Union
speaks during the CSOs
engagement with AU
advisory board on
corruption at Serena People are interested in farming on
Hotel on September a large scale but the people with the
15. He urged the board degrees in agriculture are not helping
to come up with tough
laws against corruption
out.Gen Moses Ali, Deputy Prime Minister on
in Africa. INDEPENDENT/ agricultural extension workers
JIMMY SIYA

10 44 Shs13bn
Brain surgery patients Doctors whom government Money government has
who have been discharged has sent abroad for training in availed for innovations
from Mulago Hospital gynaecology and other disciplines in ICT sector

Sept 22 - 28 , 2017 3
The week
Military Police codon off Constitutional Square Park in Kampala CBD on Sept. 19 in anticipation of protests against the age limit bill. INDEPENDENT /JIMMY SIYA
Anti age limit MPs summoned for interrogation
After an NRM legislators meeting
organized by Kassanda South representa-
tive Simeo Nsubuga proposed the tabling
of a private members bill to amend article
102 (b) of the constitution which puts pres-
idential age limit at 75 years, some mem-
bers of parliament called a press confer-
ence to announce that they were against
the move. MPs Theodore Ssekikubo
of Lwemiyaga, Muhammad Nsereko of
Kampala Central, Barnabus Tinkasimire
of Buyaga West and Allan Ssewanyana
of Makindye East on Sept.14 took to the
media to warn and call upon the public to
L-R MPs- Barnabas Tinkasimire, Theodore Ssekikubo and Muhammad Nsereko.
4 Sept 22 - 28 , 2017
Parliament chooses firm to
oppose the proposed amendment saying
that the MPs in support had been paid.
However, MPs Ssewanyana, Sseki-
kubo and Nsereko on Sept.18 received
letters from the Police Criminal Investiga-
tions Department headquarters in Kibuli
to be interrogated about the statements
they made during the press conference.
According to the police, the statements
were inciting violence. But, Ssekikubo said
these summons were unconstitutional
since as parliamentarians they have the
liberty to express themselves freely while
in the precincts of the house.
audit auditor generals office
A local audit firm Kisaka and Company
Certified Public Accountants has been
selected to audit accounts of the Office of the
Auditor General. The records to be audited
are from financial year 2005/6 to date.
The firm set to do the work at a rate of
Shs965million will after the research present
its findings to parliament. Kakumiro woman
MP Robinah Nabbanja who presented the
motion proposing that the public audits
body be audited said the local firm was
preferred of the three including BDO
East Africa and Thomson & Co that had
expressed interest in the contract.
The [evaluation] committee noted that
Kisaka & Co. had the highest total, technical
and financial scores of 90.6 per cent, she
said.
While Section 36 (1) of The National
Audit Act, 2008, provides for the auditing
of the accounts of the Office of the Auditor
General by an auditor appointed by
Parliament, it had taken the body more than
ten years to be audited yet the same act
provides that the Auditor General submits
its accounts to the auditor appointed by
parliament within three months after the
end of every financial year.

Museveni woos Qatar investors
President Yoweri
Museveni has said Uganda
is fast becoming a middle-
income country with vast
investment opportunities
in agro-processing,
industrialization and the
service based sector.
Uganda is moving
towards becoming a fast
world country based on
four sectors; commercial
agriculture, industries,
President Museveni (R)with Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohammed bin Saud al-Thani (L) CEO of Qatar Investment Fund.
services and ICT, he said.
Museveni was meeting
a delegation from Qatar
Investment Fund, led by
the CEO Sheikh Abdulla
bin Mohammed bin Saud
al-Thank at Park Hyatt
Hotel at the sidelines of the
United Nations General
Assembly in New York. The
President said investment
in the four critical areas
including in ICT would
reduce the cost of electricity
and business transaction
in Uganda and promote
industrialisation as Uganda
moves to becoming a middle
income country. Sheikh
Abdulla expressed interest
to invest in infrastructure
development projects in
Uganda such as electricity,
agro processing industries
and the hospitality business.
The week
DPP appeals Kamoga and
five others acquittal
The Director of Public Prosecutions
Mike Chibita has appealed the acquit-
tal of the former Tabliq Sect leader
Sheikh Yunus Kamoga and 5 others on
charges of murdering Muslim clerics.
This comes after three Justices of the
International Crimes Division Court
led by Ezekiel Muhanguzi in August
ruled that they didnt find sufficient
evidence implicating them to the
murder of Shiekh Mustafa Bahiga and
Shiekh Ibrahim Hassan Kirya.
However the notice of appeal lodged
in the Court of Appeal by the DPP
maintains that the evidence he brought
before the High court was sufficient
enough to find guilty Sheikhs;
Yunus Kamoga , his brother Multabh
Bukenya, Siraje Kawooya, Yusuf
Kakande, Abdul-Salam Ssekayanja
and Fahad Kalungi of murder of the
said Sheikhs in December 2014 and
June 2015 respectively. Sheikh Kamoga
has already appealed the courts
decision to convict him of terrorism
and sentencing him to life in prison
saying the punishment was harsh.

Justice Okalany wins prosecutor of the year award

High Court Judge Susan Okalany
(Pictured) was on Sept.14 awarded
an international accolade as the
prosecutor of the year during an awards
dinner organized by the International
Association of Prosecutors (IAP) in
Beijing China.
Okalany who is currently based at
the High court in Mbale was recognized
for role in the prosecution of the 2010
Kampala bombings terrorism case which
is now considered the first major case to
be prosecuted successfully in Africa.
The case that had 15 defendants
from Uganda Tanzania and Kenya saw
82 witnesses being called. At the end
of the trial, 8 of the defendants were
convicted by then High Court Judge
Alphose Owiny Dollo who was recently
confirmed by parliament as the new
deputy chief justice. Over 70 people
lost their lives in attacks at Kyadondo
Rugby Grounds and Ethiopian Village
in Kabalagala on that night.

*terms and conditions apply

Dial *133 * 8#
Sept 22 - 28 , 2017 5
The week

Ugandans in diaspora to be registered Court upholds

Speaker of parliament Rebecca Kadaga all the way to Uganda to have themselves Sematimbas victory
has revealed that starting next year Ugan- registered.
dans in Washington, Nordic Countries and Kadaga who said one will be required The court of
United Kingdom will start being registered to pay a one-off fee of US $400 to register appeal led by
for dual citizenship. Speaking during the added that on acquisition of dual citizen- outgoing Deputy
Uganda UK Convention held in London ship certificates Ugandans would also be in Chief Justice Steven
on Sept.16, Kadaga said registration centers position to get their national identity cards Kavuma on Sept.18
will be in operation by April and that there immediately. ruled that Busiro
will be a portal for those who prefer on-line Ugandans with German citizenship Souths Legislator
registration. This comes amidst complaints would not be in position to get Ugandan Peter Sematimba
by Ugandans living in the United Kingdom citizenship because the German law does retains his seat in
that they are facing challenges in registering not allow for the same. parliament. In the
for dual citizenship that they have to travel ruling read by Dep- Peter Sematimba
uty Registrar Deo
legislators diploma
Nzeyimana, judges
award from the
of the appellant
Pacific Coast Insti-
court dismissed the
tute in the USA
ruling of the High
before issuing
Court judge Lydia
him a certificate of
Mugambe who
ALevel equivalence
nullified the elec-
that enabled him
tion of Peter Sema-
to participate in the
timba on grounds
2016 polls.
that he lacked the
After the elec-
minimum educa-
tions, one of Sema-
tion requirements
timbas competitors
needed for one to
Stephen Sekigozi
contest as an MP.
run to High court
Mugambe had
challenging his vic-
faulted the National
tory on the basis
Council of Higher
that the ruling
Education for fail-
NRM flag bearer
ing to take due dili-
lacked required aca-
Speaker Kadaga (C) with delegates at the convention. gence to verify the
demic documents.

Ambassador Kiyonga Clergy call for a referendum on age limit

presents credentials to accept for the presidential
President Jinping in Beijing age limit to be changed
from the current 75 years.
Mubajje appealed to the
Amb. Chrispus Kiyonga, presented his public that the age limit
credentials to President Xi Jinping on Sept debate be approached in
13 as Ambassador Extraordinary and a nationalistic and non-
Plenipotentiaryof the Republic of Uganda partisan manner and that
to the Peoples Republic of China. During people should put it in
the ceremony that took place at the Great mind that the constitution
Hall of the People in Beijing, President was written to build a
Xi Jinping welcomed Amb. Kiyonga to better country based on
China and conveyed sincere greetings to justice, freedom and unity
President Yoweri Museveni. He noted that having made it under
the relationship between the two countries the memory of Ugandas
has grown from strength to strength and The clergy during a function at Kololo Independence grounds history characterized by
will continue to make further progress political and constitutional
with the contribution of Amb. Kiyonga. The clerics have called for the Seventh Day Adventists instability.
President Xi Jinping observed that the a referendum on age limit. union, Arch. Cyprian However, at the time
appointment of Amb. Kiyonga who is Speaking to journalists Kizito of the Kampala they came out to speak,
a senior and experienced person which on Sept.18, the clerics Archdiocese and Apostle some sections of the public
demonstrated the importance President Uganda Muslim Supreme Joseph Serwadda the were getting concerned
Museveni and the Government of Uganda Councils Mufti Shaban leader of the born again about their silence on
attach to the relationship with China. The Mubajje , Rev. Stanley faith agreed that it being current social and political
President pledged that his Government Ntagali of the church a critical and sensitive developments in the
would give Amb. Kiyonga every help to of Uganda, Arch. Jonah subject the views of all country.
ensure success of his mission. Lwanga of the orthodox Ugandans should be sought Footballer Rooney admits
Church, Pr. Daniel Matte of on whether they reject or to drunk driving

6 Sept 22 - 28 , 2017
 The week

Accountants institute release August CPA exams
Begumisa (R) and the PAEB Chairman Uthman
Mayanja (L) at the release of the results.
The Institute of Certified Public
Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU)
released the August 2017 Certified Pub-
lic Accountants of Uganda CPA (U)
course results indicating 3.1% pass rate
decline when compared with the June
2017 examinations. Under the manage-
ment of the Public Accountants Exami-
nations Board (PAEB), the results for the
18 papers showed that the average pass
rate for August examinations was 31.9%
down from 35.0% in June 2017. Officials
said that the decline in performance
was partly attributed to limited time
FDC launches campaign against
available for students to prepare for
age limit removal
these examinations. They said that most
During a weekly
candidates who sit for the August exam- press conference
inations are ones that fail ones (exams) held at their party
for June. As such, Protazio Begumisa, headquarters in Naj-
the president of ICPAU urged students janankumbi, leaders
to improve performance by reading of the opposition
widely, getting practical training from Forum for Democratic
resourceful institutions and utilising Change (FDC) party
skills of experienced lecturers. The on Sept.18 launched a
August examinations had 97 candidates countrywide campaign
compared to 107 candidates recorded Nandala Mafabi
to advocate against the
in June 2017. our training is good, planned amendment when they start hold-
Begumisa said. There are not so many of article 102 (b) of the ing processions in dif-
ICPAU members on the street; they constitution that seeks ferent areas. He added
are competitive. Derrick Nkajja, the to remove presidential that they are planning
ICPAU chief executive officer said that age limits. to petition the speaker,
the examinations being released and the The partys secre- the Director of Public
training offered were the foundation of tary General Nandala Prosecutions and the
the accountancy profession and needed Mafabi told journalists Inspector General of
to be handled well for the betterment of that they had com- Government to help
the profession and the economy. Offi- municated to security them investigate pos-
cials said the Institute aims to increase bodies to provide them sible crimes committed
the number of professional accountants with protection just like in the current push by
from the current 3,000 to 5,000 in the they have been doing different groups for
next three years to match the countrys for their counterparts and against amending
development strategy. in the ruling NRM the article.

Australian firm to explore Kanywataba oil block

Ending a competitive licens-
ing process that opened in
February 2015, the Ministry of
Energy and Mineral Develop-
ment on Sept.14 signed an oil
exploration agreement with
an Australian firm, Armour
Energy Limited (AEL). The
company whose license covers
a period of four years compet-
ed with two others in the last
round will be responsible for
exploration of Kanywataba oil
exploration block in the Alber-
tine Graben , in Ntoroko dis-
trict in south western Uganda.
While speaking at the sign-
ing ceremony, Energy Min-
ister Irene Muloni who said
government had also signed a
production sharing agreement
with the firm added that there
have been protracted negotia-
tions due to the sustained low
oil prices. Ag. Permanent Sec-
retary in the Ministry Robert
Kasande said one of the major
achievements from this licens-
ing round was the develop-
ment of a state of the art data
room which is open to the
industry to buy data and that it
will be used for future licensing
rounds.
AEL joins China National
Offshore Oil Corporation, Total
and Tullow Oil in exploring for
oil in Uganda.
Irene Muloni

Sept 22 - 28 , 2017 7
 News analysis Health Business
Nalufenya Whats wrong Sanlam moves to take- lebratin
torture latest with the men? over Lion Assurance Ce g

Issue No. 487 Sept 15 - 21 , 2017 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8
Years

20 women
killed
What security is

Inbox
doing wrong

Humor www.independent.co.ug

Mwenda grows up, finally

Refer to: The false gospel of
governance (The Independent
Sept.15).
Mwenda, welcome aboard! You
are now getting of age: in your
youth, you were a loud, noisy,
fast talking apologist of what
you are arguing against today.
And the world being casual
and excitable by such noise
as it normally is, listened and
praised you. Those of us who
called for realism then were
either ignored or for then Mu-
265 NRM lawmakers, led by Igara West MP Raphael Magyezi, signed a seveni supporters called syco-
resolution to remove the age limit clause from the constitution amidst phants and regime apologists.
protests from MP Monicah Amoding and a few others. My little concern however with
your todays analysis is failure
to point out that all those coun-
tries you mention, either had or
developed a crop of citizenry
hungry to advantageously har-
ness whatever nature bestowed
them with. We, todays Afri-
cans, must develop such crop
irrespective of our different
governments.
The fundamental issue is
not money or FDI really. It is
knowledge to harness what
is before us. I have worked for
and with western multination-
als on three continents and I
can categorically state that it is
not FDI through them that will
close the development gap be-
tween the West and Africa.
And this business of emphasis
on foreign trade: I see many
elites including Museveni fall-
ing for it. We cannot compete in
those markets! Our emphasis
ought to be to make products
and services that directly help
improve the lives of our people.
Dr. Eng Kant Ateenyi

Solutions to the question of development

No land for the dead to rest as urbanisation surges. KCCA is relocating the
Jinja Road Cementery for re-development.
Refer to: The false gospel of governance (The Independent Sept.15).
Mwenda, you are battling a straw man when you claim that Africa
has been sold a gospel of governance. It has been sold no such thing.
Governance is a very simple concept; successful institutions are run
by competent and diligent people. Africans have not, in the six de-
cades of independence, generally accepted this.
African opinion makers have over these decades adopted a lot of
sure-fire solutions to the question of development. They have includ-
ed things such as African Socialism, Africanisation, African Unity,
Panafricanism, Authenticity, War on indiscipline etc, to which you
now add national control and direction of our economies.
The solution of hard work by leaders who know what they are do-
ing is just not sexy enough.

Sserukeera

Good governance, then and now

There is an ongoing effort to
reinstate Uganda Airlines.
We that were relatively young
in the early 90s when it was
closed would like the govern-
ment to reveal the heroes
that were responsible
for its closure. Lately,
a lot has been done
to slap into our
Shs12 billion is feared lost in the government's messy purchase of exotic faces all sorts of
bulls from South Africa for cross breeding. national heroes.
It is high time that those that
closed the national airline are
revealed so that their names too
are kept in the national annals
of Ugandas history. Its time
someone accounted for some
of these great disservices to our
nation.
Peter Ssetumba Mugerwa
Kampala

Follow us on Twitter @ Follow us on Facebook @

8 Sept 22 - 28 , 2017 http://twitter.com/#!/ugandatalks www.facebook.com/TheIndependentMagazineUganda

Ugandas misguided debate
By Andrew M. Mwenda
Why many Ugandans are addressing the wrong
issue in the debate on lifting age limits
L
ast week the NRM caucus did
the expected and recommended
the removal of age limits on the
presidency so that President
Yoweri Museveni can rule for life. With
NRM controlling 82% of parliament,
the amendment will sail through easily.
There was a hue and cry among Ugan-
dans elites with some people even threat-
ening violence. Yet those fighting this
constitutional amendment are fighting a
wrong war.
During the Constituent Assembly,
Ugandas current opposition leader,
Kizza Besigye, opposed the entrench-
ment of age limits in the constitution.
Now he has joined the bandwagon
opposing the removal of this provision.
Of course Besigye has a right to change
his mind. But he and his supporters
should also remember that Museveni has
a similar right!
Besigye now claims, and his supporters
agree, that he opposed age limits because
he knew the constitution had term limits,
which would limit Musevenis stay in
power. He is qualifying his argument
after the fact. Museveni has also said
that when he said the problem of Africa
is leaders who cling to power, he meant
those leaders who are not elected.These
changes of convenience only demon-
strate the opportunism of politicians.
Besigye and his supporters have always
argued that the constitution should be
about principles not individuals. As a
matter of principle, why should anyone
above 75 years be denied a chance to
serve Uganda as a president? Therefore,
to oppose lifting of age limits because
such an amendment would benefit
Museveni is placing a person above a
principle; and subjecting our constitution
to the benefits some individuals may get
rather than to values that transcend those
individuals.
If Besigye really believes people
above 75 years are competent to run
for president, he should defend this
principle even if Museveni would be
the first to benefit from it. Museveni
is mortal.Whatever his machinations,
there is one inexorable huddle he will
never cheat nature. Museveni will die
and Uganda will remain for a very long
time after his death. Therefore, it doesnt
make sense to oppose the amendment
The Last Word
of a constitutional provision which is
good for many aging Ugandans simply
because Museveni will benefit from it.
The issue that is agitating many Ugan-
dans is not the age limit, even though it
has becoming the rallying cry. Rather it
is Musevenis seeming permanence in
power. Many people in Uganda are tired
of Museveni and want him to leave. This
is a political not a constitutional issue.
Rather than hide behind some preten-
tious defense of the constitution, activists
should mobilise people for change. It will
be easy for Museveni to buy 350 MPs.
But it is much harder for him to buy off
20 million Ugandans who will be eligible
to vote in 2021.
Opposition activists claim that their
position against the amendment is a
moral argument and not partisan. They
accuse those supporting lifting of age
limits of being unpatriotic sycophants
bribed by Museveni, fighting for their
stomachs rather than the good of the
country.This is downright hypocrisy or
delusional or both.
Their ideological cloak is to claim that
their politics is not really political; that
rather it is a reflection of universal values
of democracy. They also claim that their
partisanship is really not partisan, but just
a reflection of some objective moral truths.
They present their case in a way that says
it is Musevenis supporters politics which
is political and partisanship. This twisted
illogic is the problem with opposition
activists and their messiah.
Ugandan elites argue without a sense
of perspective and history. The provision
limiting the age at which one can run for
president was not put in the constitution
because there was evidence that people
aged 75 and above are not capable of gov-
erning the country. Rather it was meant to
block one person; former president Milton
Obote, from running for president in case
he returned. To argue therefore that the
constitution should not be amended to fit
one persons preferences is stupid when it
was written to do exactly that.
Since he came to power, Museveni has
been consistent. Each time a constitution
provision has stood in his continued stay
in the presidency, it has been removed.
The first time it was in 1989 when his
first four years interim period came to an
end. The proposals to change the rules so
Opinion
that Museveni can remain president were
drafted by Kizza Besigye. The second
came in 2003 when term limits of the 1996
constitution stood in his way. This time
the battle to remove them was led by
Amama Mbabazi. One of the leaders of
the remove age limits crusade will most
likely run against Museveni is 2031.
The anti age activists want to use the
constitution to secure their political
objective of getting rid of Museveni,
which their political mobilisation and
organisation has failed to do. This is utter
stupidity. No constitution can protect
anyone from any harm. Constitutional
provisions can only work when backed
by politics. But as we have seen with the
NRM caucus, age limits lack a politically
weighted majority to protect them. So the
constitution will be amended.
Law is a creature of politics and con-
stitutional provisions cannot ensure
their survival because constitutions are
created and destroyed by political deci-
sions.Museveni wrote this constitution
to serve him. Anyone who wants to stop
him must not rely on the constitution but
on politics. They must go out and rally
a politically weighted majority for their
beliefs. NRM supporters have every dem-
ocratic right to seek to amend the consti-
tution to serve whatever political purpose
they like. Those who disagree with them
should learn this message and instead of
using threats, intimidation and blackmail
on social media, they need to go to the
villages rally the masses.
Musevenis opponents have always
wanted luck to do for them what they
have failed to achieve through political
organisation and mobilisation. No consti-
tutional provision will remove Museveni
from power. Only political mobilisation
by his opponents and nature (when he
dies) can. Appealing to his moral sense
when he has committed himself to ruling
for life is nave. And claiming that their
partisan struggle to get rid of him is an
act of patriotism only demonstrates how
delusional our elites have become. None
of these politicians whether in NRM
or in the opposition is driven by any
higher moral purpose; instead all of them
are driven by greed for power.
amwenda@independent.co.ug
Sept 22 - 28 , 2017 9
Cover story

Behind
Museveni
land tour
confusion
Cash handouts, secret
age-limit talks and more
By Ronald Musoke
President Yoweri Musevenis countrywide tour
that he says is aimed at defusing what he called
toxic information about the Land Amendment
Bill before Parliament has run into trouble with
experts and opposition politicians. Edmond
Owor, the executive director of the Uganda Land
Alliance (ULA) told The Independent that the
Presidents tour is not only irrelevant, it is also
suspect.

10
O
wor told The Independent
that the President should
instead be looking criti-
cally at some of the people
who have been behind the
compensation fights that
have led to delays in some infrastructure
projects.
It is the politicians and the technocrats
in government who already know where
these projects are going to pass who go
evicting people off the land expecting big
moneys, he says, It is just about Musev-
eni dealing with these people in his govern-
ment.
Judy Adoko, the executive director of
the Land and Equity Movement in Uganda
(LEMU), a national land rights advocacy
organisation also told The Independent on
Sept. 14 that the President is wasting his
time because Ugandans are in agreement
on land: In a paper published on her NGOs
website on July 15, this year, Adoko recom-
mended to MPs not to amend Article 26.
Adoko noted in her paper that compul-
sory acquisition of land should always be a
last resort, and always be subject to checks
and balances on state power to ensure that
citizens are protected. She urged the gov-
ernment to either amend the Land Acquisi-
tion Act or enact a new law to operational-
ize the procedure for implementation of
Article 26 of the Constitution.
President Museveni on Sept.04 embarked
on what he said was a countrywide tour
aimed at defusing what he called toxic
information about the Land Amendment
Bill tabled in Parliament in July.
Dr. Julius Kiiza, a lecturer of political
economy and public policy at Makerere
University told The Independent that since
it is not in dispute that Museveni has faced
stiff resistance on the land issue, the ques-
tion should be why he has very keen inter-
est in amending the Article on compulsory
land acquisition in the Constitution.
The land article could be synchro-
nized with Article 102 (b) because
they are both a means to a Presiden-
tial monarch, he said.
President
Museveni
It is unfortunate
that Uganda has had
land laws which are
being implemented at
only 10% yet if these
same laws were to
be implemented at
say, 50%, Ugandans
would not be hearing
the noises they are
hearing now
Kiiza says Museveni would have found
the land issue as easy as the previous con-
tentious issues that he dealt with only that
this time people cannot relinquish the only
thing that is a source of their livelihood.
People do not have alternatives, he
says, They would have let him have his
way as usual if they were employed in the
services sector or involved in other modes
of business but a scenario where about 70%
of the population directly depends on land
for survival makes tampering with land
very dangerous.
Wilfred Niwagaba, the MP for Ndorwa
East who also doubles as the Shadow
Attorney General told The Independent that
the land issue is at the heart of Musevenis
desire to stay in power.
He has always wanted to build a mon-
archy; you know he calls himself the Ssaba-
gabe (the king of kings) and he cannot be
the Ssabagabe without having full control
over land.
Niwagaba says Museveni wants to have
full control of land and add it to his tools of
patronage so he can give it at will.
Cover story
Godber Tumushabe, the Associate Direc-
tor of the Great Lakes Institute for Strategic
Studies (GLISS), a Kampala-based inde-
pendent think tank says it is noteworthy
that Museveni decided to move around the
country giving talk shows while his cadres;
the presidential advisors and Resident Dis-
trict Commissioners, took a backseat.
Niwagaba says this shows that Musev-
enis tour is definitely not about land.
Niwagaba said the people Museveni has
been talking to are not the ones that will
make the laws he wants unless he wants to
subject the issue to a referendum. He said
all indicators are that he is already cam-
paigning for 2021 with impunity.
He pays one radio station in the area
but forces all the other radio stations to stop
their programmes and air his campaign,
Niwagaba said, So these people interrupt
their programmes and their commercials to
air a programme that is not paid for.
He doesnt even allow free debate to
get peoples concerns on the issue. His
handlers stage-manage callers and the sta-
tion is forced to use unknown numbers
where only the people agreed upon call and
praise Museveni and of course plead that he
stands again in 2021.
Niwagaba told The Independent that
Museveni has been meeting the NRM lead-
ers in the towns where he has been holding
the radio talk shows asking them about the
politics of the area and what people think
about the age limit removal issue.
Niwagaba also wondered whether
Museveni is the one supposed to be doing
what he did. What for example, does
Museveni want to say about the land issue
that the Land Ministry or Attorney General
cannot say?
Better still, since he is already forcing
radio stations to air these programmes,
why doesnt he go on Radio Uganda (UBC
radio) and direct the rest of the stations to
air? Why does he have to go around the
country to do that?
Its the age limit not land
Part of the frustration among experts
could be that nobody really knows why
Museveni has undertaken what on face
value is a wild goose chase.
Part of the confusion around Musevenis
tour is that most of the infrastructure proj-
ects are funded by international financial
institutions, including the World Bank
and the African Development Bank, which
require Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs)
and have clear guidelines on compensation
of Project Affected Persons (PAPs).
The government is often required to foot
the compensation bill as part of its so-called
counterpart funding. Many government
projects stall because of either delay or
failure by the government to put-up the
necessary counterpart funding. Although it
is often only a small percentage of required
Sept 22 - 28 , 2017 11
Cover story

monies, the sums are quite substantial.

For example, the planned Kampala-
Malaba standard gauge railway project
requires the government to fork-out US$345
million. Although that is just 15% of the
US$2.5 billion price tag, it is a huge chunk
of the national budget. The US$150 million
upgrade to tarmac of the Kigumba-Masin-
di-Hoima-Kabwoya road requires only 4%
of the price tag as counterpart funding. But
that is Shs12 billion and the government has
not fully cleared it.
Over time, therefore, the government has
created financing reservoirs called funds
to cater for counterpart funding needs of
different sectors. These include the Road
Fund, Energy Fund, Petroleum Fund and
others.
However, by June this year, Matia
Kasaija, the Minister of Finance confirmed
to journalists that the funds are empty. It
now appears that Museveni is seeking to
circumvent this requirement.
In July, the government tabled the Con-
stitution (Amendment) Bill, 2017 seeking to
amend Article 26 (2) to allow compulsory
acquisition of land by removing hurdles to
compensation which it claims have been a
major hindrance to infrastructure develop-
ment. The Bill seeks to amend Article 26
of the Constitution which provides for the President Museveni at Baba FM radio talk show in Jinja Municipality on Sept. 13. PPU Photo
right of citizens to own property and shows
how the government can acquire land with
fair and adequate compensation.
Earlier, however, Musevenis critics in
civil society, religious bodies and Members
of the opposition parties in Parliament
claimed he was on ruse to galvanise support
for his well-orchestrated ploy to remove
the presidential age limit clause from the
Constitution.
They pointed at a number of mini tours
that Museveni went on before he went to
the countryside. He visited parts of Wakiso
and Kampala districts and, in what has
become his usual style, he doled out mil-
lions of shillings, first to Katwe Welders
SACCO in Kampala (Shs 275 million) and Kabaka Ronald Mutebi Betty Amongi Justice Catherine Bamugemereire
Shs.100 million to members of a market
SACCO in Zana, a township along Entebbe
Road, and another Shs100 million to the change the law for public interest. over low absorption of funds.
Bwebajja Fruits Sellers SACCO. In the We need to construct roads, the railway He has also mentioned the inflated com-
northern Kampala division of Kawempe, and electricity, Museveni told listeners of pensation claims are part of the problems.
he visited and promised to return and meet Vision FM radio in Mbarara. While in Mubende, he condemned people
them for development purposes. When we make the road to Lyantonde who make fake and exorbitant claims as
or the Bypass here in Mbarara town, compensation for their pieces of land that
Inflated compensation claims Museveni does not have any shares in it. It the government wants to acquire to pave
As he launched his tour with a talk show is for everyones benefit, he said. way for infrastructure development pro-
on Voice of Kigezi in the southwestern town Museveni is aware that even when cor- grammes.
of Kabale, the President told his listeners ruption is not directly named, in some There is, however, wide disappointment
that amending Article 26 of the 1995 Consti- cases projects simply fail to take off because that he has neither named nor acted against
tution is not intended to steal peoples land of sloppiness of government workers any top government official, including
but to speed up government projects that involved, leading to what is technically within his Cabinet, who have taken huge
have been stalling as a result of court cases called poor absorption of funds. In Sep- compensation cheques from the govern-
arising from compensation disputes. The tember 2016, the World Bank, which lends ment either personally or through proxies.
next day, Sept. 5, Museveni told the people Uganda up to US$200 million annually on Even when Betty Amongi, the Minister of
of Mbarara that his government wants to average, froze further lending to Uganda Lands, Housing and Urban Development

12 Sept 22 - 28 , 2017

whose ministry is heavily involved in find-
ing the land for government projects, cited
infrastructure projects that she said were
running behind schedule and have caused
the government astronomical losses due
to delayed land compensations to project-
affected persons, she appears to have picked
the bare bones and not the meat list.
Amongi recently told a group of civil
society from Uganda and Tanzania at a con-
ference held in Entebbe on the East Africa
Crude Oil Pipeline that she had been tasked
by the government to find land for the pipe-
line by the middle of 2018.
In order to promptly find this land,
Amongi said, her ministry has been work-
ing frantically on modalities to guide her
to ensure that that land is acquired by the
set deadline. Among those modalities is an
enabling law, she said.
She said in just two financial years,
2016/17 and 2017/18, 50 big infrastructure
projects have stalled and cost the govern-
ment Shs 350 billion but she did not list
them all.
Among the only selfish and greedy
persons Museveni named was one Charles
Kahirwa of Ntungamo district in south
western Uganda who demanded for Shs.1.2
billion for one acre of land as compensation
during the planned building of an electricity
transmission line.
Museveni said if Kahirwas claim had
been paid, the taxpayer would be com-
pelled to pay Shs. 787 billion in that power
project. That money, the president said, is
enough to extend the power grid to all the
Sub- Counties in the country that have no
electricity supply yet.
While commissioning the Kamwenge
Fort Portal road on Sept. 7, Museveni noted
that the road works got stalled when
another man called Kasangwa wanted a
billion shillings for a quarter an acre yet the
piece of land had been valued at Shs 89 mil-
lion. The contractor eventually changed the
course of the road.
Interestingly, Museveni said that during
the survey for the Mpigi-Kanoni-Kabula-
soke-Maddu-SsemabuleMasaka road, the
government acquired 21 acres of his land in
Gomba for only Shs 69 million, saying he
accepted the money because he knew the
road would be of use to him.
Museveni says the government cannot
allow this state of affairs to continue and in
order to end these delays, the amendment
says the government will deposit compen-
sation money, as assessed and arrived at by
the Government Valuerin a Court where
the property owner can access it even as
they pursue their claim for money.
Those who are rising in arms against
the amendment are mere thieves, corrupt,
enemies of Uganda who are just frustrat-
ing government programmes and must be
exposed, he said, while speaking on Voice
of Tooro in Fort Portal on Sept.6.
Cover story
These are greedy parasites that are
paralyzing government programmes by
demanding exorbitant compensations, he
said.
Museveni said if the 68% of the Ugandan
population that is said to be engaged in
subsistence farming is to join the monetary
economy; the government has to build
roads, the railway and supply electricity to
create more employment opportunities.
But Musevenis opponents argue that if
land is acquired before compensation, the
owner may not get proportionate payment
from the government. Bugandas King Ron-
ald Muwenda Mutebi recently said the pro-
posed Constitution amendment is a pain
as it threatens the existence of future genera-
tions. Mutebi who is one of the biggest land
owners in the country said details of the bill
are still hazy for him.
Mutebi reiterated his stance on the bill
while opening the 25th Buganda Lukiiko at
Bulange-Mengo saying that infrastructure
development on private land should only
take off after agreement between the gov-
ernment and land owners.
Owor says it is unfortunate that Uganda
has had land laws which are being imple-
mented at only 10% yet if these same
laws were to be implemented at say, 50%,
Ugandans would not be hearing the noises
they are hearing now.
Among the slew of legal documents that
must be considered during any compensa-
tion are the Uganda Constitution (1995), the
Local Government Act 1997, the Land Act,
1998, the Physical Planning Act, 2010, the
Valuation Act 1965, the Access to Roads Act
(1996), the Land Acquisition Act (1965), the
Land Regulation Act (2004), the Land Act
(Amendment) (2010) and more. Different
departments also have internal Land Acqui-
sition Manuals (LAMs). So it is unclear what
point Museveni hopes to score with the con-
troversial amendment he is peddling.
So Owor says if the president has no
other motives for Ugandas land he should
wait for the views of Ugandans and for the
Lady Justice Catherine Bamugemereires
Land Inquiry to finish its work.
A commission of Inquiry on Land is
going on and even if the country has so far
been shocked by the obscenities unearthed
so far, that is just the tip of the iceberg,
he says, There is simply too much rot in
the land sector. Meanwhile, the Inter-
Religious Council of Uganda has also inter-
vened in the current debate saying there is
need for a referendum before any amend-
ment of Article 102 (b) of the Constitution
that seeks to lift the age limit is done.
Speaking at a press conference on Sept.18
in Kampala, the religious leaders said the
age limit debate is an issue which is beyond
partisan politics and citizens with con-
trary views must be listened to before any
amendments are considered.
Sept 22 - 28 , 2017 13
Rwanda

Rwanda again in top

10 investment nations
Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, also ranked

R
By Independent Team
wanda has re-entered the
Top 10 list after having just
missed it in the past two years,
according to Rand Merchant
Banks latest `Where to Invest
in Africa report for 2018, re-
leased on Sept.18.
The theme for `Where to Invest in Africa
2018 is Money Talks and this edition fol-
lows the money on the African continent
to evaluate aspects crucial to each countrys
economic performance.
In this edition of Where to Invest in Africa
2018, RMBs Investment Attractiveness
Index, which balances economic activity
against the relative ease of doing business,
illustrates how subdued levels of economic
activity have diluted several scores on the
index when compared to last year, result-
ing in some interesting movements within
the Top 10. The report focuses on the main
sources of dollar revenues in Africa, which
allows it to measure the most important
income generators and identify investment
opportunities. The 2018 report also balances
economic activity against the relative ease of
doing business. Rwanda came in at 8th posi-
tion in a report in which the East African
region managed to capture four of the top
ten spots.
Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia were the
other countries which made it into the top
ten from the East African region.
Uganda was, however, the only surprise
absentee from the East African region since
South Sudan, Somalia, and Burundi are war-
ravaged basket case economies.

14 Sept 22 - 28 , 2017

The research shows, furthermore, that
Uganda is steadily closing in on the Top 10
though market activity is likely to remain
subdued after a tumultuous 2016 marred by
election-related uncertainty, a debilitating
drought and high commercial lending rates.
Rwandas re-entry is the more dramatic
because, according to the report, market size
is a key consideration in the reports compi-
lation methodology.
The report, for example, points out that
countries like Botswana, Mauritius, and
Namibia that are widely rated as invest-
ment grade economies, do not feature in the
reports Top 10 mostly because of the rela-
tively small sizes of their markets.
Brink of disaster
Generally, the report notes: From a
global perspective, African countries are still
at the lower end of the global-performance
spectrum, which continues to be dominated
by the US, UK, Australia and Germany.
One of the conclusions of the report is
that Africa could find itself hovering on the
Top 10 investment
nations in Africa
Rank Country
1 Egypt
2 South Africa
3 Morocco
4 Ethiopia
5 Ghana
6 Kenya
7 Tanzania
8 Rwanda
9 Tunisia
10 Cote dIvoire
Source: Rand Merchant Banks latest
`Where to Invest in Africa report for 2018
brink of disaster if it continues to depend on
its current economic fundamentals and does
not usher in economic diversification. This
involves understanding the need to adapt
to the prolonged slowdown in commodity
prices and sluggish levels of production
growth.
Some countries have been more nimble
and effective than others in managing short-
falls, explains Nema Ramkhelawan-Bhana,
RMB Africa analyst and an author of the
report. But major policy dilemmas have
ensued, forcing governments to balance
economically prudent solutions with what is
politically palatable.
RMB Africa analyst and co-author of the
report Celeste Fauconnier adds that over the
past three years, some African governments
have had to implement deep and painful
budget cuts, announce multiple currency
devaluations and adopt hawkish monetary
policy stances - all as a result of a significant
drop in traditional revenues.
The last three years have sounded an
alarm, amplifying what is now a dire need
for the economies of Africa to shift their
focus from traditional sources of income to
other viable alternatives, says Neville Man-
dimika, RMB Africa analyst and contributor
to the report. Another RMB Africa analyst
and co-author, Ronak Gopaldas, emphasises
that there is no quick fix to infuse into such
a complex situation. Gopaldas expects tra-
ditional forms of revenue to remain a reality
for many years to come.
According to the report, Rwandas re-
entry into the top 10 was helped by being
one of the fastest reforming economies in
Rwanda
the world, with high real growth rates and
making a continuing attempt to diversify its
economy.
In terms of ranking, Egypt has made his-
tory by knocking South Africa from its long-
standing top spot regarding investments in
Africa. This is the first time SA has not been
in top spot since the report was initiated
seven years ago.
Nigeria, on the other hand, has for the
first time not featured in the Top 10. This is
due to the erosion of its short-term invest-
ment appeal by recessionary conditions,
according to the report.
Egypt displaced SA largely because of its
superior economic activity score, while SA
has shown sluggish growth rates, which
have deteriorated markedly over the past
seven years.
While the report found that SA also faces
mounting concerns over issues of institu-
tional strength and governance, some things
still count in the countrys favour. These
include the rand, equity and capital markets,
which the report points out are still a cut
above the rest compared to many other
African nations facing liquidity constraints.
Morocco retained its third position for
a third consecutive year, benefiting from a
greatly enhanced operating environment
since the Arab Spring which began in
2010.
Surprisingly, Ethiopia, a country dogged
by socio-political instability, displaced
Ghana to take fourth spot, mostly because of
its rapid economic growth, having brushed
past Kenya as the largest economy in East
Africa, according to the report.
Ghanas slide to fifth position was mostly
due to perceptions of worsening corruption
and weaker economic freedom.
Kenya came in at sixth position. Accord-
ing to the report, despite being surpassed
by Ethiopia, investors are still attracted by
Kenyas diverse economic structure, pro-
market policies and brisk consumer spend-
ing growth. At the same time, the report
found that a host of business-friendly
reforms aimed at rooting out corruption and
steady economic growth helped Tanzania
climb by two places to number seven.
At number nine, Tunisia has made great
strides in advancing political transition,
according to the report. An improved busi-
ness climate has also been achieved by struc-
tural reforms, greater security and social
stability.
Cote dIvoire slipped two places to take
up the tenth position, while Algeria slipped
from tenth to fifteenth place.
Although its business environment
scoring is still relatively low, its govern-
ment has made significant strides in
inviting investment into the country lead-
ing to a strong increase in foreign direct
investment over the years resulting in
one of the fastest growing economies in
Africa, states the report.
Sept 22 - 28 , 2017 15
Rwanda
By Independent Team
When a team of young debaters
from Rwandas Gashora Girls
Academy of Science and
Technology (GGAST) lifted the
winners trophy at the inaugural
Africa Debate Championships in
Kampala on Sept.18, all attention
shifted to how they do it.

G
ashoras win took many by
surprise because Rwanda is not
known to be strong at speaking
English; the language of the
debate. Also, these were girls; another
usual handicap in the debating arena
according to the stereo-type. Finally,
these were science students; often taking
pride only in calculating numbers and
letting them speak.
So when Natasha Teta Semwanga
scooped the Best Speaker accolade,
Sylvie Mahoro Wairimu emerged best
country speaker, and Nikitah Isabella
emerged 3rd best speaker, the audience
at the International Conference Centre
in Kampala paid attention. They are all
students of science course like physics,
biology, chemistry, and of course the The winning team in Kampala/Courtesy photo

Why Gashora girls

ubiquitous mathematics.
But here they were routing
competition from Uganda, Tanzania,
and South Sudan from the East African

community and South Africa and
Zimbabwe from the South, where
English has a longer history of being
spoken.
Gashora Girls Academy of Science and
Technology (GGAST) is a private upper-
secondary girls boarding school located
in Bugesera District to the south of the
capital city of Kigali. It has only been in
operation for six years.
Unknown to the many people in
the audience, Gashora Girls Academy,
actually have a history of winning
debates. The school, for example made
history by being the first all-girls school
to win Rwandas annual National Youth
Entrepreneurs Debate Competition.
Part of the winning streak is a result
of the schools approach to teaching and
learning.
Gashora admits students starting at
Senior 4 for a three year course designed
to start at the equivalent of the 10th
Grade (Sophomore) in U.S. to the Senior
year when they are about 17 to 18
years old and are ready to enter higher
education; including vocational schools,
colleges, and undergraduate university
study.
Once in the school, the new S.4
students spend at least one week taking
all our subjects before they select the
shine in debates
Spotlight on Rwandas school for
girls that shapes champions
combination they will study for three
years.
Currently we offer the combinations
which include physics, computer
science, biology, mathematics, chemistry,
engineering, and geography, according
to the school website. But all students
study English in addition to their
combinations.They also have a strong
tradition of debating and seminars.
The debating club has been the leading
club in the school with almost 80% of
the S4 students registered under this
club. They are trained in eloquence and
fluency, superb speaking, and other
debate skills.
Soon, the girls who are enrolled from
most of Rwandas 30 Districts and
often include foreign students from
say Burundi and Somaliland, are soon
experts at thinking and analyse facts
critically and speaking eloquently to
convince listeners. Learning in a socio-
economically diverse school could also
be an advantage, according to the school.
The school is private and is affiliated
to renowned international organisations
like Microsoft, Segal Foundation,
Newmans Own Foundation and more.
According to the school, 100% of all
students receive financial aid on a sliding
scale depending on their familys needs.
Many of girls pay less than what they
would pay if they attended a government
school.
The school is part of the Rwanda
Girls Initiative (RGI) was founded by
Shalisan Shal Foster and Suzanne
Soozi Sinegal McGill, with the vision
of helping children for whom education
is not easily accessible.

16 Sept 22 - 28 , 2017
 News analysis

Maize
worm
worries
Fall armyworms
are back, but
governments
help isnt

T
By Andrew S. Kaggwa

he rains are back but so is the

dreaded fall armyworm. This
time it is attacking maize at a
much younger stage - meaning
it will be more costly for the
farmers than last season. Unfor-
tunately, so far, the Ministry of Agriculture
appears to have left the farmers to battle their
fate without government help.
Earlier reports by Operation Wealth Cre-
ation (OWC) Programme Director for Policy
and Planning Sarah Kataike Ndobooli that
farmers could get pesticides at subsidised
prices appear to have been quashed by the
Agriculture minister, Vincent Ssempijja.
In an interview with The Independent on
Sept.14, Ssempijja said although farmers
were already enjoying subsidised prices for
drugs under the Sector Development Pro-
gramme (SDP), the governments plan is to
shift from subsidizing farmers.
We want to move away from subsidizing
for farmers and they pay the whole cost,
Ssempijja said.
He said currently farmers pay 70 percent
of the cost and the government pays the
remaining 30 percent for them through their
associations. It was, however, not clear what
associations he was referring to since the old
cooperative movement which brought farm-
ers together in associations collapsed.
Kataike had offered hope.
Government is weighing all options to
ensure that farmers get the chemicals at a
Fall armyworms on maize leaves

Sept 22 - 28 , 2017 17
News analysis

subsidised rate, she reportedly said in an

interview with the Daily Monitor newspa-
per. At the time, Kataike confirmed that the
fall armyworm is present in more than 50
of the 120 districts in the country. She also
noted that pesticide control is likely to be
too expensive for many farmers.
The latest climate forecast by the Uganda
National Meteorological Authority (UNMA)
indicates that all parts of Uganda were by
mid-September receiving rainfall adequate
for planting to start.
So farmers like Hajji Umaru Ddumba, a
renowned maize planter in Makukuba vil-
lage, Nabbaale subcounty in Mukono Dis-
trict, are hatching survival plans. Last sea-
son Ddumba planted 12 acres and battled
the fall army worm. He says his efforts paid
off as he the losses he suffered were less
than he had earlier feared.
I expected to harvest 20 bags per acre
which would give me a total of 240 bags but
I got only 178, Ddumba says.
Despite the losses he has encountered,
because farming is his business, Ddumba
says he has again planted 10 acres of maize
this season but will be more careful about
the fall armyworm.
I gave my workers instructions to move
through the maize plantation every day to
see any signs of a fall armyworm attack so
that we tackle it early enough, Ddumba
says. He is constantly calculating how much
spraying the fall armyworm hit his pocket
this time.
At last seasons prices, Ddumbas maize
harvest which was 62 bags shy because of
the fall army worm means he lost about
Shs3.7 million in lost output alone. Not
counting the cost of pesticide and extra
labour he used. The calculation is based on
each bag weighing 100kgs at an average
price of Shs600 per kg of maize.
Ddumba says he spent Shs2.7million on
pesticides for spraying the fall armyworm.
That pushes his loss of over Shs6 million on
the years harvest.
Last year was also the second successive
season that Ddumba was making losses
from growing maize. In the 2016, he planted
seven acres of maize and he expected to
harvest 140 bags but got only 105 bags. The A farmer checks his maize for signs of fall armyworm
crop was scorched by drought.
in its outlets. But at some points Rocket is modes of action against the worm, goes for
Hiked prices of pesticides being sold at Shs35,000 a litre. Shs26,000 a litre.
But the cost of pesticides is likely to be Striker, which is one of the most potent Ddumba, says from his experience last
higher this season. Last season when the fall pesticides for battling the worm, was by season, one litre after mixing at a lukewarm
army armyworm outbreak was reported, mid-September out of stock in most agro dosage of about 20mls per 20 litres of water
Minister Ssempijja recommended three vet shops. Only the recommended import- sprays one and a half acres. This means for
companies; Nsanja, Bukoola Chemical ers, Bukoola Chemical Industries, had it. someone who has three acres of maize they
Industries, and Uganda Crop Care Ltd to Whereas Bukoola was selling a litre at would need two litres of Striker meaning
import the pesticides. Among the drugs Shs32,000 last season its now at Shs37,000 a Shs74,000 per run. With a more infestation
recommended were Striker, Dudufenos and litre with small discounts for bulk buyers. of the armyworm where one would need
Rocket. Bukoola also sells Dudufenos at 30 to 50 mls per 20 litres of water of course it
But whereas Rocket was selling for Shs35,000 per litre and Nimbecidine which would require more pesticide.
Shs24,000 a litre last season, Nsanja Agro on their website they refer to as a robust At the height of the outbreak fall army-
Chemicals this season sells it at Shs28,000 botanical insecticide that delivers multiple worm attack between February to May,

18 Sept 22 - 28 , 2017

when there was a heavy infestation of the
worm, farmers were being advised to spray
two times a day (both morning and eve-
ning). This would mean for the two days
a farmer with three acres of maize would
spend Shs148,000 on the pesticides alone
without the labour and other inputs like the
pump and water.
There are several other brands of chemi-
cals that Ddumba could opt for. Some of
them are cheaper. And a few are said to
offer some protection. But they are a big
gamble because the market is also flooded
with fakes.
In May last year at the height of the initial
fall armyworm attack there were reports of
fake Striker and Rocket drugs being sold;
especially in the Container Village, the hub
of the countrys agro vet shops in Kampala
city. When asked whether the ministry had
opened up the importation of drugs to fight
the army worm in the new season, Ssempi-
jja said they have not added to the original
three and other agro vet dealers have to
buy from the three they recommended last
season.
Still, apart from the drugs recommended
by Agriculture ministry, there are other
companies advertising other pesticides they
say fight the fall armyworm. With Striker,
one of the recommended pesticides to con-
trol the worm being in short supply, it will
not be long before the fraudsters are back
with the fake products.
Some smaller scale farmers are opting for
exotic interventions. One woman, Agnes
Nakintu, a resident of Katadde village in
Wakiso District says she has successfully
used a mixture of wood ash and pepper to
kill the fall armyworm. Nakintu also says
she has noted that her local chicken as well
as weaverbirds hunt for the worms in the
maize.
In Luweero, the District Production Man-
ager, Andrew Kidda Makubuya, says some
farmers have resorted to using of paraffin
to fight off the warms and other caterpil-
lars which have invaded the counties of
Kikyusa, Butuntumula, Zirobwe, Kamira
and Katikamu.
The Luweero district entomologist, Hen-
ry Lule, explained that the increased num-
ber of caterpillars in the district is partly due
to the sudden change and imbalance in the
ecosystem which has seen the migration of
birds from these areas due to human activi-
ties and change in weather patterns.
We have noted the disappearance of
birds in many parts of Luweero yet these
birds feed on caterpillars. The birds disap-
peared because the trees on which they use
to perch were cut down, Lule was quoted
in a news report in August.
However, exotic methods might not work
for big farmers who have more than an acre
of maize. Besides the birds after eating the
armyworms may turn on the maize which
means it cannot be a viable alternative.
When contacted about the escalating
prices of pesticides and Striker being out of
stock in many agro vet shops on Sept. 14,
Ssempijja said he would return to the three
companies which his ministry last year
recommended to import the pesticides with
questions.
But for the farmers who suffered with
controlling this worm last season when
Ssempijja said he had a Shs4.5 billion bud-
get to fight the armyworm but ended up
distributing only a few litres, there is little
faith in the government offering any help.
Other than Uganda, by April last year,
the outbreak of the fall armyworm had
been confirmed by the Food and Agricul-
tural Organisation (FAO) in 20 other African
countries including Nigeria, Togo, Zambia,
Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique,
The fall army worm feeds
on 80 different species,
which could mean about
2,000
different plants, when
maize is off season it feeds
on the other species as it
lies in waiting for its best
dish of maize
Namibia, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Tanzania and
Kenya. It was last reported in South Sudan
in June.
But unlike Uganda, countries with a
functioning Integrated Pest Management
(IPM) system like South Africa, where pest
outbreaks are detected early and dealt with,
were able to control the worm.
Tips new planting season
As the farmers plant, Joseph Gombya, an
extension worker with Nsanja Agro Chemi-
cals which is one of the three companies
approved by the Ministry of Agriculture to
supply pesticides to control the fall army
worm, says report are that the worm is now
attacking maize a few weeks after germi-
nation whereas last time it was attacking
maize starting at about eight weeks old.
He said because the fall army worm feeds
on 80 different species, which could mean
News analysis
about 2,000 different plants, when maize is
off season it feeds on the other species as it
lies in waiting for its best dish of maize.
Also according to Gombya reports they
have so far got from the farmers are that the
worm is now attacking maize a few weeks
after germination whereas last time it was
attacking maize starting at about 8 weeks
old.
Gombya advises farmers to plant their
maize in straight rows and columns to
enable them regularly check on it for any
early signs of the attack of the fall army
worm.
He explains that one of the signs is maize
leaves that looked punched with holes and
flour like yellowish substance which are the
droppings of the worm. He recommends a
spacing of 30 by 75cm if one is planting one
seed per hole or 75 by 60cm if one is plant-
ing 2 seeds per hole.
He warns farmers not to use the big dos-
age of pesticides they were using for the
grown up maize last season as it may scorch
the young and tender plants. He says, for
instance, if a farmer is using Rocket, which
is one of the drugs approved by the Agri-
culture ministry to kill the worm, they
should mix 10mls in a pump of 20 litres of
water.
As the crops grow older and stronger a
farmer may increase the dosage of the pes-
ticide as by that stage it can withstand the
strong pesticide, Gombya says.
Gombya also advises farmers to destroy
all the remnants from the harvest of last
season by burning them or burying them
deeply as they may contain eggs of the fall
armyworm and leaving them in the garden
may lead to a new attack as soon as the
new maize germinates.
Use of fertilisers right when one is
planting the seed and afterwards will give
the maize strength to even withstand the
attack by the fall armyworm or the side
effects of the pesticides, Gombya says.
The Mukono District Agricultural Offi-
cer, Steven Mukasa Mabira, says another
way of controlling the fall army worm is
to practice crop rotation where the farmer
does not use the same piece of land where
he planted maize last season for the next
season. Since the larva stage of the worm
also burrows deep in the soil tilling where-
by the soil is turned upside down may also
interrupt the stage of the worm, Mabira
advises.
Like Gombya, Mabira also tips farmers
to walk through their maize plantations
regularly and, if they notice any sign of the
fall army worm attack, to spray the maize
with the approved pesticides.
Mabira also advises farmers to spray the
maize very early in the morning or late in
the afternoon when the worm gets out of
hiding to feed. The pumps should be point-
ed in the funnel shape of the leaves because
thats where the worm hides.
Sept 22 - 28 , 2017 19
comment
By Seth Trudeau & Keno Omu
Unprepared graduates
Why we are at a unique moment where Africas
university model requires a rethink
A
cross Africa, students arrive on
campuses full of hope that a
university degree will improve
their lives. The reality is far less
certain.
In 2014, a British Council study
estimated Nigerias graduate
unemployment at 23.1%. In Kenya,
it takes an average of five years for a
graduate to find a job. Yet business
leaders frequently say there are jobs
just a lack of skilled talent to do them.
How can this be?
There are two commonly cited
explanations. The first is that financial,
human capital and infrastructure
constraints have a negative impact on
the range and quality of skills students
graduate with. The second is the
disconnect between what universities
teach and the skills needed in the market.
However, another more fundamental
explanation has to do with how students
are educated, irrespective of what they
study or the resource constraints they
face. How students learn matters to
employers because it shapes how they
think and what they do at work.
A growing number of employers are
no longer looking for graduates with the
most impressive degree certificates. In
fact, trailblazers like Ernst & Young have
removed degree classifications from their
entry requirements because they do not
believe that academic success is always a
sign of professional success.
A new kind of graduate
Employers are now looking for
graduates who can think for themselves,
integrate into fast-paced work
environments, learn new ways of
working and develop creative solutions
to real problems. These abilities depend
more on how they were taught than
what they learned.
We are at a unique moment in the
history of education. Information was
once scarce but is now everywhere. In
the last 15 years, we have also made a
20 Sept 22 - 28 , 2017
giant leap forward in our understanding
of how the brain works and how people
learn. These developments have radically
altered the way we think about higher
education.
In the traditional university model,
learning meant access to information
and knowledge, education resources and
teaching expertise. Today, technology
has made it easier for anyone to get
information, knowledge and learning
resources.
The advantage retained by the
traditional university is in producing
and organising knowledge. But academic
researchers form a very small percentage
of the knowledge workers needed in the
information age.
Universities need to rethink their
approach to learning if they are to
produce people with the critical thinking,
leadership, collaboration and problem
solving skills needed for modern life.
Learning in many African universities
still happens in large lecture halls and
rewards the ability to remember and
Third,
learning
happens
when
students
apply new
concepts or
skills
repeat information. Researchers such
as Nobel Prize winning physicist Carl
Wieman have shown that this is one of
the least effective ways of learning.
Effective learning takes three things.
First, students must be able to reflect on
what they are learning. Reflection helps
students assess what they know and
what they dont. It also helps them to
integrate new ideas and concepts into
their body of knowledge. When students
reflect, they strengthen the neural
pathways in their brain, and build new
pathways that link information that was
previously not associated. These links
enable critical thinking.
Second, true learning happens when
students stop being passive recipients
of information and become active
experimenters. When students take an
active part, they take responsibility for
the results and ensure that learning is
relevant to them. They develop habits
that help them learn later in life, such as
self-regulation, motivation, and curiosity.
Third, learning happens when students
apply new concepts or skills. This is
the most natural test for a students
comprehension of what they are
studying. Doing something, receiving
feedback about it, refining the approach
and then doing it again also builds
neural pathways for retrieval and
association.
Universities are the planning stage for a
societys aspirations. African universities
must begin to produce employable
leaders who will meet the challenges
that are hindering the continents
progress. To produce graduates with the
appropriate skills and ways of thinking,
they will have to change the way they
see, design, and assess learning.
Seth Trudeau is Director of Learning,
African Leadership University & Keno Omu
is Engineering Curriculum Designer and
Faculty, African Leadership University

By Stuart Oramire
Debating without decorum
What happened to restraint and courtesy
in Ugandas political debates?
A
few days ago, I watched the
Fourth Estate, a weekend
talk show on NTV. It was
total mayhem that even a
seasoned journalist like Joel Senyonyi
failed to reign in his guests who were
mostly members of Parliament. They
were debating Article 102(b) of 1995
Constitution now dubbed the Age
limit debate. Such animated political
discussions have become the order of
the day. Most are now characterised
by heckling, abuses, intimidation,
character assassination, intolerance,
and threats.
Interestingly, it is a few rowdy and
loud voices that seem to have taken
an upper hand.
In civilised societies, people more
so the elite, debate even the most
emotive and contentious issues with
a degree of respect and tolerance
despite divergence of opinion.
The right to an opinion, however
unpopular, is a constitutional right
under Article 29 of the same 1995
Constitution. More so, we cannot
all always view things with the
same lenses. There will always be
divergence of views in a fairly open
country like Uganda. We need
therefore to exercise restraint and
tolerance when debating issues;
however emotive or topical the
discussion is.
Again- I have seen a section of
Ugandans employing cowardly
tactics and rhetoric of blackmail to
threaten proponents of the alleged
proposed amendment of Article
102(b). To hurl insults and threaten
to campaign against Members of
Parliament who support the lifting
of age limit is an empty counter-
narrative to the position of its
proponents. These claim that their
opponents are running scared of their
perennial flag bearer who seemingly
remains a force to reckon with and
retains a popularity that may keep
him in office beyond 2021.
The other counter-narrative
being peddled by a few is that any
amendment of Article 102(b) will
erode the only remaining safeguard
and beacon of the sovereignty of the
people and the supremacy of the
1995 Constitution. Such reasoning
is narrow and simplistic. One of
the rules of interpretation of the
Constitution is that it must be read as
whole and not one part in isolation
of the other. Therefore, the claim that
the framers of the constitution never
entrenched Article 102(b) is negated
by Chapter 18 and specifically Article
260 of the 1995 Constitution that
provides for articles that require
amendments by way of a referendum.
The framers of the Constitution
perhaps envisaged no harm in
Parliament amending sections of
the Constitution so long as due
regard to the legal and constitutional
One of the
rules of
interpretation of
the Constitution
is that it must be
read as whole
and not one part
in isolation of
the other
comment
procedures are adhered to. If there
was any mischief or oversight on the
part of the framers of the 1995 can
establish, declare and then remedy.
Folks; mainly on various social
media platforms, are even now using
un-sanitised words like rape and
defilement of the constitution. This
is wrong because no law has been
infringed. As important stakeholders
in the management of our country,
we-the citizenry have an imperative
role to play; especially regarding
the leaders we send to represent us
in Parliament and beyond. These
representatives are the anchors of
the aspirations and interests of the
electorate in Parliament.
It is, therefore, cowardly and callous
to threaten and blackmail Members
of Parliament and other Ugandans
for their beliefs and the political
choices they make. The only concern
should be that no law is violated.
Conducting ourselves otherwise is
a recipe for instability. The people
threatening others are protected by
the inalienable rights guaranteed by
the same constitution. Social cohesion
and political stability can only thrive
in an environment where tolerance
and respect of each others opinion is
exercised, however divergent.
Stuart Oramire is a lawyer and Human
Rights Advocate.
stuartoramire@yahoo.com.
Sept 22 - 28 , 2017 21
O
By Julius Businge

n Sept. 07 Bank of Uganda

(BoU) released a delayed
annual supervision report
for the financial sector for
the year ended December
2016. The reasons that
delayed the report that normally comes out
in July were not shared but it comes when
the half year banks performance for 2017
indicates a 4% drop in industry profitability
when compared to the same period last
year.
As always, the latest report provides
information on the supervisory activities
conducted by the BoU and provides an
assessment of the performance of the finan-
cial system and potential risks to financial
stability as well as the reforms to the regu-
latory framework undertaken during the
year.
A quick analysis about the sector, going
by the findings of the report shows a bad
2016 compared to 2015.
The year 2016 was a very difficult one
for the banking system, Tumusiime Mute-
bile, the governor of BoU notes in his fore-
word of the 40 page report.
The report indicates that net profit for
the sector dropped from Shs541 billion in
December 2015 to Shs302 billion in Decem-
ber 2016. Return on assets for the industry
declined from 2.6% in 2015 to 1.3% in 2016; BoU Governor Tumusiime Mutebile
return on equity almost declined by 100%

Bad 2016, gloomy

from 16% in December 2015 to 8.3% in the
same time in 2016.
Non-performing loans (NPLs) to total
gross loans rose from 5.3% to 10.5% in

2017 for banks

the period between December 2015 and
December 2016; this led to a slowdown in
private sector credit growth and a drop in
bank profitability.
The capital ratios of banks to risk weight-
ed assets fell from 18.6% at the end of 2015
to 17.3% at the end of 2016, although the Experts blame it on bad economy,
latter was still above the regulatory mini-
mum of 8%. This partly led to the takeover
of two banks Crane Bank, one of the top
call for quick fixes
three out of the 25 and a middle sized bank,
Imperial Bank Uganda Limited by the
central bank and later sold to DFCU bank growth and high NPLs are likely to remain weak private sector credit and slow imple-
Limited and Exim Bank Uganda Limited the major source of concern for stability. mentation of government infrastructure
respectively. He said strong capital and liquidity buffers projects among other factors.
According to the report, some banks held by banks provide the banking system However, Mutebile says the economy
exhibited weaknesses in corporate gover- with a high degree of resilience to shocks gathered some momentum in the first half
nance practices as well as in the manage- such as losses on their loan portfolios. of 2017 and it will improve further going
ment of strategic, credit, operational and forward with projections being 5-5.5% sup-
compliance risks. On a positive note, the Expert solutions ported by his accommodative monetary
cost to income ratio reduced by 2.2% to Ugandas economy has in the last five policy, recovery in external demand and
67.2% in December 2016. years been growing at rates far below the foreign direct investment, increased activity
Although Mutebile argues that banks 5% minimum target largely on account of in the agriculture sector due to improved
remain highly capitalised to overcome constrained internal and external demand, weather conditions in addition to the fiscal
shocks, he says risks from low GDP poor performance of agriculture sector, stimulus outlined in the budget for finan-

22 Sept 22 - 28 , 2017

cial year 2017/18.
When The Independent sought out expert
views, many were concerned that the vola-
tile economy could continue to haunt com-
mercial bank fortunes unless it is urgently
fixed.
Banks cant make money in a bad econo-
my, says Ddumba Ssentamu, the chairman
board of Centenary Bank and former Vice
Chancellor of Makerere University.
In an interview on Sept. 08, Ssentamu
said the government needs to improve
performance of the economy to boost inves-
tor confidence which will feed into perfor-
mance of banks. Ssentamu, who formerly
lectured economics at Makerere University,
said government should prevent strikes,
fight corruption, and improve accountabil-
ity so as to attract more investments into
the country for banks to work. He also said
that government must show commitment
towards investing in irrigation schemes so
as to avoid bad weather hurting the main
economic activity; agriculture, that is affect-
ing repayment of agriculture loans by some
borrowers.
In response to the reduced cost of credit
noted in the supervision report, Isaac Nkote,
a senior economics lecturer at Makerere
University Business School (MUBS) told The
Independent that reducing interest rates by
commercial banks in line with the central
bank rate is a good thing but growing pri-
vate sector credit (PSC) for banks to make
money remains a big challenge.
Making a lending decision is a tough
thing; it involves doing analysis of loan
applicants and the economy, Nkote said.
He said that growing PSC would require
big borrowers to increase loan uptake as
aggregate demand improves in the econo-
my creating a good feel that things will get
better. Then banks and other businesses can
expect good performance in the future.
But certainly the cost of borrowing is
a key driver to lending, he said, Once
you have consumer confidence, people are
going to the market to buy and incomes are
going up then certainly you will have things
getting fixed.
Augustus Nuwagaba, a consultant on
economic transformation at REEV Consult
International Limited told The Indepen-
dent on Sept. 08 that the economy and the
financial sector are twins that complement
growth of one another.
He said that banks need to find cheaper
sources of funds to ease cost of lending
which more often results in bad loans.
He said liberalisation of the pension sec-
tor would see commercial banks borrow
from players cheaply. He also suggests that
banks should consider listing shares on the
stock market to raise cheap funds instead of
depending on customer deposits which are
unreliable; he also says that banks should
improve financial disclosure and corporate
Facts about financial sector performance (for the period January
December 2016) source; Bank of Uganda
Four on-site examinations of licensed
MDIs was done
Number of foreign exchange bureau
outlets stood at 267 compared to 280 as
at December 31 2015; money remitters
number rose from 66 as at December 2015
to 69 in December 2016
17 new Forex Bureau outlets were
licenced; but the licenses of 19 outlets
were terminated and 11 outlets voluntarily
exited the market
Forex Bureau outlets faced lapses in
cash management, reporting suspicious
transactions, limited understanding of
provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering
Act, 2013 and Anti-Money Laundering
Regulations, 2015
If banks three largest borrowers were
to default by 100% loan loss alongside
increase in NPLs by 200%, 13 banks would
become undercapitalised
Number of bank branches decreased
from 573 in 2015 to 570 in 2016; ATMs
increased from 842 in 2015 to 860 in 2016
governance aspects to attract cheap financ-
ing from international entities like the Inter-
national Financial Cooperation (IFC).
On the big economy question, Nuwagaba
said that Ugandas economy planners
need to focus investments in agriculture
Facts about 2017 half year
performance of banks
Industry profitability dropped 4%
compared to 18% recorded in same
period last year
Industry client loans and advances
growth remained under 1%
CBR reached lowest point of 10%
(Jun2017) since its debut in July 2011
Reduction in CBR did not spur
growth in lending for key sectors
like manufacturing, real estate and
construction which remained in negative
Unutilised credit limits in the industry
sector exceeded Shs 1.7 trillion in
June having moved from an average
of Shs 1.2 trillion in 2015.
Average lending rates in local currency
dropped 2% between December 2016
and May 2017 which is an estimated
annualised impact of Shs 100 billion on
interest income off a loan book of Shs
6 trillion.
business
Total of major assets increased from Shs
21.7 trillion in 2015 to Shs 23.7trillion in
2016
Government securities grew from Shs 4.1
trillion in 2015 to 5.1 trillion in 2016
Loans increased from Shs 10.8trillion in
2015 to Shs 11.5 trillion in 2016
Customer deposits accounted for 81%
of total liabilities; deposits grew at 9.5%
in 2016, down from 12% in the year to
December 2015
Central bank rate reduced from 17% in
December 2015 to 12% in December 2016;
average lending rate for shilling loans
reduced from 24.6% during December
2015 to 22.7% in December 2016
Total income increased from Shs 3.1 trillion
in December 2015 to Shs 3.6 trillion in
December 2016
Total expenses increased from Shs 2.2
trillion in December 2015 to Shs 3 trillion
in December 2016
that employs majority of the population
so as to boost aggregate demand. He
suggests that value addition, irrigation
schemes, agriculture roads, searching for
external markets, growing exports and
ensuring good standards for goods and
services would improve the sectors per-
formance.
He also says that peoples work mind-
set must change. People should love
work and shun mediocrity, Nuwagaba
said.
He said that for all these things to hap-
pen government must be in the driving
seat with regulations, good economic
policy, good laws and action plans.
Meanwhile, with a gloomy perfor-
mance for the first six months of 2017 for
banks, it is possible that if key fundamen-
tals do not change, the 2016 bad fortunes
for the financial sector would continue.
As the storm rages, Finance Minister
Matia Kasaija is promising a major turn-
around of the economy and counseling
patience.
There is something I am doingjust
give me two years, this economy will
have changed, Kasaija told participants
at the African Tax Administration Forum
(ATAF) organised by Uganda Revenue
Authority and the African Development
Bank in Kampala on Aug 15. It is not clear
how many of his listeners believed him.
But to hear a government minister express
concern about the economy is a welcome
departure from the usual denials.
Sept 22 - 28 , 2017 23
 Executive Style
Its the right time to invest
on the stock market
Paul Bwiso is the chief executive officer of Uganda Securities
Exchange. He spoke to The Independents Isaac Khisa.
How has been the performance
of stock market in the past eight
months ending August compared
W
with the same period in 2016?
e are down by about
50% to Shs69bn as turn-
over compared with
Shs123bn recorded in
the eight months to August 2016.
This is because of investor flight.
We have seen investors most espe-
cially foreign, reduce their invest-
ment on the market while locals,
who are mainly funds, holding on
their shares. What is interesting is
that with the interest rates coming
down, we would have expected
more investors coming on to the
stock exchange but that has not
been the case. This means
that investors are look-
ing at the economy
as not being
24 Sept 22 - 28 , 2017
strong enough to drive growth in the
companies to report better profits to
offset investing in government bonds.
Most of the counters have experi-
enced either a flat or drop in
pric- es showing
that theres no sufficient demand to
buy or the activity in the economy to
drive these businesses is low. On the
other hand, banks have performed
well but most investors know it is cy-
clical. It is as a result of high interest
rates last year that ultimately resulted
into the better performance. And so
the interim or the medium term in-
vestors are not guaranteed of returns.
As a consequence, most investors are
taking the approach of wait and see
or hold.
Based on that performance, what is
the outlook this year?
I think over the next coming
months, we wouldnt expect a large
increment. We would probably have
a drop in the overall turnover, year-
on-year, estimated a 20-30%. We still
expect that once Umeme (electricity
distributor) provides its performance
and all companies submit their half
year results, we would see ac-
tivities resume. The periods
between October and December
are normally active. The Dfcu
rights issue should also
bring some activities on
the Dfcu counter that
has been decimal.
One of the things
we had antici-
pated at the beginning of the year
was more companies using the stock
market to rise more capital but that
has not been the case. Most of them
are in the pipeline and again, they
are still working on improving their
governance structures to be able to
come to the market.
It is nearly four years since you last
had a listing. Why are there no new
listings anymore?
I would say there are bigger is-
sues. When a company is coming to
the market, there are a lot of things
that need to be put in place. It needs
to have a pre-IPO preparation. Also,
there are whole lots of regulations
that a company needs to follow be-
cause it will be dealing with public
funds.
In addition, the company owners
need to ensure that they are better
prepared and have good struc-
tures. Now, a lot of these take a
shareholder and board of directors
decision, who in many times tend
to change their minds.
We also have competition from
private equity funds, who tend to
give loans to the companies within
three to six months in exchange
for shares. But coming to the stock
market takes probably longer be-
cause one need to come when they
are well prepared.
To make the situation even
worse, good companies are already
owned by international firms which
are listed on other markets. We
have received two applications to
list on the stock market but applica-
tion is one thing and meeting the
criteria is another.
Given that share prices on the
counters has either dropped or re-
mained flat, what does that mean
to prospective investors?
The share prices have been like
that since last year and it has been
the right time for one to invest on
the stock market. The share prices
have been down, banks have been
performing well and therefore one
would expect them to pay better
dividends. We have seen companies
like Uganda Clays Limited report
profits and paid dividend for the first
time after many years. Looking at
that, it is good time to buy shares on
the stock market but it is also good
for one take advice from an invest-
ment advisor to be able to get the
best deal because the performance of
the economy tend to impact different
companies differently.
USE market turnover, ket. What is your response to this?
There are different ways of at-
share volume & market tracting companies to come and
list on USE. We have two market
capitalization for past 5 years segment one that has very mini-
mal requirements and that is the
Year Turn Over Share Market Growth Enterprise Market Seg-
(Shs bn) volume capitalization
(millions) (trillion)
ment and the main market that is
stringent.
2012 200 1, 318 19 Now, many of the investors we
have met say, yes we have made
2013 333 2, 436 23 some money and we also have our
2014 310 1, 848 26
businesses. How shall we benefit
with sharing our companies? They
2015 187 1, 763 24 feel that theres no incentive.
The funding structure in Uganda
2016 273 1, 477 20 is a bit complicated; everybody is
playing in the short spell. The long
Source: USE and CMA term fund managers with long term
assets are always putting their in-
vestment in the short term because
the government is always issuing
treasury bills and bonds for mon-
etary policy. Everybody is invest-
ing in that space and they are fairly
We are down by getting a good returns of 12-16%.
Now, the companies that need
about capital at this point in time are not
50%
using the market because they have
issues. In addition, a lot of our
businesses are family owned, and
one of the challenges for such com-
panies is that to become a listed
to Shs69bn as company, they have to open up.
turnover compared For instance, the chairman cannot
be the chief executive officer, have
with Shs123bn non-executive directors, which the
owners are not willing to surren-
recorded in the der. However, we are still telling
eight months to companies to approach USE when
they are growing because that is
August 2016. when people will have interest in
them. We do quite a lot of meet-
ings, gatherings with the investors
and so are other stakeholders like
brokers to talk to companies.
What is the future outlook of the
How far has the Kenyan election stock market?
impacted on the Uganda Securities The outlook is quite bright; we are
Exchange? focusing a lot on technology/ innova-
The impact of Kenyas election on tion and also creating awareness of
USE actually started in 2016. Usu- our products. I think theres a better
ally, investors tend to pull out their look to the stock market and we
money on the stock market a year are going to be able to grow. We do
before the general election. On the know some listings will come though
other hand, it has been the best time are taking longer. We are also in the
to buy shares on the Kenyan market process of finalisation demutualisa-
because stocks were as low as 40-50% tion getting out the mutual organ-
down in prices. isation and become a public limited
company. That means that USE will
A section of the public think that now be a profit making company,
you and your team as USE arent do- making us competitive. At the mo-
ing enough to attract new listings or ment, we are simply a regulator of
stimulate activities on the stock mar- the market.
Sept 22 - 28 , 2017 25
Business
Fight over Sadolin
Inside the AkzoNobel, Kansai Plascon tussles
to control top paint brand name
By Isaac Khisa
D
utch paints and Coatings Com-
pany AkzoNobel Coatings Inter-
national BV which owns Sadolin
brand name in Uganda is locked
in a battle for market control with Kansai
Plascon of Japan.
The case is before the commercial court
and details are scanty but experts say it
could set a precedent locally for the transfer
of company assets of a franchisee, including
the brand name, in case of a takeover.
The brand name fight started soon after
Kansai Plascon announced in August that it
had acquired Sadolin East Africa for about
$125 million. A surge in paints and coatings
demand on the back of middle class-driven
construction sector growth has made the
Ugandan market quite attractive for manu-
facturers and until now, Sadolin has been a
major player.
When Kansai Plascon, which already
operates in Kenya and Tanzania with
exports to South Sudan, Burundi and Rwan-
da, sought to enter the market, it appears to
have adopted a frontal attack approach to
annihilate the Sadolin brand.
Johann Smidt, the managing director for
AkzoNobel Decorative Paints in Sub-Sahara
Africa says, in accordance with the contrac-
tual agreement, Kansai Plascon was obliged
to manufacture, sell, market and advertise
Sadolin brand until the end of January 2018.
Instead, AkzoNobel says, Kansai Plascon
immediately announced that Sadolin is
migrating to Kansai Plascon.
The claims that Sadolin is migrating to
Kansai Plascon are false and misleading
the public as Sadolin has been owned by
AkzoNobel since 1987 and was never owned
by the local licensee, Sadolin Paints East
Africa, Smidt told The Independent.
AkzoNobel, which is headquartered in
Amsterdam and operates in around 80
countries with Sadolin and Dulux being its
well-known brands, on Sept.13 cancelled the
licence agreement it had with Kansai Plas-
con citing breach of contract.
He says since Kansai Plascon acquired
Sadolin East Africa, they engaged them to
ensure that there is continued supply of
the Sadolin brand to the market but that
AkzoNobel plan appears to have failed.
This responsibility has not been upheld
and actions by Kansai Plascon indicate
deliberate breaches of the contract as evident
in the over-labelling of Sadolin packs with
26 Sept 22 - 28 , 2017
(L-R) Kansai Plascon East Africa MD Wim Bramer
and Plascon Uganda MD Chris Nugent during a
recent press conference in Kampala.
Plascon labels, he said adding, This behav-
iour, amongst other activities, has left us
with no choice but to cancel the agreement
with immediate effect to protect our Sadolin
brand and ensure supply to the Ugandan
people.
Schmidt says unlawful activities by
Kansai Plascon have caused recent market
disruption in supply of the Sadolin brand on
the Ugandan market.
This has prompted us to engage in
conversations with a new partner, a partner
that meets the strict AkzoNobel and Sadolin
requirements and product quality stan-
dards. Much progress has been made in this
respect, Smidt added. Meanwhile, Kansai
Plascon, appears to be playing a very well-
orchestrated market takeover game but they
are keeping their moves secret.
When contacted, Kansai Plascon Manag-
ing Director in Uganda, Chris Nugent, told
The Independent that he cannot comment on
the matter as he is out of the country.
So far, he has only spoken to the Daily
Monitor, a local daily and even then stopped
merely at acknowledging that there is a fight
raging but the matter is in court for redress.
We dispute what they are doing and
there is a court case that was supposed to be
heard, he said. Regarding the demands and
actions of AkzoNobel, he said the court will
determine whether they behaved legally
or not.
Kansai Plascon appears to have either
deliberately or inadvertently waded into a
business brand name dispute between Sado-
lin Uganda and AkzoNobel.
Last July, Sadolin Uganda filed an
injunction in the commercial court against
AkzoNobel to stop them from terminating
a deal it had with Akzo Nobel saying the
move could hurt their business.
It is not clear whether Sadolin Uganda
was in talks with Kansai Plascon at the time
and whether that sparked Akzo Nobels
move against Sadolin Uganda. It is also pos-
sible Sadolin Uganda reached out to Kansai
Plascon after relation with Akzo Nobel
soured.
In any case, in August, AkzoNobel won
the court battle against the licensee paving
way for it to engage freely with the market
to ensure that theres supply of Sadolin
brand whose fate hangs in a balance.
Kansai Plascon has already announced
plans to introduce new products, including
an anti-mosquito paint and one that is more
washable and fire resistant. It has also add-
ed that it plans to invest in new technologies
into the US$10 million-plant at the Kampala
Industrial and Business Park, Namamve,
enabling it produce high quality paint at an
affordable price. Kansai Plascon is already
proclaiming that it command 60% market
share in Uganda. AkzoNobel and any new
partner have a tough battle ahead to at least
match that rhetoric.
An almost similar case is playing out in
Kenya. The difference appears to be that
Sadolin Kenya lost the right use the Sadolin
name when Akzo Nobel cut them off.
Akzo Nobel, which initially gave a one
year notice to Sadolin Paints East Africa to
an end on December 2019, moved it closer
to on February 1, 2018. Akzo Nobel also
announced it would start manufacturing the
Sadolin products in Kenya.
Akzo Nobel is said to be working with ICI
South Africa PTY, its South African subsid-
iary, to manufacture products in Kenya as
Akzo Nobel Kenya, a new company.
This led Sadolin Paints East Africa Limit-
ed to sue Akzo Nobel seeking court to block
it from soliciting for business from Sadolin
clients in Kenya.
Under the deal with Akzo Nobel, Sado-
lin Paints East Africa Limited had right to
manufacture and sell products with the
trade name in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda,
Tanzania, Zanzibar, Burundi, South Sudan,
Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo
(excluding Kinshasa and Lubumbashi),
Somalia and Djibouti.

Australian firm enters Ugandas
oil and gas sector
The country is looking forward for oil production by 2020
By Ronald Musoke
O
n Sep 14, the Ugandan
government signed
a production sharing
agreement with the
Australian Armour Energy Ltd
and issued a petroleum explora-
tion licence, the first under the
competitive licensing round for
oil and gas unveiled two years
ago.
The licence covers the Kany-
wataba Block, a 344 square
kilometres area, on the southern
fringes of Lake Albert near the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
The block was initially
licenced to Total, Chinas Irene Muloni (R), the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development
CNOOC, and Tullow but the and Roger Cressey, the CEO Armour Energy display a Memorandum of
three firms, which are now over- Understanding certificate after signing the oil exploration licence on
seeing the development phase of Sept. 14. INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA
the countrys crude oil discoveries
reverted it to the government in 2012 after
failing to find oil.
Eng. Irene Muloni, the Minister for
Energy and Mineral Development said
the licence was given to Armour Energy in
accordance with Section 58 of the Petroleum
(Exploration, Development and Production)
Act, 2013. This is the legal regime under
which I announced the first competitive
licensing round during February 2015, she
said during the signing ceremony at the
energy ministrys headquarters at Amber
House in Kampala.
She said the sustained low oil prices had
played a role in the protracted negotiation.
In 2014, the price of crude oil on the inter-
national market stood at US112 but it is cur-
rently trading at US50 per barrel on the back
of high production.
Under the new PSA, Armour will pay
royalty (8.5%--21%) based on the gross oil
production in barrels per day. The agree-
ment also has provisions for state participa-
tion while the cost recovery limit for petro-
leum has been set at 65%. Other clauses
in the agreement include; a performance
(Bank) Guarantee amounting to 50% of the
minimum exploration expenditure for the
first exploration period ($990,000) and a
requirement to train and employ suitably
qualified Ugandan citizens.
However, The Independent, has learnt that
Armour Energy intends to work in partner-
ship with DGR Global Limited, another
Australian oil and gas prospecting firm
in the Kanywataba block. This follows an
agreement that was signed recently between
the two entities.
As such, Armour Energy plans to retain
16.82% while DGR will meet the tenement
expenditure and work programme commit-
ments for the first two years and indemnify
Armour for these costs but until that trans-
fer is complete, Armour will hold DGRs
83.18% in trust, according to the Oil and Gas
Journal, an international industry publica-
tion.
The tentative agreement shows that DGR
Global has agreed to spend as much as
US$837,000 for a performance guarantee,
US$442,000 to complete the grant of the
licence and $1.98 million for the first two
years of the exploration programme.
Robert Kasande, the acting permanent
secretary at the Ministry of Energy and
Mineral Development noted that since this
was the first competitive licensing round in
the country, the ministry undertook a com-
prehensive process of approval of the blocks
for licensing as required by the Petroleum
(Exploration, Development and Production)
Act, 2013.
This licensing round was based on data
availability and prospectivity covering six
blocks with a total acreage of 2,674 square
kilometer in the Albertine Graben.
Kasande said a total of 19 potential bid-
ders responded and picked the request for
Business
qualification and out of these,
17 submitted applications for
qualification.
The government evaluated
the submissions and recom-
mended 16 companies to pro-
ceed to the request for proposal
stage, a phase which required
applicants to carry out a num-
ber of activities that included
visiting the data room, attend-
ing a bidders conference and
carrying out field visits among
others.
One of the major achieve-
ments from the licensing round
was the development of a state
of the art data room to facili-
tate the first licensing room,
Kasande said adding, The
data room remains open to the
industry to view and purchase
data, and will also be used for
future licensing rounds.
In the process, Kasande said the energy
ministry generated $2.4 million from the
sale of data to bidders that was paid to the
Uganda Petroleum Fund. This is in addi-
tion to US$316,000 that has been paid as
signature bonus, research and training fees
and annual acreage rental fees for the first
exploration period.
Four bidders from a short list of seven
companies that had submitted proposals by
the deadline of Feb. 26, 2016 emerged suc-
cessful and were selected for negotiations.
They included; Walter Smith Petroman Lim-
ited, Oranto Petroleum Limited, Armour
Energy Limited and Niger Delta Petroleum
Resources Limited.
The government has also reached an
agreement with Oranto Petroleum Limited
for Ngassa Block and the PSA is set for sign-
ing in three weeks time.
The new PSA now adds Armour Energy
Ltd to the three upstream licensees in the
country Total E&P BV, Tullow Uganda Pty
Ltd and CNOOC Uganda Ltd. Armours
Chief Executive, Roger Cressey, said the
exploration and development of oil in Ugan-
da is a very exciting opportunity for us.
The government is currently in final prep-
aration for setting up various production
and transportation infrastructure ahead of
first oil production in 2020. So far, about 6.5
billion barrels of oil have been discovered,
according to government officials.
Sept 22 - 28 , 2017 27
Business
What future for UDB?
Experts debate fate of finance-starved long-term funder
By Ian Katusiime
S
hould the Uganda Development
Bank (UDB) seek capital from the
government only? How should it
work around Ugandas short-term
investment culture? Should it operate like
a private sector bank or continue as the
governments band-aid effort at mitigat-
ing market failures.
According to Ugandan financial sector
experts, answers to these questions are
becoming more urgent since two years
ago when President Yoweri Museveni
announced that UDB would be getting a
huge capital injection from the govern-
ment but nothing has happened.
In July 2015, there was wild cheering
at a UDB organized client engagement
forum, when Minister of Finance Matia
Kasaija announced that UDB would get
US$1 billion. The bank was undergoing
high-level rebranding at the time and
optimism was high because Museveni had
declared a month before, in a State of the
Nation address, that it would be recapi-
talised. The President, however, spoke of
recapitalisation to the tune of Shs500 bil-
lion (US$137million) only.
So Kasaijas figure was jaw dropping
even by a politicians standards of lav-
ish promises and a far cry from Musev-
enis promise. In spite of all this, Kasaija
received thunderous applause at the event
meant to foster relations between the bank
and its customers. The contradiction of the
two statements, however, prompted spec-
ulation in finance circles even back then. Is
there is a clear policy on stimulating UDB,
was the question.
In his budget speech in June this year,
Kasaija said he had provided an additional
Shs50billion to the bank in this current
financial year 2017/2018 bringing the total
recapitalisation so far to Shs150billion but
the bank managers have a different story
to tell.
But Board Chairman Samuel Sejaaka
says the bank received Shs8billion in
2015, Shs4billion in 2016 and Shs17billion
in 2017. Total Shs39 billion. So should
UDB not look for alternative sources of
financing other than government which is
always cash strapped?
Patricia Ojangole, the UDB CEO has
been reluctant to publicly address these
questions.
I cannot comment on the issues, she
curtly told The Independent.
But Sejaaka said UDB acts on the gov-
ernments bidding.
28 Sept 22 - 28 , 2017
UDB CEO Patricia Ojangole
Our bank is there to help government.
Whatever we do must be a function of
government, he said.
We have a strategic plan and we are
working within the National Development
Plan through priority sectors like value
addition and primary agriculture. We are
looking at activities like milk production.
But some experts like Musa Lwanga,
a research economist at Economic Policy
Research Centre (EPRC), says UDB should
not look at the government as the only
source of financing.
Look at African Development Bank; it
is not just financed by African countries
but by European partners and others from
the US.
A development bank should be run on
business principles also. There should be a
level of business orientation because it is a
driver of growth, he says.
Lwanga says that if the government is
the only financier of a development bank,
it may lead to political capture which is a
slow way of killing the bank.
Lwanga adds that the slow pace of fill-
ing up UDBs coffers portends bad news
for the economy.
The incentives of the private sector
failed to align with those of the countrys
development needs. The private banks
have remained focused on short term
loans, they remain skeptical about lending
long term because of the risks, he says.
He says the current high interest rates
should be the motivation for a strong
development bank as an alternative; espe-
cially in long term financing for agriculture
and industry.
Another expert, Isaac Nkote who is a
senior economics lecturer at Makerere
University Business School (MUBS) in
Kampala, says the more urgent question
about UDB should be whether there is
actually demand for long term financing.
Nkote says development banks are the
key for growth and describes how some
countries even have specific ones; an
industrial bank, an agricultural bank and
more while others, like Uganda, have one
all-embracing development bank
You cannot finance long term needs
with short terms loans, he says but a sur-
vey is needed to establish whether there is
demand for the much talked about devel-
opment financing.
Does UDB, for instance, have more
loan applications than they can give out?
Are they oversubscribed? If their demand
is Shs700billion and they only have 300bil-
lion, that would be an issue, he says.
Nkote says some people may be wor-
ried about UDB when in actual sense,
nobody is demanding for long-term loans.
UDB offers a wide array of loans; short
term, mid-term, long term, and trade
finance and equity investment. On its long
term loan portfolio, UDB states its purpose
Provision of long-term loans to finance
acquisition, construction, expansion, mod-
ernization and installation of fixed assets.
The bank is also meant to support infra-
structural development, industrialization
among other sectors.
With the money UDB has received since
the talk of recapitalization started, the
banks purpose looks out of sync. With this
slow injection of capital, the banks role in
growth and development has come into
focus.
Although the current consensus is that
UDB should fill gaps left by private finan-
cial institutions, which are often geared
towards commercial activities, former
president of the African Development
Bank, Donald Kaberuka, says develop-
ment banks should be managed on private
sector basis.
They should not respond to market
failures. If a government wants to achieve
certain objectives with development banks,
the Treasury should pay for it, he said at
a meeting of regional central bank gover-
nors last year to mark Bank of Ugandas
50 years.
A year later, the debate rages as the
unavailability of capital remains a key
challenge for UDB.

RwandAir to host Africa
airlines assembly
November event expected to attract
500 high profile delegates
By Independent Team
R
wandas national flag carrier,
RwandAir, has finalised prepara-
tions to host the 49th Annual Gen-
eral Assembly (AGA) and Summit
of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA)
this November.
The three-day event from Nov.12 to 14
will be held in the prestigious Kigali Con-
vention Centre in the capital Kigali.
Up to 500 high profile delegates from the
aviation industry in Africa, Europe, Middle
East, Asia and North America are expected
to attend.
The AFRAA AGA will be attended by
Chairmen and CEOs from African airlines,
ICAO, IATA, AFCAC, civil aviation authori-
ties, airport companies, air navigation
services providers as well as aircraft and
engine manufacturers, component suppli-
ers, and many other service providers.
The AFRAA Secretary General, Elijah
Chingosho, told journalists in Kigali on
Sept.18 that the AGA will discuss issues on
the development of air transport in Africa in
general and development opportunities for
African airlines in particular.
The AFRAA AGA is the premier gather-
ing of senior global aviation executives in
Africa. Annually, the AGA brings together
global aviation leaders and stakeholders
to take stock of aviation milestones and
plan the future for the development of
African aviation, he said. The Secretary
General was in Kigali on an advance visit
to the event. He met various stakeholders
in Rwanda who looked forward to a suc-
cessful event in November. AFRAA and
RwandAir teams are dedicated to ensure
that delegates will experience yet another
memorable AGA this year, he said.
The African Airlines Association
(AFRAA) is a trade association of airlines
from the member states of the African
Union (AU) with headquarters in Nairobi,
Kenya. Its primary purpose is to foster com-
mercial and technical co-operation among
African airlines and to represent their com-
mon interests.
Its membership of 37 airlines cuts across
the continent and includes all the major
intercontinental African operators. The
Association members represent over 85% of
total international traffic carried by African
airlines. Chance Ndagano, the president
of AFRAA who is also the acting CEO of
RwandAir, told the journalists that host-
ing such an event was a great opportunity
and he thanked AFRAA for it. He said the
Business
event presented an excellent opportunity to
strengthen aviation in the country and fur-
ther promotes the tourism sector.
RwandAir looks forward to welcome
airline top executives and other aviation
stakeholders to Remarkable Rwanda - the
land of a thousand hills, he said.
In addition to the provision of an excel-
lent platform for brand visibility through
sponsorship, the General Assembly and
Summit of AFRAA will present exhibition
opportunities for aviation companies to
showcase their services, equipment, compo-
nents, supplies and IT solutions.
Some of the confirmed sponsors include:
Accelya & Mercator, Airbus, Amadeus, Boe-
ing, Bombardier, Embraer, Rwanda Civil
Aviation Authority, Nexus, RwandAir and
SITA.
RwandAir has one of the youngest fleet
on the African continent. But from its hub
at the heart of Africa at Kigali International
Airport, it has built a reputation for its
excellent on-time performance, customer
service and safety, and. With a fleet of 12
aircraft; including two wide-body Airbus
A330 acquired last year, the airline currently
reaches out to twenty-three destinations
across East, Central, West and Southern
Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
This year, RwandAir started flights to
Mumbai, Harare, London (Gatwick) and
Brussels. RwandAir introduced flights to
Abidjan, Libreville and Brazzaville from its
new hub in Cotonou and will start opera-
tions to Bamako, Conakry and Dakar from
the same hub by the beginning of October
this year. Later this year, the airlines ever
growing network will spread to Guang-
zhou and in 2018, RwandAir plans to enter
the American market with flights to New
York, in the USA.
Sept 22 - 28 , 2017 29
Business
Banking AVIATION

Standard Chartered Bank in new services deal with MTN KLM outs WhatsApp

S business account
tandard Char-
tered Bank and
MTN Uganda
signed an agree-
ment on Sep 14 to allow
MTN Mobile Money
collections for corporate
and business clients di-
rectly into their Standard
Chartered Bank accounts
on a real time basis. This
solution dubbed Straight-
2Bank Wallet Collections
will be delivered through
the Banks Straight2Bank
electronic banking plat-
form. Albert Saltson, the
Banks CEO said the col-
laboration with MTN will
enhance the Banks client
proposition and ability
to extend its world-class
financial services to cli-
ents countrywide.
One of our strategic
aspirations as the Bank
is to be the main digital
bank for our customers
and this commitment is
reaffirmed by the launch Royal Dutch Airlines KLM and What-
of the Straight2Bank sApp are offering customers around the
Wallet Collections solu- world booking confirmation, check-in
tion, he said. We will notification, boarding pass, flight status
continue to invest in tech- updates and asking questions in 10 differ-
nology to keep pace with ent languages using a verified WhatsApp
local and global develop- business account, according to a press
ments. Wim Vanhel- notice issued on Sept. 08.
leputte,the CEO MTN I am very proud that KLM is the
Uganda said since incep- worlds first airline with a verified What-
tion, MTN Mobile Money sApp account; this unique partnership
has played a remarkable with WhatsApp underlines our position
role in fostering financial as an aviation pioneer, said KLM Presi-
inclusion in the country. dent and CEO Pieter Elbers. He said this
He said the platforms is a major next step in their social media
service offering has strategy. The service is available to custom-
undergone several ers who book tickets or check in via KLM.
modifications to include com and opt-in to receive information via
bills and taxes payment, WhatsApp. Customers can also directly
purchase of goods and contact KLMs social media service agents,
Standard Chartered Bank Speke Road
services, defied existing branch, Kampala.
24/7, via the platform. The service comes
geographical borders to in handy as the Airline grows its social
enable customers to send media population noted as over 25 million
and receive money inter- fans and followers on various social media
nationally in real time. platforms.

INSURANCE ICT

IRA sets guidelines for TerraPay to serve Uganda and South Africa
bancassurance in the new expansion
The Insurance Regulatory Authority has set South Africa will soon from South Africa to tomers to send and receive
Bancassurance guidelines, 2017, paving way for be accessible for Ugandans mobile wallets in Uganda, money real-time. How-
licensing of bancassurance agents, according through a money transfer Zimbabwe, Nigeria and ever, it does not directly
to regulators communication officer, Mariam network being offered by Mozambique. serve end consumers. It
Nalunkuuma. Bancassurance is about commer- TerraPay. The company is said works with mobile pay-
cial banks offering insurance products to their This follows the South to have already received ment solution providers
customers on behalf of insurance companies. It is African Reserve Banks approval from Bank of like MTN Mobile Money,
hoped the move will deepen insurance penetra- approval of an application Uganda. TerraPay pro- Airtel Money, M-Pesa,
tion in Uganda currently noted at around 1%. by the Indian company, vides inter-operability Tigo Pesa and to ensure
The applicants are required to issue a resolution to allow money transfers facilities that enable cus- transfers are made.
of the governing body of the financial institution
and a letter of no objection issued by the Bank ICT
of Uganda. The Bancassurance agency is also
required to secure an agreement with insurers
they will be dealing with. A minimum of three
DPO receives payment card security standards
non-life insurers and two life insurers shall be Kenyan-based online store, process or trans-
required. Under the guidelines, the agent may payment service pro- mit cardholder data or
develop or package insurance services with the vider, Direct Pay Online sensitive authentication
insurer specified in the agency agreement. The Group has received the data. The certification
agent shall provide all information to the prospec- Payment Card Industry is administered by
tive policy holder for the proper understand- Data Security Standard thePCI DSS Coun-
ing of the services offered by the agent. (PCI DSS) Level 1 cer- cil,which was founded
On policy issuances, the insurer shall be tification in 12 African by Visa Inc, Master-
required to issue a non-life insurance countries. Card Worldwide,
policy within 10 working days from This follows successful completion American Express, Discover Financial
the date of payment of premium of comprehensive audits in the Groups Service and JCB International. The solu-
whereas a life policy shall be issued global headquarters and all its other mar- tion features real time monitoring, fraud-
within 20 working days from date kets including Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania ulent patterns detection, scoring module,
of fulfillment of all the underwriting and Rwanda. PCI DSS is the highest blocking and blacklisting. This is also
requirements. privacy and security standard in the pay- supported by a 24-hour fraud prevention
ments industry and applies to entities that team that monitors real time transactions.

30 Sept 22 -IRA
28Boss
, 2017
Kaddunabi Lubega
 Business
Hima Cement changes
tack to grow sales
By Julius Businge cient construction.

L
afarge Groups subsid-
iary in Uganda, Hima
Cement, seems to be
looking at various inno-
vations to drive its growth sales
ahead of the anticipated stiff
competition in the countrys
cement industry. On Sep.14,
the company started rolling out
its franchise firm, Bonastore,
in partnership with owners of
hardware shops to offer cus-
Elly Twineyo Kamugisha, the CEO Uganda Export Promotion Board tomers advice such as architec-
speaking at the 1st innovation series event on packaging for the 21st tural support, finance and credit
century customers on September 13 at Africana. He said packaging advice, contractor and material
will keep you in the market or take you out for its the identity of ones sourcing and bill of quantities.
business, therefore packaging must be very appealing to your target The franchise firm also
consumers. INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA consists of retail network for
construction material makers
including Roofings Uganda
Limited as the steel partner,
Regal Paints for paint and Total
Uganda as the provider of solar
lamps, aimed at serving end-
users, self-builders and masons
countrywide.
Sophie Mirembe, the com-
panys channels development
manager, said the centers
would help the ordinary person
to build better by providing
a range of services that will
streamline the building process,
ensure speedier and more effi-
We recognise that building
is a complex and stressful pro-
cess and that is why the main
objective of these service centers
is to guide people in their con-
struction projects, Mirembe
said, adding, Our goal is to
deliver a range of building solu-
tions through multiple channels
to meet the various needs and
lifestyles of our customers.
She added the new innova-
tion is expected to also drive up
Hima Cement sales. This new
development comes at the time
the countrys cement industry
seems to be heading for tough
times as firms increase produc-
tion capacity next year beyond
the available demand.
Currently, the countrys
cement firms Hima, Tororo,
Kampala Cement and the
Kenyan-owned National
Cement are expanding their
plants, a move that could see
their production increase from
3.6million tonnes to 6.8mil-
lion tonnes per annum amidst
demand that stands at merely
2.4million tonnes annually.
Hima Cement has already
rolled out Bonastore franchise to
20 locations.

John Paul Okwi, the president Uganda marketers association briefs the
media at the marketers fireplace event at Serena hotel on September 15. He
urged SMEs to take on the marketing strategies to suit in the market and be
competitive. INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA Weekly share price movement (Sep 15))
Security Sep 15 Sep 08 Movement
BATU 30000 30000 30000
BOBU 110 110 110
CENT 1,460 1,465 1,465
DFCU 754 759 759
EABL 8,708 8,685 8,685
EBL 1,364 1,396 1,396
JHL 16,751 16,603 16,603
KA 159 155 155
KCB 1,469 1,474 1,474
NIC 12 12 12
NMG 3,917 3,907 3,907
NVL 538 538 538
SBU 27 27 27
UCHM 135 140 140
Michael Werikhe (C) State minister of energy and mineral development gives
a plaque to Julian Omalla, (2L) CEO Delight Uganda limited and her family UCL 15 14 14
after she emerged champion winner for community best category at PSFU UMEME 451 451 451
offices. INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA ALSI -- -- --

Sept 22 - 28 , 2017 31
12 strategies for health
Lancet report shows the path to healthier
lives for Africans is within reach
T
By Alex Ezeh, Nelson Sewankambo & Peter Piot
here is huge diversity within
and across the 49 countries in
sub-Saharan Africa. The chal-
lenges these countries face in
achieving health outcomes that
are at par with low and middle
income countries in other regions of the
world are numerous and diverse. But they
are not insuperable.
The future of health in sub-Saharan Africa
is the focus of a new major report, The path
to longer and healthier lives for all Africans
by 2030. This Lancet Commission report
is the culmination of more than four years
of work among leading African academics,
researchers, policymakers, business leaders,
civil society organisations, and non-African
collaborators.
The Lancet Commission believes that
by 2030 Africans should have the same
opportunities for long and healthy lives that
new technologies, well-functioning health
systems, and good governance offer people
living on other continents.
To achieve this, the report offers 12 strate-
gic directions that all sub-Saharan countries
should consider in their policies and plans.
These include the promotion of health, pre-
vention of disease, and expansion of access
to treatment and care. While these 12 options
apply to all countries in sub-Saharan Africa,
each country must adapt these in line with
its specific needs, resources and culture.
The researchers call on countries to build on
homegrown solutions to sustain improve-
ments in health outcomes. Central to these is
investment in higher education and research.
The report argues that local research is the
main way to identify challenges, set priori-
ties, devise solutions, and make the best use
of limited resources. Local research is also
needed to understand and address health
priorities, service problems, and socio-cultur-
al issues of vulnerable groups.
The gap between sub-Saharan Africa and
other regions of the world is most accentu-
ated in terms of research and higher educa-
tion. The region not only has a critical short-
age of researchers but a large percentage
of researchers spend less than two years in
African institutions. Most of these research-
32 Sept 22 - 28 , 2017
ers leave to become experts on Africa in the
countries where much of the research mon-
ies come from.
But the report argues that Sub-Saharan
countries have unprecedented opportunities
to substantially improve health outcomes
within a generation, largely with their own
resources.
Funding for research
Sub-Saharan Africa invests the least
in funding for research. No country in
the region invests up to 1% of its GDP in
research and development compared to a
global average of 2.12%. In some countries
like South Korea and Israel, this percentage
is above 4%. Much of the research in sub-
Saharan Africa is through international col-
laborations. Such collaborations accounted
for 79% of East African research output in
2012. Most importantly, these collaborations
are almost always with non-African partners
and involve unequal partnerships. Research
collaborations among African institutions
account for less than 3% of Africas total
research output.
There has been massive growth in the
number of higher education institutions
in SSA. Student enrolment in Africa is also
increasing rapidly, especially at the under-
graduate level. But there has not been cor-
responding growth in levels of funding,
staffing, facilities and infrastructure in higher
education. This has generally undermined
the quality of university education, espe-
cially postgraduate education.
As part of the renewal of African universi-
ties, some have called for differentiation of
universities in which a few focus more on
research and postgraduate training.
As the Commission report noted, fif-
teen universities from eight countries have
formed the African Research Universities
Alliance, with the aim of strengthening
research and postgraduate training in
Africa. Despite these challenges, African
research is on the ascendancy. Health
research accounts for much of the growth in
research output, often reflecting the prior-
ity of external funders of research. Between
2000 and 2014, sub-Saharan Africa achieved
a growth of 251% in research output com-
pared to 96% globally.
While impressive, this also reflects the
very low base of Africas contribution to
global knowledge production. The conti-
nent currently accounts for only 2.6% of the
worlds output of scientific papers. Most of
this output is from South African universi-
ties.
Africans must take the lead
The Commission report underscores
the need for Africans to take the lead on
the health, scientific, and development
challenges in close collaboration with the
global research community. It offers several
recommendations to strengthen research
and higher education sector, which among
others, include: Each country to develop

a 10 to 20-year strategic plan for national
health research. This should be coupled
with a financing strategy for creating and
strengthening departments and institutions
responsible for all areas of research.
Increase research and development fund-
ing to at least 1% of GDP and to allocate at
least 2% of national health expenditure and
at least 5% of external aid for health projects
and programmes to research and research
capacity building.
Invest in internationally competitive
centres of scientific excellence and expand
post-doctoral programmes to raise the qual-
ity of higher education and research.
Expand research and education col-
laborations, particularly within Africa, and
reshape international research partnerships
around mutual agenda setting and benefit.
Academic institutions in sub-Saharan
countries to invest in the development of
contextually relevant health sector gover-
nance and leadership programmes.
Finally, the report recommends that
international agencies should support the
strengthening of higher education and
research institutions by incorporating core
funding and removing arbitrarily low caps
on overheads on project grants.
Research collaboration
With the lack of critical mass of skilled
researchers in many African countries,
strengthening regional research collabora-
tion could be a strategic priority for the
region. African countries could consider
creating a basket of funding for research
which countries could contribute to.
Researchers within the contributing coun-
tries would then compete for funding from
the pool. Development partners can be
invited to provide matching funds thereby
increasing the size of the basket.
The African Development Bank or some
other continental body could centrally
manage the funds and underwrite the
associated administrative costs. Further
requirements can be introduced. For
example, applications could be limited to
collaborative research involving researchers
from at least two countries or sub-regions.
Preference could also be given to applica-
tions with collaborators from countries with
weak national research systems.
These measures, together, will represent
a serious shift in mindsets, which the
commissioners argued is key to achiev-
ing meaningful and sustainable change in
health in sub-Saharan Africa.
Alex Ezeh is Executive Director, African
Population and Health Research Center, Nelson
Sewankambo is Professor of Internal Medicine,
Makerere University & Peter Piot is Director
and Handa Professor of Global Health, London
School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Source: The Conversation
By Raj Persaud and Adrian Furnham
How much sex
makes us happy?
Sex is like money, but these
experts explain exactly how
S
ex is like money, John Updike
wrote, only too much is enough.
As it turns out, that is not strictly
true, at least not in the context of
monogamous relationships. So how much
sex is enough? In 2015, a group of University
of Toronto-based psychologists set out to
find out. In their study, Sexual Frequency
Predicts Greater Well-Being, But More is Not
Always Better, Amy Muise, Ulrich Schim-
mack, and Emily Impett revealed that there
is, in fact, a precise rate of sex that, for the
average couple, optimally benefits the part-
ners wellbeing: once per week.
The study found that the difference in
wellbeing for people in relationships who
engage in sex once per week, compared
with those who have sex less than once per
month, was greater than the difference in
wellbeing for those earning $75,000 versus
those making $25,000. In other words, hav-
ing sex four times as much boosted par-
ticipants moods as much as an additional
$50,000 per year would do.
But, just as having sex too infrequently
can leave couples less happy, having sex too
frequently can end up being more stressful
than pleasurable, particularly if busy couples
feel under pressure to do so. Yet such pres-
sure stemming, at least partly, from social
expectations and comparisons is very real.
The University of Colorado sociologist
Tim Wadsworth, in his 2014 study, Sex
and the Pursuit of Happiness: How Other
Peoples Sex Lives are Related to our Sense
of Well-Being, repeats Updikes assertion
that sex is like money. But, in Wadsworths
argument, what they have in common is that
they both derive value from comparison.
As Wadsworth points out, past research
has shown that it is not absolute income
levels that determine happiness, but rather
income levels relative to those around you
the colleagues, neighbours, former class-
mates, and others who form your reference
group. That is why a rising income does not
necessarily bring a corresponding increase
in happiness: it is crucial that the incomes of
ones reference group arent also rising.
Similarly, Wadsworths survey found
that respondents who believe that they have
more sex than their reference group are
happier, while those who believe that their
cohorts are having more sex than them are
less content. Wadsworth therefore concludes
health
that happiness is positively correlated with
ones own sexual frequency, but negatively
correlated with the sexual frequency of oth-
ers.
But, beyond a certain point roughly once
per week, apparently the benefits that a
couple derives from sex wane. This suggests
that there is more to the relationship between
sex and happiness than keeping up with the
Joneses. And, in fact, by putting pressure on
couples to have sex as often as possible, the
sense of competition may be doing more
harm than good.
A recent study More Than Just Sex:
Affection Mediates the Association Between
Sexual Activity and Well-Being offers a
novel theory regarding the link between sex
and happiness. Its authors Anik Debrot,
Nathalie Meuwly, Amy Muise, Emily
Impett, and Dominik Schoebi contend that
the true power of sex in a relationship lies in
the capacity of sex to foster a stronger con-
nection between partners through shared
affection, not just shared pleasure.
The authors even suggest that sex and
affection could compensate for each other in
supporting wellbeing, with increased affec-
tion counterbalancing reductions in sexual
activity during some life phases, such as just
after childbirth a period sometimes associ-
ated with higher risk for infidelity in male
partners. The idea is that more alternative
expressions of affection may help to sustain
wellbeing, thereby decreasing the tempta-
tion to stray (though, because men generally
report higher sexual desire, they may rely
more on sex as a way of experiencing affec-
tion than the average woman does).
It seems that psychology may rebut
Updikes dictum that only too much sex is
enough. In fact, while regular sex is vital
to promote intimacy and foster happiness
through shared affection, more is not always
better. So sex may be like money, but only in
that too little is bad.
Raj Persaud, the author of Simply Irresistible:
The Psychology of Seduction, is a consultant
psychiatrist in Harley Street, London. Adrian
Furnham is Professor of Psychology at University
College London and the author, with Viren
Swami, of The Psychology of Physical Attraction.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2017.
Sept 22 - 28 , 2017 33
comment
By Enock Nyorekwa Twinoburyo
Bank of Ugandas task
Tackling high leverage in commercial banks
which poses pronounced risks in sector
R
ecently, Bank of Uganda (BoU)
published the seventh issue of the
Annual Supervision Report cor-
responding to the year ending
December 2016. BoU reiterates that the
banking industry remains sound, well capi-
talised, liquid, and profitable. This indeed is
critical information for restoring confidence
to the sector following the takeover of Crane
Bank in October 2016 and the subsequent
disposal of some of its assets and liabilities
to DFCU bank in January 2017.
In the same report, it is underscored
that the handling of Crane Bank by BoU
was without any contagion despite the
regulatory weaknesses, fraud in the
bank, and the associated misreporting
by then a domestic and systematically
important bank.
On profitability of the sector, the report
indicates a reduction in profits after tax
from Shs541 billion in 2015 to Shs302 bil-
lion in 2016 the lowest in five years.
However, this is inconsistent with
the published information by the 24
commercial banks that reveals that the
net profits increased to Shs677 billion.
The difference (Shs375 billion) is argu-
ably attributed to Crane Bank losses
which accounted for nearly 50% of the
industry non-performing loans (NPLs) in
December 2016.
The asset deterioration depicted by the
rise in NPLs (10.5% of total loans) and
bad loans (Shs574 billion) in December
2016 imply that the sector risks remain
pronounced. The stress tests reveal that
if each banks largest three borrowers
were to fully default, 13 banks would
become undercapitalised with the cumu-
lative shortfall of Shs512 billion. Together
with NPLs and bad loans, they com-
pare unfavourable to the commendable
Deposit Protection Fund (DPF) of Shs405
billion end of December 2016. The DPF
capitalisation is through premiums paid
by the respective banks - of which 95% is
invested in government securities. Addi-
tionally, DPF only accounts for 2.5% of
34 Sept 22 - 28 , 2017
the total deposits.
The deposits imperatively offer
leverage for the banking sector as they
account for 70% of the total assets (an
equivalent of 81% of the total liabilities).
However, the deposits are mainly of
short term nature implying arguably
the banks do not offer long term lending.
The ratio of total deposits to loans
remains above 1, and grew to 1.4 largely
representing the sluggish growth (6.1%)
in credit in 2016. Loan approvals were
at less than 60%, implying for every 10
loan applications only 6 were granted.
While credit to personnel and house-
holds increased to Shs1.9 trillion (16%
of the total loan book), some banks are
re-adjusting their portfolio either in safer
assets, areas of comparative advantage
(for example Housing Finance Bank
exclusively for mortgages) and others
like Equity Bank have indicated they will
stop personnel lending. Credit to real
estate and trade sectors has remained
stagnant over the last couple of years.
Banks instead increased their invest-
Credit to real
estate and
trade sectors
has remained
stagnant over
the last couple
of years
ment in government securities reaching
Shs5.1 trillion in 2016 from Shs4.1 trillion
in 2015 representing a 25.6% increase.
This may be suggestive of the crowding
out of the private sector whose growth
in the last five years has been lower than
the historical average. Also total private
sector credit at Shs11.5 trillion represents
13% of GDP which is low compared to
Sub Saharan Africa average of over 20%
and the East African Community average
of 25% - which illustrates low credit
penetration and that the private sector is
not optimally leveraged yet the banks are
seemingly so. This also corroborated by
the cumulative number of financial cards
reaching 1.38 million in December 2016.
Low credit penetration is attributed
inter alia to information asymmetry on
the borrowers, small middle income
class, and the slowing economic activity,
employment and the reducing household
income in real terms. Household income
data remains desperately needed and to
be frequently updated for proper and
effective economic planning. The last
household data available is from 2012/13
and yet the economy has since encoun-
tered numerous shocks and changes.
In conclusion, with total shareholders
equity at Shs3.7 trillion (16% of the
total bank assets) implies that banks are
highly leveraged by deposits. Despite
the high interest rate spread (difference
between loan and deposit rates), banking
profitability remains unpropitious par-
ticularly for the bottom 15 banks (five
were loss making in 2016). The high
deposit share of bank assets reiterates
the need for heightened supervision to
mitigate the recurrence of Crane Bank
and restore full confidence in the sector.
The alternative is client panic and bank
runs and this could adversely strangle
the economy.
Dr Enock Nyorekwa Twinoburyo is an
Economist
 ART | BOOKS | SOCIETY | TRAVEL | CULTURE
Deaf art sends
loud message
Exhibition against stereotypes,
marginalisation
T
By Dominic Muwanguzi
he view that disability is
inability is nowhere more
entrenched than in the contem-
porary arts.
Reference can be made to a
famous sculpture by the late
Prof. Pilkington Ssengendo titled `Maskini
(1962) that depicted a Person with Disabili-
ties (PWD) and evoked debate on stereotyp-
ing them. The sculpture molded out of clay
depicts a contorted human figure battered
by disability. The artist appeared, like many
people, to subscribe to the narrative that dis-
ability is a synonym for dependence.
A recent exhibition at Makerere Art Gal-
lery sought to debunk that. Staged under
the theme of Disability is not a synonym
for Dependence, it aggressively pushes for
inclusion of the PWDs in the contemporary
arts. On show were works done by this
marginalised group with the aim of re-
emphasizing their contribution to society.
Also on display were artworks by other
facilitators and researchers on the topic of
inability versus ability.
It featured renowned big names like Dr.
Angelo Kakande; who wrote a short text on
the subject, and Dr. Amanda Tumusiime
who had an installation.
Illustrations, fabrics, paintings, functional
objects and installations highlighted the
creative ability of the group and created
awareness on, especially, sign language- the
language used in communicating with the
deaf.
The functional or utilitarian objects like
ear-rings, key-holders, buttons and cookies
designed in different sign language symbols
invited dialogue on the need to reverse the
prejudices attached to the deaf in a conser-
vative setting, while creating awareness and
respect for their mode of communication.
Dr. Amanda Tumusiimes garment
installation titled The deaf garment of
activism comprising of a heavily decorated
dress with activism statements stitched on
it, marching stylish shoes and hand-bag
conveys the message of `ableism for the
handicapped instead of the incompetence
stereotype peddled by many.
I observed during my time with them
that these are normal people and share the
same capabilities with us but society has
decided to sideline them because of their
inability, she says.
Conversely, the exhibit is an avenue to
include the PWDs in the school program.
This is in response to the project of commu-
nity involvement that the college (CEDAT)
has undertaken.
With local statistics of the deaf estimated
at above one million, it is high time that
they are involved in every aspects of life.
One approach to their inclusion is the arts
and culture one since these disciplines con-
tribute to the political-social and economic
expression of individuals, and enhances
opportunities of all human beings, framed
within a rights-based approach and respect
for diversity.
Such an exhibit, birthed as a result of
an experimental project, provides equal
opportunities for the sidelined to express
themselves freely and opens up the door for
further creative prospects.
The exhibition was organised belatedly
as part of the International Awareness Week
of the Deaf (IDAW) that took place from 21
to 26 August. The exhibit was organised in
partnership with CEDAT, Margaret Trowell
School of Industrial and Fine Art, Uganda
National Association of the Deaf (UNAD)
and SiSi Foundation.
Sept 22 - 28 , 2017 35
Profile
Eleanor Nansibo Nabwiso: Young
actress eyes global success
By Agnes E Nantaba production company. `Rain is

E
their first gig but she says more
leanor Nansibo are lined up.
Nabwiso is an actress Nansibo is the third of the
and producer known five children of the retired
for roles in `Watch Over politician, Rev. Dr. Kefa
Me (2013), `Rain (2016) and Sempangi who founded
`The Hostel (2011). `Rain, a the Presbyterian Church in
movie about keeping hope Uganda. Sempangi was also
alive against all odds, is her an instrumental figure in
first production under the the ministry to the street
Nabwiso brand. children in Uganda in
Her acting and film 1971 under the banner of
producing journey dates The Africa Foundation.
back to when as a young She went to Namagunga
teenager, she always dreamt Boarding Primary School,
of appearing on TV screens Seeta High School and Sikkim
as either a presenter or an Manipal University where she
actress. She got her first taste graduated with a degree in
of fame during her Senior science in IT.
Six vacation when she was Nansibo has her sight on
picked to present a weekend international success.
programme, K-Files on The industry can only be
WBS TV. She saw this as financially rewarding with
an opportunity to prove to quality work that not only
her mother, Jane Frances targets the local
Nakamya, who wanted her market but
to take a different career globally,
path, that acting or the media she says.
industry pays. He mother
mainly feared the late night
movements and sought a
banking job for her.
While hosting K-Files,
Nansibo continued to feature
in plays as one of the extra
characters in the Obsessions
music and drama group. On
one of those lucky days, Kwezi
Kaganda the director and
writer of the famous Hostel
miniseries under Fast Track
productions scouted her for
role of Hope.
While it takes years if not
decades for most Ugandan
actors and actresses to
command recognition in the
industry, Nansibos case was
different.
Nansibo describes herself
as boyish, outgoing and a
total contrast of the Hope she
played for three years. On set
she met and married Mathew
Nabwiso with whom they
opened Nabwiso Films, a

36 Sept 22 - 28 , 2017

Eleanor Nansibos Liteside
Any three things we dont
W
know about you?
hen I am angry
I clean up a lot
which helps me
relieve off the
stress. I also talk a lot and most
times, I am real; something
that doesnt go well with some
people. I exhibit a boyish
character to the extent that
even when I am out there, I
am free of makeup and most
artificial stuff.
What is your idea of perfect
happiness?
My happiness is my family
and that is the peak of it all.
Even after a long day, as long
as my husband and children
are there to say all will be well,
I am happy.
What is your greatest fear?
Being a risk taker, I am a
fearless person.
What is the trait you most
deplore in yourself?
Sometimes I get boyish
which irritates some
people.
What is the trait you most
deplore in others?
I cant stand liars or
bad communicators,
those who are not real
or the double- faced
people.
Which living person
do you most admire?
I dont look up
to other people but
myself because I
work to see the best
in myself. If I looked
up to somebody,
I may not know
their flaws and I
fear that they may
disappoint me
along the way.
However, my
parents, in both
their different
characters managed to help
hundreds of others and still
balanced their roles as parents.
I look up to such people who
never give up in life.
What is your greatest
extravagance?
Travelling and partying;
for me fun is everything and I
would spend on it in anyway
and at any time.
What is the greatest thing you
have ever done?
Starting a film productions
company; for so long I had a
small book where I noted ideas
and story lines but when I met
my husband, we chose to settle
for where our interests fell and
that is film. It was great taking
that step even without being
sure of the returns.
What is your current state of
mind?
I am happy
What do you consider the
most overrated virtue?
Everyone has their own
rating but as Ugandans, we
havent really got to the level of
customer satisfaction. We have
invested in so many areas but
customer care is still a lacking
area that we need to embrace
and make better.
What does being powerful
mean to you?
Power is measured at
someones milestone in life
and his or her ability to balance
other roles alongside that
landmark. Being powerful
therefore comes with the ability
to strike a balance between the
different roles.
On what occasion do you lie?
I am not good with lying
because I cant sustain it unless
its a tricky political situation
that involves saving lives.
What do you most dislike
about your appearance?
Some time back, I was
very uncomfortable with the
birthmark on my left side of
the face until I made myself to
believe that it is a beauty spot.
Which living person do you
most despise?
I dont judge people because
their lifestyles may not be of
their own making.
What is the quality you most
like in a man?
God fearing; no matter the
religion because a God fearing
man will be barred from doing
certain evil things. Being
respectful is also key for a good
man.
What is the quality you most
like in a woman?
For a woman, it is more of
respect and God fearing.
Which words or phrases do
you most overuse?
I like encouraging my friends
and children with the word
gogo.
What or who is the greatest
love of your life?
I love my parents, children
and husband all in good
measure so I dont have the
greatest.
When and where were you
happiest?
July 21, 2012 when I had
my traditional wedding was
a glory in itself. It was crazy
happiness the day I had my
first child.
Which talent would you most
like to have?
God has given me the talent
of acting and if for anything,
I would just ask Him to make
me the best .
What do you consider your
greatest achievement?
With Nabwiso Films, we are
Sept 22 - 28 , 2017
Q&A
working on setting a bar high
for Ugandas filming industry.
If you were to die and come
back as a person or a thing,
what would it be?
I only wish to live the first
coming to my best.
Where would you most like
to live?
I love Uganda but I wouldnt
mind leaving to a bigger
country where I am widely
exposed.
What is your favorite
occupation?
I cant trade acting for
anything.
What do you most value in
your friends?
True friendship that comes
with loyalty.
Who are your favorite writers?
Stephanie King and Sydney
Poitier; they make reading
appear as if the characters are
within close proximity.
Who is your hero of fiction?
Taylor Perry; seeing him act
male and female roles in one
movie. I also like Angelina
Jolie and Halle Marie Berry for
grabbing the audience.
Who are your heroes in real
life?
My parents but my children
are also my heroes because
they change me to their
perspective and always look up
to me.
What is your greatest regret?
No regrets.
How would you like to die?
I dont have a plan for death .
What is your motto?
Make your good better;
never let it rest until your
better is best.
37

Crazy things people do for love
A young man in the Sibe-
rian city of Biysk has made up
with his girlfriend in spectacu-
lar fashion by serenading her
from a van - suspending by a
crane outside her third-floor
bedroom window.
Neighbours on Leningrad-
skaya Street initially called
police to arrest the crane
driver, but it soon dawned that
this was a special occasion, as
the van was decorated with
balloons. And when Yelena
Gorbunova opened her win-
dow to see what was going on,
she came face to face with her
ex-sweetheart Alexander bear-
ing flowers, gifts and a card to
mark her 29th birthday, while
a saxophonist below played
her favourite song - the Aeros-
mith hit `Dream On.
She told Russias Metro
newspaper that Alexander
often surprises me with
presents, but never before like
this! She said they split up
three weeks earlier after going
steady for a year, and the
romantic gesture has persuad-
ed her to make up with him.
Not everyone is a romantic.
One social media cynic muses
just imagine - you reach her
window in your van, and
theres some other bloke star-
ing out at you in his pants.
Marriage proposal goes Grannies fix their
horribly wrong own road
Preparing to get down on one
knee can be an extremely nerve-
racking experience. Getting the
moment just right is important, but
the potential for slip-ups is huge,
which is what one poor guy found
out when he went to propose to the
woman of his dreams.
Seth Dixon had chosen a roman-
tic location at Loose Park in Kansas
City, Mo., on top of a quiet wooden
bridge. After pouring his heart out A group of Russian grand-
in a romantic speech, he looked set mothers grew so tired of waiting
for a beaming yes from his part- for the local authorities to fix
ner of four years, Ruth Marie Salas, their road that they hired the
when the unthinkable happened. necessary equipment and did
Somehow the ring slipped from his the job themselves.
hands and by a cruel twist of fate After being told by officials
slid right through a slit in the tim- that the pothole-covered road
ber bridge and into the river below through the village of Svedniy
and the entire unbelievable inci- Bugalish in the Urals was fine,
dent was captured on camera and the group took up shovels and
witnessed by friends. wheelbarrows and seemingly
put the local authority to shame.
The group - including a
90-year-old babushka - chipped
in 500 roubles (Approx.
Shs36,000)each for a truckload of
gravel and set to work with the
help of two men.

Chinese town Trumps fake meows

where crickets
are worth much
more than gold
This portable scanner Cricket fighting has
detect fake designer goods been popular in China
for thousands of years,
New York-based startup Entrupy and with the country
has invented a small, portable scanner in full economic boom,
that rich people can use to check the fans of the sport are
authenticity of designer bags in mere investing more money
seconds. into it than ever before.
According to data from the Organ- One town in particu-
isation for Economic Co-operation lar has built an entire
industry around the Dont believe that viral It was shared more than
and Development, the global coun-
genetically-superior photograph that appears to 16,000 times.
terfeit industry is worth around 460
crickets living in the show President Donald Trump But as the myth-debunking
billion dollars, a big chunk of which
surrounding fields, rescuing cats in Texas after Snopes.com has proved, the
involves counterfeit luxury goods
from brands like Louis Vuitton or and for good reason, as Hurricane Harvey. Its bogus. image is totally fake. It was
Channel. The thing about such fakes the best specimens can One pro-Trump Facebook simply edited to add Trumps
is that they are often so well-made reportedly sell for up to page, called All about President head and his red Make
that the human eye simply cannot tell 50,000 yuan (Approx. Trump, posted the snap with America great again cap into
them apart from originals. Shs27 million). the caption, Things the media the snap.
forgets!

38 Sept 22 - 28 , 2017
 This car runs on firewood
Drivers convert their cars to burning
wood instead of petrol or diesel
By Motoring Guru
I
t sounds spooky at first but a quick
Google search reveals dozens of photos
of cars with wood-burning systems fitted
either inside vehicles or on the outside.
People have apparently been creating wood-
powered cars for decades, and they were
actually quite popular during World War
I, but in modern times, people have mostly
built them as experiments, to prove that it
can be done.
Ukranian media in 2015 extensively cov-
ered stories of drivers converting their cars
from running on petrol or diesel to wood.
Chernigov and Iagoon were covered by
Ukrainian media, but its believed many
other drivers have turned to wood to save
money. Chernigov told Segodnya News that
he knows at least six other people who
made the switch.
This was the height of the
so-called `Donbas war which
pitted pro-Russian Ukra-
nian separatists against the
Ukrainian government
in the regions of Donetsk
and Luhansk. The war
sparked an energy crisis
in Ukraine and the rising
cost of gas send people to
becoming interested in alter-
native forms of energy. A grow-
ing number of Ukrainian drivers turned to
wood to power their cars to save money
on fuel. The most covered movers of the
wood-car trend were Eugene Chernigov and
Sergey Iagoon
36-year-old Eugene Chernigov converted
his old Opel into a wood-powered vehicle in
2014. Rising gas prices made driving to work
every day an expensive affair, so he decided
it was time for an alternative.
A teacher of physics and mathematics by
profession, Chernigov, learned about using
wood as fuel from the internet and spent
two months reading up on the topic and dig-
ging up literature on the subject dating back
to 1939. He says building the alternative fuel
system was a simple affair once he got a firm
grip on the concept.
He attached a wood-burning stove and a
metal canister to the back of his car,
which connect to the engine of
the car. The gas emitted from
the wood combustion is
stored into the metal can-
ister, filtered, cooled and
fed into the engine. His
car consumes around
18kgsof firewood per
100 kilometers, which
costs him only 50 U.S.
cents. By comparison, a
liter of gas has an average
cost of about 1.0 U.S. dollars.
Depending on the quality of the wood used
and how dry it is, the car can reach speeds
of up to 60 miles per hour, which is pretty
decent. Chernigov says that he can use plas-
tic bottles as fuel, as well, but nothing com-
pares to dried mulberry.
Believe it or not, Chernigov says that his
old Opel is now not only cheaper to drive,
but also more environment-friendly. Instead
of polluting fumes, the exhaust now expels
only water vapour and carbon dioxide.
Sergey Iagoon, from the Donbass region,
designed his first wood-burning car a few
years ago, and says that after his success
many others followed in his footsteps. He
first converted an old Lada and then moved
on to a Volga. Because he fitted the alter-
native fuel system in the trunk of the car,
Iagoon says he never once had trouble with
the police.
It is believed many other drivers have
turned to wood to save money. Chernigov
told a newspaper that he knows at least six
other people who made the switch.
With the automobile industry slowly
going electric, using wood as fuel hardly
seems like the most practical solution. The
technology isnt exactly new.
Remember, using unregistered energy
units to power cars is against the law. Such
technology has to be studied to ensure that
it poses no danger either to the people in the
car or others.
Sept 22 - 28 , 2017 39
Global comment
By Selim Jahan
What counts in development
Why the Human Development Index metrics do
not tell the entire story of development
T
o most people, development
is best measured by the quantity
of change like gains in average
income, life expectancy, or years
spent in school. The Human Development
Index (HDI), a composite measure of na-
tional progress that my office at the United
Nations Development Programme over-
sees, combines all three statistics to rank
countries relative to one another.
What many do not realise, however, is
that such metrics, while useful, do not tell
the entire story of development. In fact, to
understand how developed a country is,
we must also grasp how peoples lives are
affected by progress. And to understand
that, we must consider the quality of the
change that is being reported.
When statisticians compare countries,
they require commensurate data. To
compare school attendance, for example,
researchers would count the number of
registered students in each country, rela-
tive to all school-age children (although
even this can be a challenge in many devel-
oping countries, where record keeping is
not always standardised).
But to gauge the relative quality of a
countrys education system, researchers
would want to determine whether stu-
dents are actually learning. For those num-
bers, statisticians would need to test stu-
dents across a range of subjects, a project
that is far more ambitious than simply
taking attendance.
Statisticians have always recognised that
comparing quantities is far easier than
comparing quality. But, because existing
measures are all we have, the weaknesses
are often overlooked when ranking rela-
tive gains or making policies, even though
progress according to a given indicator
is not necessarily genuine. If the world is
ever to reach parity in development, we
must change how we gauge and catalogue
the quality of policy initiatives.
Consider the statistics measured by the
HDI life expectancy, education, and per
capita income. Life expectancy statistics
suggest that the world is getting healthier,
and data show that people are living
longer than ever before; since 1990, average
life expectancy has increased by around six
years. But the increase in quality of life has
not been as dramatic. Those extra years are
often accompanied by illness and disability
40 Sept 22 - 28 , 2017
such as dementia, which the World
Health Organisation now estimates affects
47.5 million people worldwide.
While life expectancy can be calculated
based on birth and death records, indices
that measure quality of life, like the WHOs
disability-adjusted life year estimates,
require considerable amounts of infor-
mation on a wide range of illnesses and
disabilities in every country. And, unfortu-
nately, the difficulty of gathering such data
means that many life-quality datasets are
incomplete or infrequently compiled.
Its a similarly mixed picture for educa-
tion. The world is no doubt making prog-
ress in extending access to schools, with
more children enrolled and attending than
ever before. But how do we measure the
gaps in educational quality? Some 250 mil-
lion children worldwide do not learn basic
skills, even though half of them have spent
at least four years in school. It will come as
no surprise that in most countries, schools
in wealthier neighborhoods typically have
better facilities, more qualified teachers,
and smaller class sizes. Addressing
inequality requires measuring educational
outcomes, rather than school enrollment
rates.
The OECDs Program for International
Student Assessment (PISA), which relies
on tests not directly linked to curricula,
is one approach to making cross-country
The 2015 Human
Development Report
recognised that as the
world moves toward a
knowledge economy,
low-skill or marginal
workers are at greater
risk of losing their jobs,
and opportunities for
exploitation of informal or
unpaid workers increase
comparisons. The results for 2015 paint a
much richer picture of educational perfor-
mance across participating countries, while
highlighting stark disparities. For example,
PISA found that socio-economically dis-
advantaged students across OECD coun-
tries are almost three times more likely
than advantaged students not to attain the
baseline level of proficiency in science.
Data on employment critical for policy-
makers, as they prepare for the future tell
a similar story. The 2015 Human Develop-
ment Report recognised that as the world
moves toward a knowledge economy, low-
skill or marginal workers are at greater risk
of losing their jobs, and opportunities for
exploitation of informal or unpaid workers
increase.
To put this in perspective, consider
employment projections for the European
Union, which foresee the addition of 16
million new jobs between 2010 and 2020.
But over the same period, the number of
jobs available for people with the least
formal education is anticipated to decline,
by around 12 million.
Not everything that can be counted
counts. Not everything that counts
can be counted, the sociologist Wil-
liam Bruce Cameron wrote in 1963. His
dictum remains true today, though when
it comes to measuring human develop-
ment, I would suggest a slight revision:
Not everything that is counted counts for
everything.
Equitable human development requires
that policymakers pay more attention
to the quality of outcomes, rather than
focusing primarily on quantitative
measures of change. Only when we
know how people are being affected
by development can we design policies
that bring about the most valuable
improvements in their lives. The intention
to live as long as possible isnt one of the
minds best intentions, the author Deepak
Chopra once observed, because quantity
isnt the same as quality.
Selim Jahan is Director of the Human
Development Report Office and lead author of
the Human Development Report.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2017.
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