News analysis Health Business

Behind attack on Costly lab tests don't New tactics boost BAT Tea farmers feel the
Usafi mosque guarantee quality Uganda fortunes pinch as prices fall

Issue No. 521 May 18 - 24, 2018 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

Ochola: Good cop,

but for how long?
Mending a force haunted by
Gen. Kayihura ghosts

Operations CIID Counter Terrorism

Marine Canine Mineral Flying Squad SIU SSO oil and gas Tourism VIPPU

www.independent.co.ug
INBOX

Issue No. 521 May 18 - 24, 2018

News analysis Business Health Arts Motoring

Cover story
Ochola: Good cop, but for how long?
Ochola: Good cop, but for how long?

4 The Week
31 Comments
Parliament demands more
funding for new MPs Misunderstanding why
nations fail:
Political instability, bad
9 The Last Word economy, and why Museveni
billionaires could vanish
Inside Africa’s real tragedy: when he is no longer in power
How the ideology of a welfare state
has destroyed our continent and 34 Health
impoverished its people Private lab tests in Uganda
are costly: But recent research
16 Analysis by experts shows price doesn’t
equal quality
Attack on Usafi mosque:
Why Muslim profiling could backfire

37 Arts & Culture

Uganda’s bronze master:
20 Business Oloya crafts a metaphor for
New tactics boost BAT Uganda fortunes: reconciliation
Company owners to share all the Shs12bn
net profit earned last year

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

PUBLISHER: Independent Publications Limited, Plot 82/84, Kanjokya Street, P. O. Box 3304, Kampala, Uganda
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2 May 18 - 24, 2018

 Offline

President Museveni
(2R) poses with
Pengfei Zhang
(M), a Chinese
entrepreneur and
his associates who
have expressed
interest to “A leader who contravenes that sub
invest in a multi-
manufacturing section 1 breaches the code and is liable
factory for to vacate office or be dismissed...Don’t
production of an you see what this Leadership Code Act is
assortment of
electric equipment.
asking you what to do?”Justice Catherine
Right is Speaker Bamugemereire asking Lands Minister Betty
Rebecca Kadaga Amongi to resign during the land inquiry
who also attended
the meeting at State
House, Entebbe.

Tanzania’s ILO Director,

Wellington Chibebe (L)
exchanges MoU with
the EAC Secretary
General Amb. Liberat
Mfumukeko mid last
week in Arusha,
Tanzania. The revised “This is unbelievable. Where is the
MoU provides for problem? My own school recording zero
the development of
a framework for the zero, zero, and zero, close to two decades
harmonisation of the is outrageous.” Speaker Rebecca Kadaga
EAC Partner States’ on the failure of Mbulamuti primary school
policies on social
security in line with
(which she attended) to score a 1st grade in
the ILO Convention PLE in 18 years
on Social Security. 
Courtesy Photo

Minister for Finance,

Planning and Economic
Development Matia Kasaija
(C) with the new Board
of Uganda Free Zones
Authority (UFZA) on May
10. The government is “The categorisation of sand, granite,
looking at UFZA to promote stones and murram as minerals puts
the country’s exports. 
Courtesy Photo
in place guidelines on how to extract
them. The value these resources
have added to our country must
benefit every Ugandan, hence the
regulations”Frank Tumwebaze, Minister of
ICT and national guidance on the declaration of
sand as a mineral

18 28 400%
Months by which the Kidnap cases that A proposed increase
Bamugemereire commission of Police is currently of allowances for
inquiry into land was extended working on some civil servants

May 18 - 24, 2018 3

week
Museveni lures Japanese investors Fears over increased kidnaps
There are investigations.
heightened fears In the last few
and uncertainty months, there
in Kampala and has been a wave
across the country of kidnaps
as the number where a person
of kidnaps just goes missing,
goes up week in the captors
week out. The call the family
latest incident is of the victim
about 19-year- and demand
old Brinah for a ransom.
Nalule who was Some of the
kidnapped from kidnap victims
Kampala Old include Charity
Taxi Park early Kyohairwe, Suzan
this month and Magara, Isaac
murdered after Makubuya. On
the parents could several occasions,
not pay a sum President
of Shs10million Museveni has
that her killers said the police
demanded. does not have the
Reports say four capacity to carry
people have out investigations
been arrested and thwart the
President Museveni with Kalpana Abe (R) at State House, Entebbe on May 11. Abe led a delegation of in connection kidnaps, leaving
Japanese investors who unveiled a proposal of starting up a ‘Smart City’ that would be self-sustaining, with her killing a hopeless
technology oriented and would have a commercial bank that focuses on agricultural and mortgage financing. and police say situation worse!
it is conducting

Jamil Mukulu trial starts
Jamil Mukulu, the leader of the
Allied Defence Forces, a shadowy rebel
group, stood trial at the High Court
for the first time this week since his
arrest in Tanzania in 2015. Mukulu is
facing charges of mass murder and
crimes against humanity for terrorising
Ugandans in areas of western Uganda
in the 1990’s while operating from the
mountains of DR Congo. Mukulu denied
the charges declaring to the media that “I
am not a murderer.”
Parliament demands more funding for new MPs
Parliament is demanding an additional
Shs3.4billion to cover a wage shortfall
for new MPs in the just created districts
which will commence operations on July
1, creating a pile on an already oversized
parliament with 451 MPs. The six new dis-
tricts include Bugweri, Kwania, Kasanda,
Kapelebyong, Nabilatuk, and Kikuube.
More MPs are expected in the House when
the new municipalities of Bugiri, Apac,
Kotido, Ibanda, Sheema, Nebbi and Buikwe
are also expected to elect new MPs this year.
The number could go higher in 2019 when
the new districts of Obongi, Rwampara,
Kazo, Kitagwenda, Madi-Okolloh, Karenga
and Lusot become operational. MPs have
been criticised by the general public for
their excessive demands in the past and
the increase of the new MPs is likely to fuel
demand for luxuries. With the rate at which
districts are being created, it is likely the size
of the 10th parliament will have crossed the
500 mark by the next general election.

*terms and conditions apply

4 May 18 - 24, 2018

 Week
Bigirimana under fire over
Shs200m land compensation

WE ARE
HIRING!
Are you a Graphics designer?
Pius Bigirimana Catherine Betty Amongi
Bamugemereire
Pius Bigirimana, due to improper of the said land and We are looking for someone creative and up to date
the Permanent documentation of wished to dispose it with the latest trends in design tools.
Secretary in the his ownership. Big- to the government,
Ministry of Gender, irimana said that to enable squatters
Labour and Social when he bought to acquire titles for
Send CV to:
Development the land in 2007, the same land. In E-mail: jwere@independent.co.ug
was quizzed by there were a few effect, lands Min-
the commission squatters but with ister Betty Amongi Tel: +256-312-637-391/ 2/ 3/ 4
of inquiry into time the number wrote to Uganda
land matters over of encroachers on Land commission
irregularities in his the land shot up in 2016 authorizing
sale of 50 acres of causing unrest the initial payment
land to government between him and of Shs50 million
in 2015. The com- the community. Shillings but he
mission chaired by Bigirimana told got an additional
Justice Catherine the hearing that he Shs150 million
Bamugemereire wrote a letter to the for the same land
ruled that Bigirima- secretary of Uganda in 2017. Amongi
na did not deserve Land commission herself appeared
the compensation Albert Mugumya before the commis-
of Shs200million indicating that he sion last week.
he got for the land was the legal owner

Minister, MPs disagree on LDC pre-entry exams

Last week, Parliament voted to approve
a recommendation by the Legal and Par-
liamentary Affairs Committee calling for
the scrapping of pre-entry exams at Law
Development Centre (LDC), the only insti-
tution in the country that teaches the bar
course. The committee report stated: “A
pre-entry exam is only practiced in Uganda,
while other regional schools do not subject
students to pre-entry exams. The committee
recommends that LDC develops a strategy
of increasing the enrolment of students at
the centre in the medium term. Government
should abolish the pre-entry exams policy
at LDC to increase access to legal services
in the country.” However Kahinda Otafiire,
the Justice and Constitutional Affairs min-
ister, disagreed with the MPs arguing that
the pre-entry exams act as a check against
the high failure rates and the ever increas-
ing numbers at LDC. Committee chairman
Jacob Oboth-Oboth defended his commit-
tee’s stance saying that pre-entry exams
were simply introduced because of the
space constraints LDC is grappling with to
accommodate students.

May 18 - 24, 2018 5

Week
Busoga University petitions IGG over license saga
Busoga University, currently closed, has
petitioned the Inspector General of Govern-
ment to investigate the National Council of
Higher Education (NCHE) over an alleged
bribe the institution is demanding from the
university to have its academic license rein-
stated. NCHE is the regulatory authority of
institutions of higher learning in the coun-
try. Busoga University has accused NCHE
for demanding a bribe worth Shs400mil-
lion. University officials say the NCHE also
asked for a Shs45million for a verification
Payments for Mutuelle de sante made easy
RSSB accounts in all 416 sector SACCOs and in BK, BPR, GT
Bank, I&M Bank, Access Bank, Cogebanque, KCB and Equity
www.rssb.rw
6 May 18 - 24, 2018
exercise lasting 10 days. NCHE closed the
Iganga-based University in December 2017
over a number of irregularities includ-
ing absence of adequately qualified staff,
admission of students without the requisite
admission criteria, illegal affiliation, poor
financial health and teaching of unaccred-
ited programmes. However the executive
director of NCHE Prof. Asibo-Opuda has
rubbished the accusations and deemed
them an act of blackmail.
Pay via
Bank countrywide
with 1900 agents across Rwanda
@RssbInfo
More taxes, more tears
Ugandans have reacted angrily at the new
wave of taxes the government is introducing
terming them as punitive. Two weeks ago,
Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) kicked off
a door-to-door registration of landlords for
rental tax collection in Kampala and plans to
roll it out countrywide. URA advised land-
lords in the areas of Kira, Najera, Kiwatule,
Kisaasi, Ntinda, Bukoto, Kamwokya among
others to visit the nearest offices of URA to
have their tax affairs updated. As this news
settled in, URA made plans to levy taxes on
Bibles, Korans, prayer and hymn books. “We
understand that Value-Added Tax (VAT) has
in the past not been paid on the said Bibles,
prayer books and hymn books. This was
an anomaly,” Commissioner General Doris
Akol wrote in a letter dated April 19. Clerics
and the general public reacted with fury and
shock to the move. The Inter Religious Coun-
cil of Uganda (IRCU) released a statement
describing URA’s decision as erroneous say-
ing the above items are not meant for profit
but spiritual nourishment. URA has been
considering the new taxes and went ahead
with the decision to tax Bibles and Korans
after months of deliberations with religious
leaders fell through.
Coming
soon
info@rssb.rw 4044
Humour Did you know?
A new cure for baldness
has been found

A potential new cure for baldness has

been discovered using a drug originally
intended to treat osteoporosis.
Researchers found the drug had a dra-
Lands Minister Betty Amongi was pinned for the dubious land deals worth Shs1.2billion she matic effect on hair follicles in the lab, stimu-
was cited in, when she appeared before the commission of inquiry into land matters.
lating them to grow.
It contains a compound which targets a
protein that acts as a brake on hair growth
and plays a role in baldness.
Project leader Dr Nathan Hawkshaw told
the BBC a clinical trial would be needed to
see if the treatment was effective and safe in
people.
Only two drugs are currently available to
treat balding (androgenetic alopecia): min-
oxidil, for men and women and finasteride,
for men only.
Both have side-effects and are not always
very effective, so patients often resort to hair
transplantation surgery instead.
The research, published in PLOS Biology,
was done in a lab, with samples containing
scalp hair follicles from more than 40 male
hair-transplant patients.
Dr Hawkshaw said the treatment could
Minister for ethics and integrity Simon Lokodo has blamed the widespread corruption in “make a real difference to people who suffer
the country on top leadership of districts that connive to mismanage public resources. from hair loss”.

What causes hair loss?

Hair loss is a daily occurrence and gener-
ally nothing to worry about. Some types are
temporary and some are permanent.
A British Association of Dermatologists
spokesman told the BBC: “This is a very
interesting study.
“As the researchers say, hair loss is a com-
mon disorder and it can cause considerable
damage to emotional health, including loss
of self-esteem and confidence.
“That said, more research will need to be
done before it can be used by people with
hair loss.
“For individuals with hair loss, treatments
can be very hit and miss. There isn’t one
which is universally effective.
“For that reason new treatments are excit-
ing as they give people more treatment
Kyambogo University lecturers have resolved to lay down tools options that may be effective.”
over management failure to pay their allowances.

May 18 - 24, 2018 7


Inbox
Letters are
welcome !
The Editor welcomes short and
concise letters from our esteemed
readers on topical issues. Please
send them to:
The Editor, The Independent
Publications Ltd,
P.O Box 3304,
Plot 82/84 Kanjokya St,
Kamwokya.
Kampala,Uganda.
Email: editor@independent.co.ug
Proposal for Mbale
June 05 will be annual International Envi-
ronment Day to be marked in Mbale and
President Yoweri Museveni will preside.
Since I do not qualify to be on the list of the
day’s speakers, here I offer my opinion in
advance because Elgon regional and district
local leaders with authority do not care and
those of us who care have no authority.
Elgon region continues to be severely
affected by deadly landslides, floods,
droughts, earthquakes, epidemics, dis-
eases, and fire outbreaks leading to loss of
lives and properties, and devastated infra-
structure like what happened in Nametsi-
Bulucheke in Bududa district which reduced
agricultural productivity, worsened access
to clean and safe water. These disasters are a
threat to national peace and security.
The resulting environmental insecurity
arising from mismanagement of natural
resources leads to social tension and aggra-
vating armed conflicts; especially between
the pastoralists such as Akarimojong, Balaa-
lo and the settled communities that practice
agriculture. They compete for pasture
land and access to water. Sometimes these
conflicts are trans-boundary, as they spill
over across borders with Kenya. Through-
out history, environment has frequently
been used as a weapon of war. The current
demand therefore is for the government,
the President, and international agencies
to pronounce strategic programs of strictly
and forcefully re-locating the people in risky
areas to the low lying, urbanised centres as
proposed in 2012, and UPDF (instead of the
peasants) be called to plant trees everywhere
as a post-conflict mechanism.
Nabendeh Wamoto S.P (0752-658433)
Email: simonwamoto@yahoo.co.uk
8 May 18 - 24, 2018
Follow us on Twitter @
http://twitter.com/#!/ugandatalks
Follow us on Facebook @
www.facebook.com/TheIndependentMagazineUganda
Airtel celebrates Labour Day
International Labour Day
May 01 was marked under
the theme “Uniting Work-
ers for Social and Economic
Advancement”; an affirma-
tion of labour being the part
of society on which all eco-
nomic advancement rests.
While some believe the
need for a human work-
force keeps reducing as
more and more research
is sunk into mechaniza-
tion and automation tech-
nologies, e-commerce and
social networking, many
others will agree that the
importance of labour has
not decreased. At Airtel, for
example, 400 persons are
employed directly and hun-
dreds more indirectly, gen-
der parity and the provision
of equal opportunities is
emphasised with almost
50% of all staff women and
31% of the Senior Leader-
ship female. Unlike many
Focus on Domestic Direct Investment
Refer to: “Africa’s high-
way to nowhere: Why our
continent’s faith in foreign
direct investment as a
solution to our poverty is
a pipedream” (The Inde-
pendent Nov 10-16, 2017).
Mwenda correctly dispels
the notion that Foreign
Direct Investment (FDI)
is the solution to Africa’s
and Uganda’s develop-
ment problems and instead
directs us towards the
notion of Domestic Direct
Investment (DDI) - as I have
conveniently coined it to
befit the term of focusing on
local investment.
Mwenda is not alone
in this kind of thinking
and anybody who thinks
that FDI is the solution for
Africa and Uganda is lost.
They are on a sure path of
destruction and will proba-
bly pull Uganda and Africa
other employers in Uganda,
Airtel Uganda also has two
women on the Executive
Committee of the company.
Yet Airtel Uganda
ensures good work envi-
ronment for the female
employees but does not
ignore the welfare of male
employees. Airtel’s aim is
to benefit from the surge
in female capabilities at
the work place, leading to
instances of them being the
preferred candidates for
jobs that were stereotypi-
cal of the male employees;
namely Engineering and
Field Sales. Many females
at Airtel are promoted to
managerial and senior man-
agement roles.
At Airtel, a male or
female employee can fill
any opening provided
that their work experience,
qualifications, and behav-
ioral attributes are in line
along with them.
FDI leads to net outflow
of capital as capital invested
is always less than the
capital taken out. What
is left behind in terms of
taxes, salaries, rents, royal-
ties and fees is too small
to cause any significant
development impact. FDI
is bedeviled by multina-
tional corporations’ vices of
transfer (mis)pricing, treaty
shopping, tax planning
actions, trade mis-invoicing,
round tripping, inside-
trading (management fees),
base erosion & profit shift-
ing, thin capitalization and
corruption. This is wors-
ened by the tax authorities’
inability in many African
countries to account for
Intangible asset (e.g. good-
will, patents, brand names,
software, bandwidth, etc.)
costs and the complex
News analysis Health Business
Mao reveals what New HIV drug a Rethinking ban on Café Javas
is killing DP game changer? importing used cars delights Nairobi
Issue No. 520 May 11 - 17, 2018
Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8
Museveni hand in
Amongi scandal
Property grabbing minister
handling bigger deals for President
www.independent.co.ug
with the company’s needs.
All employees are exposed
to the same level of career
development, and pay.
This this is part of the
company’s unique culture
that also allows for special
employee engagements
throughout the year, includ-
ing fun Fridays, end of
year parties, Independence
breakfasts, CSR outings,
team building exercises and
of course, the end of year
awards ceremonies that
recognise and appreciate
the year’s excellent employ-
ees. Airtel also participates
in their employees’ social
lives to the extent that is
permissible, including cel-
ebration of the weddings,
childbirths, birthdays, and
the like.
Flavia Ntambi Lwanga,
Airtel Uganda Human
Resource Director
structures multinational
corporations set-up world-
wide. I agree with Mwenda
that in DDI, our politicians
need convince themselves
that it is possible to quickly
develop Uganda and the
African continent by a
deliberately investing in
our people. We should
provide cheap capital to
our indigenous investors
using the revenues from the
coming oil, gas and min-
ing sectors and other non-
commodity sub-sectors.
We could recapitalise the
Uganda Development Bank
and make it accessible and
affordable to regular Ugan-
dans. Let our indigenous
investors make mistakes as
they grow with the notion
of “too small to fail”.
Bazira Henry Mugisha
Executive Director, Water
Governance Institute

Inside Africa’s real tragedy
By Andrew M. Mwenda
How the ideology of a welfare state has destroyed
our continent and impoverished its people
E
verywhere I turn these days, Ugan-
dans (and Africans generally) are
complaining about the sorry state
of our education and healthcare
systems. There is a widespread belief across
development literature that state (or public)
investment in health and education is a
panacea to the problems of development. I
recently saw Bill Gates in Nigeria regurgi-
tating this mantra on CNN. It is intriguing
how people, even the most enlightened, can
pick on an idea that lacks historic precedent
and turn it into a widely accepted truth.
The reader should note that I am not
against education and healthcare. There
are many economic and welfare benefits
that come with an educated and healthy
citizenry. I am against the idea of publically
funded universal education and healthcare
in poor countries for the simple reason that
they do not have the resources to do it. But
this ideology has led our people to expect
the state to provide these social services for
free to everyone, everywhere.
The idea of a nanny state doesn’t stop
at only publically funded healthcare and
education. Recently, the government of
Uganda and its “development partners”
began piloting a project in thirteen districts
where the state will be paying an allowance
to all poor elderly citizens in the country.
The plan is to make it universal. The gov-
ernment of Uganda is very poor. Public
spending per person (total national budget
divided by total population) is about $170
this financial year. Yet our government
wants to construct a welfare state with
functions rivalling those of the USA where
public spending per person this year is
$21,860.
Ugandans (and Africans) may never know
how debilitating this state welfare ideology
has been first, to the evolution of a func-
tional state; second, to the development of
the right social attitudes and mentality for
individual and collective progress; and third
to the economic transformation we seek. I
will address the effects of this state welfare
ideology on these three points in turn.
The idea of a welfare (or nanny) state is
a recent one. It emerged in the early 20th
century and gained traction most especially
after World War Two. Historically, people’s
education, health and pensions were the
responsibility of the individual, his/her
family, the church and other charitable
The Last Word
bodies. Across the Western world, it was
not the responsibility of the state to babysit
citizens. People progressed based on indi-
vidual initiative.
The welfare state ideology was occasioned
by the transformation of Western countries
from backward rural, agricultural societies
to modern urban industrial nations. This led
to the development of a large middle class,
professionals, organised labour and “civil
society.” But its most definitive feature was
the enormous growth in state revenues due
to increased incomes.
Thus, at the time most Western nations
adopted the welfare state, governments
had resources to pay for it. However, this
ideology was transferred to poor countries
as a religion without any consideration to
their resource capabilities. In fact it became
“the way every state functions”. This has
burdened states with responsibilities they
have no capacity to handle.
Look at the state of Uganda as an
example. Our government promises to pro-
vide education and healthcare to everyone,
everywhere for free – on a budget of $170
per year. This is absurd. The consequence is
that the state is overdeveloped in function
but underdeveloped in capacity; its reach
goes far beyond its grasp. This is the leading
cause of widespread corruption and incom-
petence. Ugandans may never realise that
it is attempts to do everything for everyone
everywhere on a shoe-string budget that is
the cause of the institutional dysfunctions
we so often complain about.
The second effect of the welfare state ide-
ology is on the mentality of our educated
elites. Everywhere people complain that
government has not done this or that for
them. There is very little attempt to take
personal responsibility for one’s failures.
The mentality that personal advancement
is a responsibility of the state rather than
the individual is destructive. Someone
acquires a bachelors or masters or PhD
and comes out believing that this entitles
them to a well-paying job. No one pauses
to ask whether they have the requisite skills
sought by potential employers.
Uganda’s does not have a problem of
unemployment. Our people lack the right
skills. There is no one with skills, right work
ethic and attitude that can increase a compa-
ny’s bottom-line who can fail to find a job.
In fact companies in Uganda are looking for
Opinion
skilled people and they cannot find them.
Our companies are importing people from
Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa and India.
How can a country importing labour be
suffering from mass unemployment? It is
because educated Ugandans believe that
one gets a job on the basis of a degree certifi-
cate rather than acquisition of skills that are
marketable to the companies in our midst.
This brings me to the third point on the
effects of the welfare state ideology to
the economic transformation we desire.
Economic growth cannot be a product
of central planning by the state. This is
because the knowledge necessary to allo-
cate resources appropriately to serve our
wants and needs cannot be centralised. I am
inclined to agree with Frederick Von Hayek
that to realise the transformation we want,
we must always as far as possible seek to
rely on spontaneous forces in society i.e. the
actions of multitudes of individuals in the
marketplace.
The welfare state ideology insists that
growth comes from the actions of benevo-
lent individuals in the state largely acting
out of kindness and good natured-ness. It is
an ideology whose extreme was socialism
and communism. And we all know this
led to economic ruin. Yet this ideology
has remained dominant even in Western
capitalist societies in spite of its debilitating
effects on many social groups in those coun-
tries.
At least rich nations can afford to subsidise
those of their citizens who are poor, even
though it hurts the beneficiaries of state lar-
gesse. But Africa is far too poor to embrace
this ideology. It creates very high but unre-
alistic expectations. When unmet, unreal-
istic expectations cause social frustrations.
In Uganda’s case, this welfare state ideology
has cultivated an entitlement mentality
in large sections of otherwise productive
youths that they should the state owes them
jobs even when they don’t have marketable
skills.
This mentality is worsened by ambitious
politicians. Voters want to be told what
they want to hear. Hence politicians are
incentivised to perpetuate the myth that
the state will provide everyone everywhere
with everything.
amwenda@independent.co.ug
May 18 - 24, 2018 9
cover story
Ochola:
Good cop,
but for
how long?
Mending a
force haunted
by Gen.
Kayihura
ghosts
By Haggai Matsiko
I
nspector General of Police
Martins Okoth-Ochola was
thrust at the helm of the force
at a time security organs were
grappling with the high profile
kidnap and murder of 28-year
old Susan Magara, daughter of a
prominent businessman with links to
President Yoweri Museveni.
Months after Ochola’s March 4
appointment, Magara’s murder
remains unresolved and fresh kidnaps
and killings happen almost daily.
Some of the crimes, insiders say,
appear to be executed by masterminds
more equipped than the force and also
benefitting from insider help.
Up to 20 kidnaps and murders
have occurred under Ochola with
police managing only a few arrests of
suspects.
10 May 18 - 24, 2018
OLD STRUCTURE
SSO
Oil and Gas
Canine
Operations
NEW STRUCTURE
Operations
Marine Canine Mineral
But Ochola has been able to
achieve something that had eluded
his predecessor, Gen. Kale Kayihura;
Ochola has created an impression
that he aims to reform police and the
public appears to behind him.
Since he was appointed, the soft-
spoken Ochola has surprised many
with the swift, take-charge approach
he has deployed in handling his new
docket.
The tradition is to assess the
performance of a new office holder
after 100 days, which Ochola makes
as IGP on June 18. But in just under 70
days, Ochola has made changes that
have dominated debate and even won
him sympathy amongst traditional
critics of the police like human rights
defenders and opposition politicians.
The police chief has moved
SIU
Tourism
FFU
Aviation
CIID Counter Terrorism
CIID Counter Terrorism
Flying Squad SIU SSO oil and gas Tourism VIPP
about hundreds of police officers,
restructured several units, sounded
intense warnings to errant officers and
demoted others, ordered a weapons
audit, gotten rid of Crime Preventers,
and even reconverted the Nalufenya
facility from a detention centre
infamous for grave torture back into
an ordinary police station with new
leadership.
Throughout all these efforts, Ochola
appears to be working closely with his
deputy Brig. Sabiiti Magyenyi.
Ochola, at 59 years old, cuts the
perfect figure of a laidback manager,
concentrates on internal process,
while his younger deputy, 42-year old
Magyenyi does the public runabouts
-- launching police facilities like the
Shs 7 billion Natete Police complex,
tweeting about their efforts, and other

public interactions.
The net outcome of this
reorganisation, insiders say, should be
a sense of a return to professionalism,
a quest to follow proper structures,
which should in turn poise the force
for effective command and control.
City human rights lawyer, Laudislus
Rwakafuzi, who has battled police
over human rights abuses against
suspects, must be watching Ochola
closely. So far he is impressed.
“The new leadership is showing
signs that they are looking to steer the
force away from torture,” he told The
Independent, “There has not been any
complaints of torture from the new
arrests police has been making.
“This shows you that in this
country, we have people who are
looking to do good; follow the law,
but they are never left to do their
work.”
Muwanga Kivumbi, the shadow
minister of Defence and Internal
Affairs whose docket oversees the
police, is more cautious
about Ochola.
“We are giving them the
benefit of doubt. We shall see
what really these changes
amount to when the hour of
reckoning comes,” he says.
Both Muwanga and
Rwakafuzi are anxious about
one thing; whether President
Museveni will let Ochola do
his work without negative Abbas Byakagaba
influence.
Ochola’s test, according to
Muwanga, will be political.
“We will be waiting to see how they
police political activity because that
has been the yardstick,” he told The
Independent.
He added that his expectation is
that police makes a broad declaration
that they have abolished behavior
tendencies of torture, and abuse of
peoples’ freedoms.
Muwanga Kivumbi explained that
he has been challenging police to obey
the Public Order Management Act but
it has not.
“So a mere change of guard is not
enough for as long as the orientation is
the same,” he says.
Generally, however, there appears
agreement, among insiders and
observers, we have interviewed
that Ochola has made exactly the
changes that the police required to
reclaim public trust and confidence,
which under the last months of his
predecessor; Gen.Kayihura, appeared
to have hit rock-bottom.
Jude Kagoro, a professor at Bremen
University, who has researched
Uganda police and is also an
instructor at the Bwebajja-based police
academy, says Ochola has been doing
the things he has to do to correct what
in the public view and some security
circles were being seen as having gone
wrong.
He explained that some of these
actions are aimed at winning public
support and confidence, which
appeared to have been hit by the
intense pressure against police
following the 2016 elections.
Apart from this, Kagoro explains
that Ochola’s management style is
different from that of his predecessor.
“Ochola likes structures and thinks
the IGP should come in at a strategic
level,” Kagoro says, “that is why you
see him reinforcing police structures.
“All of the changes we see do not
necessarily mean that Kayihura was a
failure but rather that he was dealing
with a more hot situation,” Kagoro
says.
Structurally, according to Kagoro,
Grace Akullo Asuman Mugenyi
Ochola believes there should be a
hierarchy, specific roles, and a specific
structure within which an officer
operates.
He said that indeed, standard police
culture worldwide is such that it keeps
officers working as a unit and one of
the things that make this possible is
the element of command and control,
which works well with structures.
Kagoro says Kayihura, like
President Museveni, believes in
dealing with all problems directly. So
he operated at the operational, tactical,
and strategic levels, meaning he was
active at all levels of police.
Other observers say part of that
may have to do with Museveni and
Kayihura’s background as guerrillas.
But Ochola is of a different
background. His 30 years as a
professional police appear to have
trained him to operate within
structures and Kagoro believes he will
build on what exists.
Whether all of Ochola’s building
succeeds or fails, Kagoro adds,
will depend on the good will and
cover story
improvement of other government
structures. For instance, he says,
for as long as the LC1 system is not
functioning and structures start at
LCIII, policing will remain a big
challenge.
“You have 50,000 police officers and
60,000 villages,” Kagoro said, “the LCI
system is supposed to feed into the
policing system.”
Kagoro contrasts the Uganda’s
police situation with Rwanda, which
he has also studied. He Rwanda’s
government structures start at the
grassroots equivalent of Uganda’s LCI
and feed into the security apparatus,
the reason policing appears at a much
advanced level there.
Ochola’s biggest problems
Rwakafuzi sees Museveni as the
biggest likely problem for Ochola.
He says although some government
officials are good, Museveni never lets
them do their work.
“He is always giving them directives
intended to keep him in
power and disadvantage
the opposition, and starving
them of resources,” he says
That is why; Rwakafuzi
said, despite the changes,
there might not be much
improvement in police’s
work.
Limited resources, he
added, will continue to
mean that cases are not
investigated thoroughly.
“Investigations cost a lot of
money and require skilled personnel,”
Rwakafuzi said, “Police lacks these
and is not facilitated adequately to
carry out these investigations.”
Money is one area where many
observers say, despite Ochola’s
efforts, he will soon find out that
that the force is still deeply haunted
by ghosts from the actions of the
previous leadership. Not that he will
be surprised, after he was Kayihura’s
deputy.
But at the level of resources, a
major concern appears a debt of
over Shs 100 billion, which has seen
police clash with its suppliers only
to be saved by reassurances from the
Finance Ministry. This means that a
huge portion of the force’s budget
has to go to settling the debt mostly
accumulated during the 2016 elections.
Of its Shs 514 billion budget, police
is working with under Shs400 billion.
Specifically, while defending the
new police budget, Ochola told
parliament that they needed Shs105
billion to carry out investigations
under the CIID. But they have only
May 18 - 24, 2018 11
cover story
Gen. Kale Kayihura handsover tools of office to IGP Okoth-Ochola
been allocated Shs10 billion.
Kivumbi, who has been outspoken
against police excesses and failures,
says police is to blame; the leaders
decided to allocate investigations only
that slice of its Shs514 budget.
Ochola’s changes
A source at Police’s Naguru
Headquarters, who could only speak
on conditions of anonymity because
he is not authorised to speak on behalf
of police, told The Independent that
in summary, the changes Ochola’s
team have made have been aimed
at reorganising police structures,
returning officers to areas where
they have competencies, formalising
appointments of those who did not
have it, dealing with those who have
complaints against them, following
proper hierarchy and deploying those
who have for long been sidelined.
Structurally, Ochola has moved
officers to areas they are most
knowledgeable about and restructuring
units to give them effective direction,
command, and control. Years of
disorganisation, not following proper
structures, mean that officers lack the
necessary skills and resources to tackle
creeping crime.
These changes followed complaints
against irregular promotions, irregular
procurement, misuse of resources,
wastage, complaints over a disconnect
between officers carrying out
12 May 18 - 24, 2018
operations and strategy leaders at the
highest levels in police, and duplication
of roles, amongst others.
Administratively, the biggest units in
police are directorates like Operations,
Counterterrorism and the Criminal
Intelligence and Investigations
Directorate (CIID).
Under Ochola’s predecessor, Gen.
Kale Kayihura, these entities had been
left hollow with no power, personnel,
budgets, and even work.
Gen. Kayihura took away their
powers, created new entities under
junior officers and sometimes civilians
loyal and reporting directly to only
him and handed them the budgets and
powers of these entities.
Ochola has reversed this, taken these
entities back under the york of their
mother directorates and reinforced the
powers of senior officers heading them.
The most affected directorates are also
the biggest three.
Under Grace Akullo’s CIID, Ochola
has returned; Flying Squad, Criminal
Case File Tracking Task Force, Special
Investigations units, Surveillance and
Special Operations, and Criminal Case
File Tracking Taskforce.
Counter Terrorism has existed
without a leader after Kayihura sent
its former boss, John Ndugutse whom
he had fallen out with to Nairobi as
police attaché. Ochola has confirmed
Ndugutse and appointed Abbas
Byakagaba to head Counter Terrorism.
He also converted the oil and gas
directorate into a division and put it
back under Counter Terrorism. Apart
from the oil and gas division now,
Byakagaba also controls Aviation
Police, VIPPU, and Tourism.
Under Asuman Mugenyi’s
Operations Directorate, Ochola
returned small entities including;
all police region outfits, Railway,
Environmental Protection, Anti-Stock
Theft, Canine, Air Wing, Marine,
Mineral Protection, among others.
The bulk of these were reporting
directly to the IGP under Kayihura and
critics say, had led to duplication of
roles and wastage of resources.
Apart from restructuring the
administrative units, Ochola has also
moved around officers.
Ochola’s very first reshuffle, which
came a week after he had assumed
office, insiders say, sought to return
people where they had competences.
Kayihura had made the changes
last minute. In these changes he had
removed SCP Stephen Tanui from his
post as the FFU deputy commander
to the Reserve force, Ochola sent him
back. Kayihura had also appointed
SCP Christopher Kasalawo, the head
of FFU, Ochola made him the deputy
director at the Oil and Gas division.
Then Ochola made SCP Ali Fadhir
Kaali the FFU commander recalling
him from the Oil and Gas Unit where
Kayihura had posted him as deputy

director.
In another swoop, Ochola has
transferred some 90 District and
Division Police Commanders (DPCs).
Amongst these, Ochola moved ASP
Grace Nyangoma, from Old Kampala
to Buyende, ASP Evas Ninsiima from
Kampala Central Police Station to
Lwengo, ASP Norman Muhanguzi
moved from CPS to Hima in Kasese,
SP Benard Mugerwa from Kabalagala
and to Butaleja, ASP Hillary Mukiza
moved from Kajjansi to Sheema as
DPC, amongst many others.
He did not only move the officers,
he issued them with new strict
directives on how to conduct their
work going forward.
In other reshuffles that have since
followed, Ochola also took Former
Police Spokesman, Fred Enanga to CIID
and appointed him commissioner in
charge of administration and training.
Frank Mwesigwa, the former
Kampala Metropolitan Police
Commander was shuffled to head
Tourism Police, which falls under
Counter Terrorism. Ochola then
replaced him at KMP with Moses
Kafeero, a former Commandant of
the Masindi Police training school in
Kabalye.
Lawrence Niwabiine, who owing to
his closeness to the Amama Mbabazi
family was removed from his post as
the KMP Traffic Commander and put
on Katebe under the IGP’s office during
the 2016 elections, is now the new
commander for police Staff College.
With these changes, insiders say,
going forward, the mission seems
to be building a professional force.
However, many insist that these efforts
will depend on how ready President
Museveni is to facilitate the force
and limit political interference in its
activities.
“Yes the leadership is making these
changes,” the source said, “however,
we are currently very slow and weak
at responding to crime because we lack
resources and the skills are low given
years of disorganisation and working
outside designated structures.”
Under Kayihura, for instance, CIID,
which is responsible for investigations
was heavily sidelined because
Kayihura had fallen out with Grace
Akullo principally because she had
caught the eye of President Museveveni
and First Lady Janet Museveni. The
two would call her directly to look
into matters of interest. Kayihura did
not like this and would punish it by
starving her directorate of resources
and asking other entities to do
investigations.
As such, investigations would
Jude Kagoro Ladislaus Rwakafuzi
be conducted by other elements
sometimes outside the police structure.
CIID, without enough skilled personnel
and financial resources is now playing
catch up.
“It might take us months to
recover,” the source said, “but at least
the leadership appears on the right
course.”
How long will honey moon last?
While Ochola is being hailed as
a reformer for fixing Kayihura’s
mistakes, the honeymoon might soon
be over.
Ochola will have to crack down
against crime stop the spate of kidnaps
and murders for him to earn the
public confidence and trusts. Many
are also waiting to see how he deals
with opposition protests should they
emerge.
It’s a trend Kayihura followed as
he built the force from 2005 when he
was appointed. He negotiated a bigger
budget, introduced a people oriented
outlook, raised police’s clout among
sister security agencies, and improved
the welfare of the men and women.
According to Kagoro, between 2012
and 2014 appears to have been a sort
of “golden age” for the police. The
force leadership was counting its
achievements, celebrated a hundred
years and generally, there was a sense
that police was on the right course.
But then came the breakaway of
Amama Mbabazi from the ruling
party and because of his push to oust
Museveni, police experienced intense
pressures in 2015 through 2016 with
far reaching implications for the
leadership.
While Kagoro is hesitant to go
into the politics, these pressures
are a public secret. During the 2016
campaigns, Gen. Kayihura focused
the force’s resources into political
mobilization.
He fired officers like Nuwabine who
was linked to the Mbabazi family. His
cover story
Muwanga Kivumbi
army of crime preventers roamed the
country campaigning for President
Museveni often clashing with other
power centres like that of former
Security Minister Lt.Gen. Henry
Tumukunde.
In an effort to reign in Mbabazi’s
bodyguard, Julius Aine who was
seen at rallies fighting police, Gen.
Kayihura found himself on a collision
path with a major kingmaker in
President Museveni’s government,
the President’s brother Gen. Caleb
Akandwanaho aka Salim Saleh.
Once Aine crossed from Mbabazi’s
camp, he sought refuge under the
protection of Saleh. Kayihura who
wanted to arrest him found himself
exchanging words with Saleh. To
crown it all, allegations emerged
that the leadership in Kigali was
sponsoring Kayihura to overthrow
President Museveni using his army of
Crime Preventers and other civilian
groups he was using for political
mobilization.
As a result, Kayihura shifted
significant resources from policing
work to defending his sinking ship.
Years of working outside police
structures meant that he found
himself unable to control these civilian
structures themselves full of criminals.
At the same time, the police couldn’t
catch up with the criminals some of
whom operated from right at the heart
of police structures.
A spate of murders and attacks by
machete wielding gangs, followed by
another spate of women murders, the
murder of his erstwhile right hand
man, AIGP Andrew Felix Kaweesi
in March 2017 and the allegations
infiltration of police by Rwandan
security operatives, only appeared to
work together to kick Kayihura out of
police. All indications are that Ochola did
not only learn from Kayihura’s mistakes
but was always opposed to many of his
actions. He must now deliver.
May 18 - 24, 2018 13
RWANDA
`Africa’s time is now’
Transform Africa Summit focuses on digitalisation
By Francis Byaruhanga
A
frica is not so poor it has to depend
on the foreign countries. Instead
the main challenge is that Africans
prefer to invest in the western
countries, leaving their countries without
investments and untapped and unexploited
resources.
This was President Paul Kagame main
argument at the Transform Africa Sum-
mit in the Rwandan capital Kigali. He said
Africans need to change their mindset to be
able to reach their dreams and that single
market and speedy integration would not
be reached if they still invest abroad.
Kagame told the African leaders, gov-
ernment officials, and global and regional
private investors and leaders of businesses
and international organisations at the 2nd
session of TAS that they need to collaborate
on new ways of shaping, accelerating, and
sustaining Africa’s on-going digital revolu-
tion.
“We are not poor, not at all. The issue is
more the mindset that it is normal to use
our money for consumption while we leave
strategic long-term investing to others. It
means that no matter how much we earn;
we would remain poor,” he says.
Kagame added that Africa needs the
right mindset to do right business and make
everybody part of it by strategising where
money is invested in education, innovation,
tech and science appropriately.
“Africa is losing billions through lost
taxes and citizens sending private capital
abroad,” he said, “tech innovations and
policies that can help seal these leaks, the
continent can salvage its resources and
realise its full potential.”
He added: “We should not only aim at
high-end technology and innovation but
also create a dynamism that goes back
and addresses the lower end that affects
the majority of our people; how to bridge
the gap that will continuously allow us to
advance and have a future that we want.”
The leaders also discussed elements of a
strategy to grow a Pan-African e-commerce
ecosystem that will allow the emergence
of home grown companies that are able to
compete at global stage.
The future of Africa’s digital revolution
belongs to the youth
Dr. Jared Leigh Cohon, President Emeritus
& University Professor, Civil and Environ-
mental Engineering & Engineering and
Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University
hinted on different initiatives to advance
14 May 18 - 24, 2018
tech on the continent.
He said Carnegie Melon University was
brought to Rwanda to educate the future
leaders in ICT on the continent so that the
young minds can impact their countries and
the world.
“Africa’s time is now,” he said.
According to him, Africa should be pri-
oritising technical skills and Rwanda is well
placed to enhance the campaign equipping
the human capital.
“World class education would not be
reached without the technology and inno-
vation and skilled employees to create the
engine to influence Africa’s economy. How-
ever, the existing challenges and the use of
digital technology,” he said. Women and
youth should not be left behind.
Africa’s population will be 1.6 billion
by 2030, according to the UN Department
of Economic and Social Affairs, and the
rapidly growing youth population will
constitute 42% of that number. Meanwhile,
the African Development Bank (AfDB)
says that one-third of Africa’s 420 million
youths (those ages 15–35) are unemployed,
another third are vulnerably employed, and
only one in six young people is gainfully
employed.
Youth unemployment is increasing at a
speedy rate and they will need opportuni-
ties to participate in politics, jobs and overall
inclusion in development. The digital revo-
lution is one way to equip this generation
with skills to tap every opportunity.
Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General
of the United Nations Conference on Trade
and Development (UNCTAD), made a
pitch for buyer-seller trust in Africa and
improvements through e-commerce. He
advised youth to ensure their governments
formulate good digital policies.
“Africa is very dynamic with the new
technologies and infrastructure but it may
not be able to achieve the single digital
market without involving young entrepre-
neurs,” he said.
According to Strive Masiyiwa, Founder
of the Econet; the diversified international
Telecommunications, Media and wireless
Technology group, ICT needs to dig deep
for financial inclusion which would speed
up the development in Africa since every
country on the continent has mobile pay-
ment systems.
“The whole system needs improve-
ment,” he said, “In education as well as
health care architecture and payment sys-
tems access.”
He added that the private sector has to
invest and allocate capital where necessary
because, although it is the responsibility of
the state to facilitate digital markets, there
are deficits in political support to the ICT
sector.
Miroslav Lajcak, the president of the
United Nations General Assembly for the
72nd session, said development cannot hap-
pen without focusing on the digital revolu-
tion.
He said Rwanda’s ambitious Vision of
2020 and the Sustainable Development
Goals of the UN offer development oppor-
tunities and challenges on how countries
can provide service and innovations to
boost health and other sectors. He said with
creativity and skills, resources could be
shared more easily.
“Africa can do it,’ he said.
Others areas discussed included digital
identity, connectivity, and regulations, the
automotive industry in Africa, digital health
and the landscape and country roadmaps in
implementing sustainable smart cities and
communities.

RSSB rekindles hopes, reassures a
better future to survivors of the 1994
Genocide against the Tutsi
Orphans of former CSR employees testify that RSSB education financing and general life
support after the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi helped them rebuild their shattered lives and
has been a source of protection and safety
I
n a nutshell, the mandate of the Rwanda
Social Security Board (RSSB) is to guar-
antee security of the future of all its
members and by extension all Rwan-
dans.
This mandate is on the onset achieved
through administration and management of
various social security schemes that assure
Orphans of former employees of Caisse Sociale du Rwanda (CSR) receive education support
As a moral obligation, RSSB’s support to
Genocide survivors began with six surviv-
ing children of deceased employees of for-
mer CSR killed during the Genocide.
The support given as Mugiraneza Emi-
lien one of the orphans of former CSR
employees killed in 1994 explained has
been instrumental in reassuring them that
though orphaned, they were not left alone.
“When I finished high school, I was wor-
ried about to continue to University. I had
passed with good grades but as explained
by FARG (Genocide Survivors Assistance
Fund), we were going to have to borrow
money from the Development Bank of
Rwanda (BRD) like all other Government
sponsored students, money we would have
to pay back later after school. This worried
me a lot, being an orphan, I felt like I could
never pay back.”
It is at this confusing time that RSSB came
to his aid and agreed to meet his academic
Rwandans of various walks of life of treat-
ment with dignity.
Since 2010 when former Caisse Socialle
du Rwanda (CSR) and the La Rwandaise
d’Assurance Maladie (RAMA) which
administered pension and medical insur-
ance schemes for public and approved pri-
vate sector servants were merged to create
A genocide monument was built at RSSB in
honour of former CSR employees killed during
the genocide where their surviving families
together with RSSB staff hold an annual vigil
in their memory
needs throughout his university education.
“Thanks to this support, I felt relieved
and have studied uninterruptedly,” Mugi-
raneza said.
advertorial
RSSB under law No 45/2010 of 14/12/2010
that determines its mission, organization
and function; the Board has grown pro-
gressively and now in addition to pension,
occupation hazards, and medical insur-
ance manages maternity leave benefits and
the community based health insurance
schemes.
The above law was modified and com-
pleted by Law No 04/2015 of 11/03/2015
which gave RSSB the responsibility to man-
age Community Based Health insurance
scheme popularly known as Mutuelle de
santé.
In about seven (7) years, RSSB has
become a one stop centre for social security
in Rwanda.
Beyond the administration of these social
security schemes, RSSB extends its reach
into various domains of public life to ensure
that it ably contributes to the improvement
of life standards for various Rwandans.
From investing in long term and high
impact economic areas to addressing press-
ing infrastructure issues through its invest-
ments, RSSB is also engaged in contributing
to solutions for challenges that face most
vulnerable Rwandans.
Among groups of interest to RSSB’s
social responsibility are survivors of the
1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda
in which more than a million were brutally
killed in 100 days.
Mugiraneza is currently a finalist in the
Electronics and Telecommunications at the
College of Science and Technology of the
University of Rwanda.
Mugiraneza was only two years in 1994
and survived the Genocide with a four year
old brother and a one year old sister. “With-
out RSSB’s support, I don’t know what life
would have been like.”
He is the second among his siblings to
benefit college education support after his
brother graduated courtesy of RSSB.
The support given by RSSB has been
beyond education financing and included
playing a parenting role to these orphans.
“Even when we have other issues in life,
they are always there to help us, RSSB has
been a parent to us and helped rekindle
hopes that life can still go on even after the
losses we suffered undeservingly and for
this we are always grateful”.
May 18 - 24, 2018 15
advertorial

Refurbished houses in Rubavu signal new possibilities for survivors

B
esides the challenge to
see that genocide or-
phans gain education,
post-genocide Rwanda
had to ensure access to decent
shelter various most vulnerable
survivors including widows,
the elderly and orphans.
During the 1994 genocide
against the Tutsi, not only were
lives taken but people’s eco-
nomic lifelines were shattered
in a bid to cripple them and
make sure they were never
able to live on. Houses were
demolished while livestock
and farms were also burnt.
In the aftermath, the recon-
struction of the nation has
included building homes for
survivors and empowering
them to rebuild both socially
and economically.
For survivors settled in
Kabari village of Kanzenze
Sector in Rubavu district of
Rwanda’s Western Province,
the challenge has for a while
been to renovate houses built
in the rush of getting every
vulnerable survivor a roof over
their head a few months follow-
ing the 1994 Genocide against
the Tutsi.
In partnership with local
authorities, RSSB has sup-
ported renovation of 58 houses,
reaffirming the Government
of Rwanda’s commitment to
ensuring the wellbeing of sur-
vivors.
One of the biggest challenges
was the leaking roofs which
during rainy seasons saw many
spend sleepless nights.
Also, the walls were dilapi-
dated leaving these families
in indecent houses. It is the
desire to help them out of these
unpleasant conditions that
RSSB invested in their renovat-
ing them.
According to Gaturarwanda
Thomas one of the beneficiaries,
thanks to the renovation, rainy
nights will no longer terrify
them as they did in the past.
“When it rained, we had to
squeeze up in one small area
where the roof still covered but
with the cold from the dampen
floor, rain in the night was a
nightmare for me and my fam-
ily.”
To empower this group,
beneficiaries were employed in
the activities and through this
approach earned a quarter of
the total budget for the renova-
tions.
Thanks to this approach,
Mukeshimana Ancilla testifies
that with the money earned,
she was able to buy household
materials for her renovated
house.
“I bought curtains and chairs
for the house and achieved a lot
from the money earned. We are
so happy that RSSB came to our
rescue to restore our dignity as
it has always done,” Mukeshi-
mana shared.

Genocide survivors in Rubavu find relief from their rainy nightmares after RSSB refurbishes 58 dilapidated houses.
Above -conditions of some of the houses before, Below -improved status after rehabilitation.

16 May 18 - 24, 2018

 advertorial
In Nyanza and Bugesera, connections to electricity have brought new
economic opportunities for Genocide survivors, and residents at large

K
arambi village in Kayumba Cell
of Nyamata Sector in Bugesera
district whose majority residents
are genocide survivors dominated
by widows and orphans was unconnected
to the national grid until 2014 when RSSB
in partnership with the Rwanda Energy
Group supported its connection.
Rwagasana Theoneste one of the resi-
dents says that there are so many elements
of their past days four years ago that he is
happy his youngest child born after the vil-
lage got connected will never know.
“She will for example never know the
kerosene lamp that we used for light or how
we used to move for kilometres to Nyamata
centre to have our phones charged and pay
for the service with money that was so hard
to earn.”
Since the connection to the national grip, Excited genocide survivors tale of their renewal of hopes for a better Rwanda as
life in Karambi has not only changed in electricity goes live in their homes for the first time
areas of social importance as Rwagasana
tells but also economic transformation has fication of more than 130 homes including “Because I would walk in the house in
significantly been accelerated. 110 that belonged to genocide survivors the dark, oftentimes I ran into a wall and
Majority youth who decried a lack of in Karambi village and with this unlocked would end up down, with wounds or pains
opportunities now run various small busi- new economic opportunities that have to nurse the following day. Now I wake up,
nesses and the Karambi trading centre is a transformed lives of the youth and the vil- touch the wall and the house becomes alive
lively attraction to neighbouring villages. lage in general. with light and so is the compound thanks to
Kanamugire Moses owns a barber shop Similarly, 52 homes of genocide survivors this electricity. We feel very safer today and
made possible by the electricity. in Mugali village of Nyamiyaga Sector in are grateful to our Government.”
He earns at least Rwf2,500 daily and with Nyanza district with help from RSSB in As H.E Paul Kagame President of Rwan-
this income, Kanamugire’s life has greatly partnership with FARG were connected to da has said on several occasions, it is the
improved and the promise of a better electricity. survivors of the 1994 genocide against the
tomorrow is ever clearer. Majority beneficiaries in Nyanza were Tutsi who bore the brunt of Rwanda’s bad
For Munyeshuli Alfred, electricity helped elderly widows who thanks to the light in history and it is a responsibility for every
him to establish a metal wielding shop in their homes attest to bolstered security and Rwandan to support them in their efforts to
Karambi and he prides that once in a while, feeling of safety. forge forward. It is this responsibility that
he is able to employ fellow youth. Igenukwayo Maria an old widow says RSSB seeks to accomplish through its vari-
“I have managed to buy a cow, a bicycle that thanks to the electricity, she is no longer ous programmes aimed at improving the
and wielding equipment for my workshop scared to move out in the night and that living conditions of survivors, a task that
in hardly three years.” recurrent falls she suffered in the past are a continues
In Bugesera, RSSB supported the electri- story of old times.

Thanks to electrification of rural communities, the

way of life has changed, giving youth new economic
opportunities unimaginable a few years ago and with
these changes rejuvenated hopes

May 18 - 24, 2018 17

RWANDA
Non-traditional exports drive
Rwanda’s agric revenues up
By Stephen Nuwagira
R
wanda’s earnings from export of
agricultural products have risen
for the July 2017 to January 2018,
driven by good performance of
non-traditional exports, a new report by
National Agricultural Export Board (NAEB)
indicates.
The country earned more than $282
million (about Rwf243.9 billion) in cumula-
tive revenues from July 2017 to January
2018, which represents 45 per cent increase
compared to about $195.6 million (about
Rwf169.2 billion) registered during the
same period in 2016-2017.
NAEB’s January agro-export report also
attributes growth in revenue mainly to
good prices of tea export on the global mar-
ket, as well as increased value of non-tra-
ditional crops; including oleaginous (soya,
groundnuts and sunflower), which raked in
$20.20 million (Rwf17.5 billion) compared to
slightly over $467,800 in 2016-2017 period.
Non-tradition export revenue rose to
$182.24 million (Rwf404.6 million), from
$112.36 million during similar period in
2016/2017, while traditional exports raked
in $99.77 million (about Rwf86.3 billion)
compared to $83.21 million over the report-
ing period.
18 May 18 - 24, 2018
However, export volumes and values for
animal and animal products all went down
over the reporting period due to some of the
new measures by government, like outlaw-
ing export of unprocessed milk, and focus-
ing on value addition on hides and skins to
boost Made-in-Rwanda initiative.
The banning of animal products by the
DRC also had a big impact on revenues.
For instance, the period July 2017 to Janu-
ary 2018, just over 2.23 million kilograms of
hides and skins worth $3.72 million were
exported compared to 3.69 million kilos
($4.72 million) sold during the same period
in 2016-2017, according to the report. Meat
exports dropped to $12.13 million in value
from $15.01 million, while live animals
brought in $15.77 million lower than $16.54
million.
Tea sector
Rwanda recorded $46.54 million (Rwf40.3
billion) in tea export revenues from July
2017 to January 2018 after selling 14,091,555
kilograms of the beverage. This was higher
than over $36.54 million realised during
the same period in 2016/2017, indicating
an increase of over $9.99 million or 27 per
cent. “This is attributed to the high volume
of tea sold during the period and the good
price realised on international market,”
according to the report. The average unit
price was $3.30 (Rwf2,854) per kilogram of
tea compared to $2.81 (Rwf2,430) a kilo in
2016-2017.
The country’s green leaf production was
65,851,954 kilogrammes, which was 20.81
per cent higher than 54,508,348 kilos pro-
duced the same period in 2016-2017. “The
good performance achieved by tea sector
during the year is partly the result of good
climatic conditions that prevailed from Sep-
tember 2017 to January 2018, where average
quantity of rains registered amounts 1,897
mm/month,” the report says. In terms of
climatic conditions, July 2017-January 2018
registered more rainfalls quantities than the
period 2016-2017, which explains the high
volume of green leaf produced in 2017-2018
compared to 2016-2017.
Coffee sector
The country registered $51.54 million
(almost Rwf44.6 billion) from coffee export
over the reporting period compared to
$46.01 million earned in 2016-2017, thanks
to high volumes of coffee sold and good
prices on international market. How-
ever, coffee export revenues for January
2018 dropped to $3,289,370, down from
$3,350,271 over the same period in 2017.
Note: $1 = 865 Rwf at bureaus

NRM delivers 38% on Manifesto
Critics say it has failed on corruption, security and services
By Julius Businge
W
e are on course, making steady
progress, to achieve the tar-
gets we set together with the
people of Uganda,” said Prime
Minister Ruhakana Rugunda on May 11 at
the start of the NRM Manifesto Week at the
Media Centre in Kampala.
Two years into the mandate of manifesto,
Rugunda said implementation was at 38.2%
and that projections were that the momen-
tum of implementation would more than
double to 80% by the end of the following
two years. He said they are guided by the
23 directives relating to reforms on poli-
cies, laws and regulations. He mentioned
amending the Public Procurement and
Disposal of Assets (PPDA) law, establish-
ing a utility corridor, free connection to the
national electricity grid, improved planning,
budgeting, monitoring and reporting, and
continuous implementation of affirmative
programmes in selected regions to promote
inclusive growth and development.
Rugunda said maintaining peace and
security has remained at the centre of the
manifesto.“We have had some unfortunate,
but isolated cases of criminality which are
being dealt with by the responsible agencies
of the State,” he said.
On energy, Rugunda said they had
signed a construction agreement for an
oil refinery worth US$4bn under a joint
venture with an international consortium
led by General Electric (GE) and Uganda’s
National Oil Company. He said Uganda
and Tanzania have agreed on the construc-
tion of the oil pipeline from Hoima to the
Tanzanian Seaport of Tanga.
On the 600MW Karuma Hydropower
Project, construction works stood at 74%
from 54% the previous year. The 183MW
Isimba Hydropower Project stood at 79%
from 62.2% in 2017.
The Gold Refinery in Entebbe and con-
struction of the phosphates factory in Toro-
ro are significant steps, Rugunda said. The
phosphates factory will provide the fertil-
izers and also produce steel, cement, sulph-
uric acid and other industrial products.
On roads, Rugunda said eight road
projects were completed or were nearing
completion, including Mukono-Kyetume-
Katosi (74km), Gulu-Acholibur(77.7km),
Kanoni-Sembabule Villa Maria (110km),
Kampala-Entebbe Expressway (49.56km),
Mbarara Bypass (14km), Rushere-Nshwe-
renkye (11.1km), Upgrading of FortPortal-
Kamwenge Road, and Upgrading of
Ntungamo-Mirama Hill. Government has
procured 1151 assorted road equipment
Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda
and distributed it to districts for work on
maintaining district and feeder roads.
Regarding oil roads, civil works con-
tracts for Masindi-Paraa-Buliisa upgrading,
HoimaButiaba-Wanseko, Buhimba-Nalw-
eyo-Bulamagi and Bulamagi-Igayaza-Kaku-
miro roads have been awarded.
Progress is also being made in construc-
tion of key bridges to facilitate business and
trade. Among the completed bridges are;
Apak Bridge in Lira; Manafa Bridge along
Tororo-Mbale road; Goli and Nyagak in
Nebbi, Lelesi Bridge in Butaleja and Kibale
Bridge, linking Kyankwanzi to Ngoma in
Nakaseke. The second Nile Bridge in Jinja is
nearing completion.
Expansion and modernisation of Entebbe
International Airport is progressing well
and 50% of the Cargo Complex works had
been completed, 22% of the modification of
the existing passenger Terminal Building
had been completed, and works on the run-
way began in May.
The other highlights are; works on the
revival of the national carrier/airline are in
advanced stages with the plan approved
by cabinet and a Uganda National Airline
Company registered.
On the Standard Gauge Railway, prelimi-
nary engineering designs for the Northern
and Western Routes have been completed
and partial payments to Project Affected
Persons made. It is envisaged that by July
this year, the financial agreement will be
finalised and work will commence, Rugun-
da said.
Health and education
Rugunda reported that expansion and
rehabilitation of Mulago National Referral
Hospital into a super-specialised facility is
in final stages and the rehabilitated Uganda
NEWS ANALYSIS
Heart Institute is fully operational with
capacity for 1000 operations per year.
In the education sector, 2.5 million text-
books have been procured for different
subjects for primary school pupils. This has
brought the pupil to book ratio to 3:1 and
4:1 for Mathematics and English respec-
tively.  Rugunda said 10 Primary Teacher
Training Colleges and three National Teach-
ers Colleges have been expanded. There
has also been the construction of Seed Sec-
ondary schools in various places across the
country.
A special pilot initiative by the Office of
the Prime Minister and the Ministries of
Education and Sports, Health, Local Gov-
ernment and Public Service in 20 districts
has reduced teacher and health worker
absenteeism.
Agriculture
He said pesticides, seedlings and exten-
sion services have been provided to farmers
and, through Operation Wealth Creation
(OWC), seedlings of cocoa, citrus, tea, man-
goes, oranges and apples have been distrib-
uted. The government is to increase coffee
production by giving out seedlings and
production has grown from 3.6 million bags
last year to 4.8 million bags to date.
The economy, investments
Rugunda said that the fundamentals
of the economy are being systematically
dealt with and the GDP growth rate that
had declined to around 4% in the past five
years is projected to regain its pace at 6%
in the short to medium term as the govern-
ment improves the investment climate and
reduces the cost of doing business to attract
investors.
What other people say
Wilfred Niwagaba, the Attorney General
in the shadow cabinet.
“Any services that government delivers to
the citizens comes as a by the way. The 38%
achievement is a hoax. If you focus on what
they are telling you without considering
the core governance principles then you are
missing the whole picture.”
“That is a total lie; people are very poor.”
opposition diehard, Imamu Makumbi, the
Vice President for Uganda’s oldest political
party – DP in Western Uganda.
“I don’t think they have done nothing but
they have not done much,” Mwambutsya
Ndebesa, a lecturer at Makerere University
told The Independent on May 15 adding,
“Security of the state has been guaranteed
but not that of the people.”
May 18 - 24, 2018 19
news analysis
Police officers monitor Usafi mosque in Kisenyi, Kampala after it was cordoned off.
Attack on Usafi mosque
Why Muslim profiling could backfire
By Ronald Musoke
I
t was a nondescript mosque only notice-
able because of its makeshift mabati
walls in the congested Kisenyi slums, a
notorious suburb of Kampala city. But
when police raided Usafi Mosque on April
27, allegedly while pursuing a criminal on
its wanted list, it became the latest ground
zero in the security forces versus Muslims
fight.
Weeks later, all that is left of the mosque
is a mangled heap of heavily guarded iron
sheets and other debris around a small
dusty cemented slab about five metres wide
and ten in length that used to be the floor of
the mosque. Around it are dusty shanties
with tiny rooms with shattered window
panes that possibly were the residences
of the mosque-leaders and, according to
police, several abducted young women and
children.
Police says it shot two men during the
raid and arrested 38 men that it is now call-
ing terrorists. It also says, on its Kampala
Metropolitan Police Facebook page, that it
“rescued” 18 women and 94 children. The
police say they seized 60 rounds of 7.62mm
ammunition, one bow and arrows, 23 dou-
ble edged pangas, and one laptop.
According to police accounts, they
20 May 18 - 24, 2018
stumbled upon the mosque while pursu-
ing a wanted criminal in the murder of
Susan Magara, the daughter of a prominent
businessman whose failed rescue attempt
sucked in President Yoweri Museveni and
all top security bosses. Following failure to
rescue the woman, Museveni fired the Min-
ister of Security and the head of the police
forces.
After the mosque raid, on May 07, Police
Spokesperson, Patrick Onyango, told jour-
nalists that investigations into the case had
widened to include kidnap with intent of
murder, defilement, human trafficking and
sexual violence.
Onyango said 11 of the 63 young girls,
aged 13-15 had tested positive for defile-
ment and seven of them were found to
have been impregnated by their abductors.
Another four girls told the authorities that
they had been defiled.
The investigations now include intent to
demand ransom and others, police say and,
according to Lt. Col Deo Akiki, the deputy
army spokesperson, the army is following
on the terroristic nature of Magara’s case.
It appears the former mosque is now a
carry-all crime clearing house since police is
linking it to a slew of crimes in the Greater
Masaka and Kampala area.
But standing next to the rubble of the
former mosque, which is still cordoned off
with crime scene tape, along a dusty earth
road right next to a busy taxi park, it is dif-
ficult to imagine how all these people lived
in such a tiny hovel.
Mean-looking police officers clad in
heavy blue camouflage jackets with AK 47s
slung over their shoulders patrol the area
and their leader, the OC CID Kampala Met-
ropolitan Police, blocks any attempts to find
out what was going on back then and what
is going on now.
“You can observe with your eyes but you
can’t take photos,” he says and refers any
request for information to the force’s infor-
mation office.
As I walk away my conclusion is that
if, as the police allege, this was a terrorist
haven, then it puts hiding in plain sight at
another level. I am not alone.
Police story doubted
Lucy Akello is an MP and shadow minis-
ter for Gender, Labour and Social Develop-
ment who is concerned about the plight of
the women and children who were carted
off from the mosque following the raid.
“Unfortunately, I have a lot of unan-
swered questions about the Usafi mosque

attack,” she says about the police explana-
tion.
She says it is difficult to believe that for
a country like Uganda, which invests mas-
sively in security infrastructure, a terrorist
cell can be located right in the centre of the
capital city and it takes the police years to
notice a problem even after repeated warn-
ings from the community.
Akello’s concern has been raised by local
leaders who say they had reported to police
that the mosque looked suspicious, that
unlike most mosques which welcome all
Muslims, this one seemed to have exclusive
members, and that megaphones mounted
on it spewed suspected radical Islam mes-
sages. The local people also noticed that
the movements of mosque members were
tightly monitored by its leaders.
One local leader said some families had
tried to get their children out of the mosque
but were blocked by its leaders who were
known former rebels of the Muslim-linked
Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) whose
leader Jamil Mukulu is on trial on terrorism
charges. The mosque leader, Abdul- Rah-
man Faisal, had been arrested weeks before
the raid. Outside security circles, perhaps
because the allegation of a terrorist cell
appears unbelievable, many are now calling
the place an Islamic “radicalisation centre”.
And the Muslim community is alleging a
witch-hunt.
Hussein Kyanjo, a leader of the Muslim-
leaning party, Justice Forum (JEEMA) says
there is no credible evidence of criminals
found in the former Usafi Mosque and that
security force were “staging events” to dis-
credit the Muslim community all over the
country.
“As it is today, Muslims are the automatic
suspects for any major crime in Uganda,”
he says and lists the killing Joan Kagezi, a
top state prosecutor, the murder of AIGP
Andrew Kaweesi, and the killing of Suzan
Magara.
The government spokesperson, Ofwono
Opondo, dismissed Kyanjo’s allegations
as “utter rubbish” but police credibility is
on the line as it has still not paraded the
suspects in any court of law. They have also
not allowed parents to visit their detained
children as has been the case before.
Profiling Muslims
Uganda is a predominantly religious
society with 85% of the population pro-
fessing Christianity, out of which 41% is
Catholic; 35% Anglican. The Pentecostal,
Seventh—Day Adventist and Orthodox
denominations account for 4.6%, 1.5% and
0.1% respectively.
Muslims are the second largest religious
community with 12.1%, followed by tradi-
tional affiliations at 1.0%, a minute 0.1% for
the Baha’i faith and finally atheists at 0.9%
according to the 2014 national population
census. The raid on Usafi Mosque appears
to have re-opened old wounds in the Mus-
lim community which claims the govern-
ment is determined to sustain a narrative in
the country that the Muslim community is
connected to some of these heinous crimes
recently reported in the media.
Since the 2010 twin World Cup final
bombings by Al-Shabab in Kampala left
hundreds of revelers dead, analysts say the
government has taken a hardline stance on
Islamic fundamentalism. A high number of
Muslims are languishing in jails.
But the confrontations between radical
Muslims and the government go back a
long way and various governments; from
the colonial period to today, have attempted
to resolve them with varying levels of suc-
cess. Some of them started out as Muslim
versus Muslim wrangles and sucked in the
government. In the early 1990s, for example,
Jamilu Mukulu led a group of Tabliq youth
to forcefully takeover the headquarters of
the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council in
Kampala. When, police intervened, the
youth slaughtered one officer and two dogs
before they were arrested. Their leader
at the time, Muhammad Kamoga fled to
Kenya.
Still, Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, the MP
for Kira Municipality and the Opposition
Chief Whip says the mosque raid is part of
According to Kivumbi,
raids such as that
on the mosque help
Museveni to brand himself
as one of the leading
fighters of jihadists and
political Islam
the continuing profiling of Muslims and
every mosque “as a place where crimes are
being committed.”
“If you find there are one or two people
who are suspected to have committed a
crime, do you invade a mosque?
Semujju told The Independent on May 09
that Museveni does not like Muslims.
“That is why he looks at Muslims as the
first suspects when heinous crimes happen
around the country,” he said.
Muwanga Kivumbi, the MP for Buta-
mbala County who also doubles as the
shadow minister for Internal Affairs also
told The Independent that the Usafi mosque
attack is part of Museveni’s long-term plan
to market himself around the world as a
“firewall” against the expansion of Islam in
sub-Saharan Africa.
According to Kivumbi, raids such as that
on the mosque help Museveni to brand
himself as one of the leading fighters of
jihadists and political Islam. Kivumbi said
Museveni’s story is always helped by the
presence of ADF. Kivumbi says the ADF
hype is intended to feed into the Western
news analysis
fight against Islamic fundamentalism.
Lubega Medard Ssegona, the MP for
Busiiro County East and shadow minister
for Justice and Constitutional Affairs also
says the mosque attack smirks of offensive
“religious profiling”.
“What the security agencies are doing is
religious profiling and this is offensive. It
is important for the security agencies to do
thorough investigations instead of branding
everyone a criminal.”
Several Muslim clerics have been jailed
over acts of terrorism. Last November,
Sheikh Yunus Kamoga and three members
of the Tabliq sect were convicted of murder-
ing nine Muslim clerics, Joan Kagezi, and
an army officer who had defected from the
ADF.
But Ladislaus Rwakafuzi, a human
rights lawyer, said the evidence for Muslim
involvement in the high profile killings is
flimsy. He said Muslims were being pro-
filed by the state.
“It’s an easy way out to show to the pub-
lic that you’re doing something about these
killings.”
Mohammed Ndifuna, a human rights
activist based at the Human Rights Net-
work-Uganda, told The Independent on
May 10 that what is emerging in Uganda
is a situation where there is “|collective
victimization and collective guilt for certain
groups of society like the Muslims.”
Ndifuna says accusing Muslims is the
easiest way to get more funds for the police.
“It is high time this bluff was called on
the state and its operatives,” he says but
adds that Muslims who commit crimes
should be tracked, arrested and produced
before competent courts of law.
“If you go to Luziira Maximum Prison,
you will find that the hardcore criminals do
not belong to one particular religion or they
may not even believe in anything despite
the fact that they carry a particular name.”
National leaders of Muslims have dis-
tanced themselves from the Usafi Mosque.
Hajji Nsereko Mutumba, the Spokesperson
of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council
told The Independent on May 11 that
although all Juma mosques in Uganda
are supposed to be under their umbrella,
the Usafi mosque was not part of their
more than 11,000 mosques that are under
their stable. “Our position is that we do
not protect anybody who has committed
crime as long as someone is proven guilty
beyond reasonable doubt but we are against
labeling a “Mohammed” as a terrorist yet
a “Herbert” who has committed the same
crime is a mere criminal.”
Solomon Asiimwe, a senior lecturer
of governance at Uganda Martyrs Uni-
versity agrees.
“Crime is crime. I am sure there are
good Muslims just like there are bad
Muslims and there are bad Christians
as there are good Christians,” he told
The Independent.
May 18 - 24, 2018 21
news analysis
Jewish dreams of Jerusalem
as Israel’s capital go back
thousands of years
By Rich Lowry
I
n the Second century AD, Jewish
rebels who had stunned the
Romans and liberated a portion of
Judea, overstruck imperial coins
with images and a message of their
own, “Year One of the Redemption of
Jerusalem.”
The Roman emperor Hadrian had
planted the seeds for the rebellion with
22 May 18 - 24, 2018
his ambitions to remake Jerusalem,
including the planned construction of a
Temple to Jupiter on the site of the old
Jewish Temple.
The leader of the Jewish rebellion, Bar
Kokhba, was fired by a vision of a united
Israel with Jerusalem as its capital that
had been the exception during the prior
millennium, thanks to the depredations
of the Assyrians and Babylonians,
among others. But such was the power
of the national idea — and his messianic
zeal — that Bar Kokhba ventured all on
regaining it.
And lost. Not for nearly another 2,000
years would the vision come to fruition.
At a ceremony in 1982 burying bones
of some of those long-ago rebels with
military honors, Israeli Prime Minister
Menachem Begin declared, ‘’Israel and
Judea are reborn. We have redeemed
Jerusalem.”

King David conquered the city in 1,000
BC and made it the capital of the kingdom
of Israel. His son Solomon built the First
Temple. “He who has not seen Jerusalem
in her splendor has never seen a desirable
city in his life,” declares the Babylonian
Talmud. “He who has not seen the
Temple in its full construction has never
seen a glorious building in his life.”
But Jerusalem would repeatedly be
captured and the Temple destroyed (first
by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar
and then by the Roman Emperor Titus).
The story of the Jewish people is one
of loss, memory and faithfulness and
persistence. Psalm 137 recounting the
Babylonian captivity avers, “If I forget
thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand
forget her cunning. If I do not remember
thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of
my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above
my chief joy.”
The Jewish people never forgot. In
one of the miracles of our age, after
long centuries of exile punctuated by
As the White House celebrated a new U.S. Embassy, over 50 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli
military/ Ronen Zvulun/Reuters, Spencer Platt/Getty
genocide at the hands of the Nazis, they
re-established Israel in 1948, and then
gained control of all of Jerusalem in 1967
(prior to that, when Jordan held East
Jerusalem, Jews couldn’t visit the Western
Wall).
The notion that the City of David isn’t
the capital of Israel was an impolite fiction,
honored by the United States and the West
for fear of provoking Arabs hostile to the
very idea of the Jewish state. Its prime
minister, parliament and highest court are
based there, and it’s unimaginable that
Israel would ever agree to any peace deal
that didn’t recognize it as the capital.
The tired, conventional arguments
against it haven’t held up well in the wake
of President Trump’s decision to move our
embassy. The Arab street hasn’t exploded.
The West Bank has been relatively quiet.
Arab capitals haven’t erupted in outrage.
The flashpoint has been in Gaza, the
terror statelet ruled by Hamas. Israel pulled
out of Gaza more than a decade ago and
has been rewarded with constant attacks
news analysis
emanating from a territory where the
infrastructure of mayhem and destruction
— rockets, tunnels and the like — is the
only growth industry.
Hamas has goaded rioters to storm the
Israeli border, defended by Israeli soldiers
who fire on them if necessary to protect
local communities (more than 50 were
killed on Monday). This isn’t “the caravan”
that arrived at the US border with peaceful
migrants seeking asylum, but a violent
provocation that is a function of Hamas’
commitment to Israel’s destruction.
For now, that poisonous ambition looks
more fantastical than ever. Trump’s move is
an acknowledgment of reality.
It is also a symbolic statement of
permanence, that Menacham Begin was
correct when he said at the ceremony
for the Bar Kokhba rebels 36 years ago,
“Glorious fathers, we are back and we
will not budge from here.’’
Source: New York Post
May 18 - 24, 2018 23
advertorial
Stanbic Bank’s commitment
to improving Uganda’s future
Stanbic Bank has been operating in Ugan-
da for 20 years, what have been the banks
A
main contributions to the country?
s a proud financial anchor in
Uganda’s remarkable growth sto-
ry over the last couple of decades,
Stanbic has played an essential
role supporting the economy through its
growth and transformation. As the leading
bank through this period, Stanbic has been
a pioneer on many fronts and has led the in-
novation and stability of the banking sector
which is extremely critical in the Ugandan
economic eco system. And as trustee of the
former Uganda Commercial Bank, Stanbic
has been able to consolidate and create a
true Ugandan banking icon with assets in
excess of $1.5 billion serving as a true finan-
cial gateway for individuals, institutions
and the public sector.
Being a subsidiary of a leading global
bank, Stanbic has been able to infuse global
best practices and work closely with the
other commercial banks and the regulator
in formulating and implementing many
world class financial policies that have
made the Ugandan banking sector more
stable and sustainable. With a leading
customer loan portfolio of UGX 2.2 Tril-
lion, Stanbic has been a key enabler in the
agriculture, manufacturing, construction
and trade sectors. And more importantly,
with 40,000 SME clients, Stanbic bank is a
key promoter of this critical underserved
segment of the economy which generates
80% of our manufacturing output and 90%
of new jobs created.
High Interest rates are one of the key is-
sues often mentioned as holding back
private sector driven growth, have banks
done enough to keep interest rates low
and attractive for Ugandans?
Stanbic has honoured its commitment to
match the movements of its Prime Lending
Rates (“PLR”) consistently with the move-
ments of the CBR. As a result, we lowered
our lending rates by 7.5% points over the
last 18 months in perfect synch with the
reduction of the CBR from its high in March
2016, something we are very committed
and proud of.
I would however like to broaden the
subject beyond high interest rates by pos-
ing another question, why is it that even
with high interest rates, there are still 6 loss
making banks in Uganda and the Return
on Equity (“ROE”) of the industry at 16%
is still the lowest in the region? There is a
24 May 18 - 24, 2018
Stanbic Bank MD Patrick Mweheire
productivity issue that we must address -
which is the high cost of doing business in
the country. Banks in Kenya and elsewhere
globally generate much higher ROE’s
within much lower interest rate environ-
ments. We need to work more closely with
all stakeholders to bring the cost of doing
business down by collaborating across the
industry and being ruthless in digitizing the
sector.
Ugandan businesses face the challenge
of sustainability over the long haul, how
can the bank help them overcome this and
other business challenges?
As custodians of customer deposits, our
primary responsibility in the bank is to
manage risk and this is a non-negotiable.
That being said, we worry about the attri-
tion rate of Ugandan SME’s and the fact
that less than 30% of them make it past
their third birthday. We have closely
examined the matter and concluded that
whereas access to financing is one of the
key issues faced by Ugandan businesses,
it’s not the main cause of failure. We have
taken the initiative to fund and create an
SME incubator that takes SME’s through
building capacity in these areas at no cost to
them. We think it makes business sense to
lengthen the life of these SME’s so they can
be customers of the bank even longer. We
are not doing this alone and have partnered
with subject matter experts to lead the
training of these modules and will have the
first class of SME graduates in June 2018.
I believe this is a very powerful interven-
tion that can be scaled across the country
and have a meaningful impact on business
sustainability and ultimately job creation.
Approximately 160,000 SME’s in Uganda
employ 2.5 mm people and if we can enable
each of them create an additional 4 jobs, it
would go a long way in solving our unem-
ployment problem.
The youth form the bulk of the Ugandan
population, in what ways are Stanbic’s
activities helping to build a brighter future
for them and Uganda?
Education and Youth empowerment is
the core pillar of our Corporate and Social
Responsibility (“CSR”) initiatives. We
allocate approximately 70% of our annual
CSR budget towards training of youth at all
levels (ECD, Primary Secondary and Ter-
tiary). We have invested in excess of UGX 8
Billion shillings in youth educational initia-
tives over the last several years and have
recently launched our flagship National
Schools Championships which aims to pro-
mote financial literacy and impart soft skills
among the leaders of tomorrow.
Oil and Gas has the potential to trans-
form Uganda, is the bank playing any role
in the development of the sector?
We agree and as a result have been heav-
ily involved in the promotion of increased
local content in the sector. Whereas the
figures (up to $15 billion) going to be spent
on developing the sector are indeed stag-
gering, it’s irrelevant if Ugandan compa-
nies do not participate. We have hosted
several high level local content awareness
workshops and facilitated forums aimed
at up skilling local players while fostering
strategic partnerships. We are also working
closely with the oil companies and their
tier one suppliers to deliver some innova-
tive financial products that can support
Ugandan companies to win contracts. We
are also playing a key role as lead arranger
and advisor in arranging up to $2.5 billion
of project financing for the East African
crude pipeline, one of the largest construc-
tion projects in the region bound to have a
profound impact on the economic future of
East and Central Africa.
How is Stanbic helping to create a better
tomorrow for Ugandans?
We believe the future prosperity of this
country lies in the creation of opportunities
for the social and economic empowerment
of its people. As a bank we remain true to
that promise by supporting the key sectors
today that will provide the catalysts for
Uganda’s sustained growth tomorrow.
New tactics boost BATU fortunes
Owners to share all the Shs12bn net profit earned last year
A
BY Isaac Khisa
rise in price of cigarettes
and change in distribution
channel have helped British
American Tobacco Uganda
Limited (BATU) record
growth in net profit amidst
tough tobacco regulation.
Mathu Kiunjuri, the managing director
BATU, told shareholders during the Annual
General Meeting held at the Sheraton
Kampala Hotel on May 9 that the company
recorded a 55% growth in net profit to Shs-
12billion last year, up from Shs7.8billionn in
2016 and Shs20billion in 2015.
“There was generally growth in revenues
driven by increase in price of cigarette in the
second half of last year in response to the
new taxes,” he said, adding that the com-
pany’s cigarette sales – Dunhill, Sportsman,
Rex and Safari – grew marginally by 0.5%
compared with the previous year.
Last year, BAT took over supply and mar-
keting of its cigarettes in Uganda and the
rest of East African countries, ending a long
partnership with distributors.
As a consequence, the Uganda Securi-
ties Exchange (USE) listed company, in line
with its policy of 100% dividend pay-out,
will pay Shs246 per share as dividend to
its shareholders, up from Shs 159 in 2016.
However, this is still lower than the Shs413
per share paid in 2015.
This comes four months since the East
African Court of Justice (EACJ) barred
Uganda Revenue Authority from impos-
ing a tax on the company’s products from
Kenya due to discriminatory rates, pending
the case hearing and determination.
BATU filed the case at EACJ in August
last year, claiming that the new excise duties
imposed on cigarettes imported from Kenya
into Uganda were discriminatory and in
contravention of regional customs regula-
tions. A section of shareholders, however,
urged BATU to reconsider a return to its
old business model that revolves along the
entire tobacco value chain.
One of such shareholders is Henry Bal-
wayi, who said, “BATU used to make 20%
of its profits from leaf business and it is time
for the company considered being involved
in that segment again.”
He said the BATU involvement in the
leaf business could also improve the social-
economic status of tobacco farmers.
The crop, a relatively big earner for the
government, is widely grown in Arua,
Kanungu, Koboko, Kiryandongo, and
Masindi Districts. In 2017, the government
earned Shs81bn in taxes from tobacco,
making it one of the country’s top revenue
sources.
But Fred Tumwesigye, one of the Board
of Directors at BATU, said various analysis
was carried out prior to the decision to stop
doing business in leaf and that the company
was not making any money.
He said it is time for BATU to concentrate
on its core business of selling cigarettes and
grow revenue for its shareholders.
BATU exited from the leaf-buying busi-
ness in Uganda in 2015, assigning the role
to independent tobacco merchant Alliance
One International.
The company cited falling margins from
tobacco leaf exports and rising political risk
reflected in a hostile tax regime as well as
punitive legislation.
This paved way for the decommission-
ing of BATU’s leaf processing facility in
Kampala, an action that company execu-
tives argued was long overdue, citing idle
and obsolete equipment that failed to justify
replacement costs and excess produc-
tion capacity at the Nairobi plant, estimated
at 35 million tonnes of leaf.
Since 2005, BATU had progressively
scaled back its Ugandan operations with the
aim of exploiting economies of scale offered
by its Kenyan subsidiary.
In that year, the company closed its
cigarette production plant in Jinja and
transferred manufacturing operations to its
Kenyan business unit.
Looking forward, Kiunjuri said the com-
pany expects to record a further growth in
profitability in 2018 citing improved weath-
er conditions for the tobacco crop.
“We are also trying to work on our prod-
ucts such that they meet the needs of all our
customers…the consumers of 1970’s are dif-
ferent from the current consumers,” he said.
He said the company is also looking at
ensuring that its cigarette portfolio is robust
and can compete with any other product on
the Ugandan market.
He added that the company plans
to work with URA and the Uganda
National Bureau of Standards to ensure
that illicit cigarettes, which account for
about 23% of the cigarette sales in the
country, are eliminated.
May 18 - 24, 2018 25
business
By Ian Katusiime
A
fter two months of
public outcry and back
and forth negotiations,
telecom firms have fi-
nally resumed selling sim cards
as Uganda’s communications
regulator struggles to help
security agencies curb mobile
phone-assisted crimes.
This follows the decision by
the Uganda Communications
Commission (UCC) to lift the
ban last week but with rela-
tively stringent conditions.
Faith Bugonzi, the Public
Relations Officer of Airtel
Uganda says customers can
now buy sim cards upon pre-
sentation of national identity or
local Identity cards, passport for
a foreigner and a refugee card
for a refugee.
She said it is mandatory
for any person intending to
buy a simcard to present him
or herself in person, and that
person’s detail will be sent to
the National Identification Reg-
istration Authority (NIRA) for
verification given its status as a
national information databank.
MTN Uganda has put in
place similar measures for
anyone willing to buy, swap or
replace sim card.
New MTN sim cards cost
Shs2000, sim card swaps are
only Shs1500 and customers
are required to present a valid
police letter that is at least 21
days old.
4G sim card upgrades or
replacements are Shs1500 and
customers are also required to
present their current simcard.
UCC and telecom companies
have been under intense pres-
sure from the general public
to institute measures to curb
cyber-assisted fraud after a
series of kidnaps and murders
have been committed using
unregistered sim card.
The most notable was the
kidnap of Susan Magara, an
employee of Bwendero Dairy
Farm who was kidnapped and
murdered after three weeks in
captivity.
The killers called her family
several times using different
sim card in different locations
and Police and other security
agencies were unable to track
the killers.
The public was left dissatis-
26 May 18 - 24, 2018
Telcos resume
simcard sale
But can tough requirements
to own a sim card curb crime?
fied with the response from the
police and blamed the laxity
of both UCC and the telecom
companies.
Pamela Ankunda, the head
of public and international
relations at UCC says the new
measures mean that whoever is
buying a sim card from any of
the seven telecom firms, their
biometric data will be captured.
“Previously, when the police
would try to track some of these
sim card, they would find that
the cards are pre-registered in
somebody else’s names which
would present a challenge for
the authorities.”
This development comes
two months since MTN
recorded a 10.7% growth in
revenue to Shs1.68 trillion (5,
465milllion rand) last year, up
from Shs1.5trilion in 2016 and
Shs1.53 trillion in 2015 amidst
decline in subscriber base. The
growth in profit was attributed
to strong demand for data and
digital services.
The South African-based
telecom firm ended the year
with 10.7milliom subscribers
down from 11.2million in the
previous year citing regulatory
related disconnections.
On the other hand,
Airtel Uganda, which is yet
to announce its financial
performance for last year,
said in January that it had hit
10million customers.
However, Airtel Uganda,
ended the 2016 financial year
with 85.6% growth in net profit
to Shs160.45billion on the back
of improved uptake of mobile
money, value added services
and data.
New rules not enough
However there is still a high
level of skepticism even as
these measures are put in place,
according to tech experts.
Sam Tusiime, a tech
enthusiast says the fact that
both UCC and the telecoms
have failed to switch off
unregistered sim card is a
matter of grave concern and
leaves a major loophole in
cyber-assisted security.
“Kidnaps can be still carried
out even with this...I doubt any
person who is committing these
crimes just started yesterday,”
he told The Independent.
“We have seen two
incidences of kidnap that
resulted in murder in the last
two months where kidnappers
used their victims’ phones
to call parents/relatives for
ransom.”
He says these new rules
are good but just enough to
eliminate the new wave of
crime we are seeing. Tusiime
explains that advanced
technology alone is not enough
and says the prevailing socio-
economic conditions are a
factor too.
“Unless those are fixed, there
is no amount of tech-related
regulations that can stop the
prevailing crime. The SIM Card
issue is like the CCTV issue that
is being touted as the solution
to crimes,” he argued further,
“People are being kidnapped
in places where CCTVs are not
applicable. The crime issue
can’t be solved by tech. Anyone
who thinks so is not being
honest with the prevailing
conditions in the country.”
The 2013 GSMA White
Paper on mandatory sim card
registration, part of which was
published in the South-African
based Daily Maverick, states that
there is currently no empirical
evidence of crime reduction
directly resulting from sim card
registration.
The US, the UK, Canada,
New Zealand, Romania and the
Czech Republic have selected
not to implement sim card
registration.
In Mexico, mandatory
registration was implemented
in 2009, but was found to be
ineffective in crime reduction
and scrapped three years later.
In the UK, following the
2005 London terrorist attack,
a task team of experts from
law enforcement, intelligence
structures, security agencies
and service providers
found that “the compulsory
registration of ownership of
mobile telephones would not
deliver any significant new
benefits to the investigatory
process…”
The European Commission
considered evidence from
member states enforcing
registration, and announced
in 2012 that “there is no
evidence, in terms of benefits
for criminal investigation or
the smooth functioning of the
internal market, of any need
for a common EU approach
in this area”.

Tea farmers feel the
pinch as prices fall
Government needs to speed up formulation
of a tea policy to regulate the industry
By Julius Businge
P
atrick Siisa, a tea farmer has re-
corded a decline in income at his
farm by 37.5% to Shs5.5million per
month in the past four months.
Siisa grows tea on 25 acres of land located
in Kyarusozi Sub-country, Kyenjojo District.
He harvests approximately 11,000 kilo-
grams (11tones) of green leaf per month that
he later sells to Mabale Growers Tea Fac-
tory for value addition and then the latter
exports to Mombasa, Kenya for auction.
“Given the declining income from the
farm, I had to re- adjust spending habits by
prioritising on key areas that are essential
for my family including education, medical
care and food,” he said.
This is the same situation that over 50,000
tea farmers are grappling with and it is a
reflection of the price levels at the Mombasa
auction – where over 90% of Uganda’s tea is
sold for export.
The price at the auction has dropped
from Kshs270 (Ushs9,849) per kilo in Janu-
ary this year to Kshs247 (Ushs9,010) in the
past four months.
Players attribute the decline in price to a
bumper harvest supported by ample rains
in the period under review.
The other key factor, according to Rog-
ers Siima, the general manager for Mabale
Growers Tea Factory Limited, is congestion
at the Mombasa port where the auctioned
tea is shipped to foreign markets.
Siima told The Independent in an inter-
view on May 14, that tones of processed tea
remain stuck at the port awaiting clearance
and shipping to markets such as the United
Kingdom, Sudan, Egypt, Pakistan, Armenia,
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova,
Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine,
and Uzbekistan.
Mombasa Port, which receives over 300
containers per day of different goods, has
recently been reported to have experienced
a breakdown of online clearance systems
hence leading to the current snag.
The Mombasa auction has a limit of eight
million kilograms a week but the volumes
went up to 9.5 million kilogrammes in the
sale held for the week that ended on May
11, according to Kenyan media reports.
Reports say the current price is the lowest
recorded in the past three years.
Tea production and export projection for 2014-2019
Parameters Baseline
(2014)
Total planted area (Ha) 23, 000
Total harvestable Area (Ha) 20,000
Production estimates (MT) 66,000
Processed tea for export in MT 61,395
Estimated Export value in US$ 84.70
Source: Agric Sector Strategic Plan
Players are worried that the declining tea
prices might make some farmers to aban-
don growing the crop like it was in 2014.
As such, Siima said there is need for gov-
ernment to urgently come up with a new
policy and legal framework to guide the
sector in the areas of quality and quantity so
as to benefit from lucrative foreign markets.
Once this is carefully done and imple-
mented, Siima said the country could record
an increase in tea export from the current 70
million kgs (70,000MT) to over 100 million
kgs (100,000MT) by 2025.
But economists say this target would
require a change of attitude by those in gov-
ernment.
Ezra Munyambonera, a research fellow
at the Makerere based Economic Policy
Research Centre, in an interview with The
Independent on May 14, said price fluctua-
tion at the Mombasa auction could be dealt
with by government and all stakeholders
getting together to document a policy strat-
egy that brings out a unique and attractive
brand of Ugandan tea to those outside the
East African region.
“Tea problems have been known to gov-
ernment for over 10 years…but what have
they done about them?”Munyambonera,
who has conducted extensive research
on matters tea in Uganda and the region,
posed a question.
He said as population increases, demand
business
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
26,000 29,000 32,000 35,000 38,000
23,000 26,000 29,000 32,000 35,000
73,600 83,200 92,800 102,400 112,000
68,465 77,395 86,326 95,256 104,186
92.30 99.80 115.6 134 155.3
for tea would do the same globally and that
it is high time a new policy move is brought
into force to help in penetrating directly the
potential markets beyond East Africa.
Gov’t ambitious target
According to the draft Agriculture
Sector Strategic Plan for the period
2015/2016-2019/20, tea exports gener-
ated US$84.7million for the country in
the year 2014 and have since increased to
US$115.6million in 2017.
The country expects to earn
US$155million next year, according to the
Plan.
The sector targets to produce 112,000
metric tons by 2020, with exports valued at
approx. US$155 million.
To achieve this, according to the strategic
plan, government will have to speed up the
formulation of a tea policy favourable to
investors and other actors in the industry;
mobilise smallholder tea growers into inde-
pendent legal farmer groups or associations
with a critical mass of shareholders own-
ing processing facilities through govern-
ment loan guarantees; increase funding for
tea research; provide extension services;
increase production and distribution of
34,965 million quality tea plantlets per
annum on top of building new tea factories
with capacity to produce 800,000-1,000,000
tons of tea per annum.
Similarly, a 2014 report compiled by
EPRC by research fellows – Munyambone-
ra, Lakuma and Guloba – titled ‘Uganda’s
Tea Sub-sector; a comparative review of
trends, challenges and coordination failure’
says transforming the tea sector needs a
comprehensive (a stand – alone) tea policy
which clearly defines and coordinates the
roles of the different agencies. It would also
regulate tea growing, research, processing,
and trade and promote Uganda’s tea in
local and global markets.
May 18 - 24, 2018 27
business

NIC’s remarkable profit growth

Oil and gas, agriculture and bancassurance
to define 2018 performance
By Julius Businge

U
ganda’s insurer, National Insur-
ance Corporation Holdings popu-
larly known as NIC, has recorded
a remarkable growth in net profits
for 2017 owing to an increase in commission
and fees, incomes as well as a gain of its
investment properties.
Available financial results show that
the listed insurer saw its net profit more
than double from Shs937million in 2016 to
Shs1.9billion in 2017. This represents a 122%
growth.
The company’s total income increased
from Shs12.9billion to Shs17.6billion –
boosted by increase in gross premiums
written, investment and interest income,
fees and commission income. The com-
pany’s assets also increased by 10% to Shs-
108billion last year.
However, the company’s liabilities
increased from Shs62billion to Shs70bil-
lion while net claims increased by 40% to Elias Edu
Shs1.4billion during the same period under
review. Total expense grew by Shs3.8billion Shs2.4billion and this had positive impact attract new investors via the stock market,
to Shs14.8billion. on our business as it improved business hence leading to a gain in its share price.
Elias Edu, the acting managing direc- retention,” he said. With a market capitalisation of
tor at NIC told The Independent in an email On improving the company’s cash Shs23.6billion, the company’s counter has
response on May 14 that the group’s 2017 position, without giving details, Edu said been one of the busiest at the Uganda Secu-
performance is attributed to the growth in a comprehensive investment portfolio rities Exchange since the start of 2018 with
gross premium income, investment and restructuring program at group level is its share price increasing from Shs13 per
interest incomes, fees and commissions and being implemented. share to Shs 19 as at May 14.
valuation of properties. He added that an increase in the group’s “If the trend of performance continues,
The company saw its gross premium total assets will provide assurance and con- shareholders will have value for their
written increase from Shs13.8billion in fidence to existing and prospective clients investment,” Kibuuka said.
2016 to Shs16.9billion in 2017 while invest- of the group that NIC has capacity to fully Industry developments
ment and interest income increased from protect them against all insured risks. On the general industry issues, Edu said
Shs1.7billion to Shs1.9billion during the Going forward, Edu said the sharehold- developments that were spearheaded by the
same period under review. ers’ funds increased by 9% to Shs38.7billion regulator in 2017 including the enactment of
Similarly, fees and commission income in 2017, up from Shs35.4billion in 2016. the new Insurance Act, bancassurance, agri-
grew from Shs1.3billion to Shs1.5billion “Our main business focus for 2018 is culture insurance initiatives of government,
while evaluation of properties rose from a to increase our market share and deliver compulsory local marine cover enforcement
loss of Shs351million to Shs4.6billion. better returns to our shareholders,” Edu and increased activities in the oil and gas
“…there was significant growth in rein- said, adding that the company plans to pay sector will define the performance of the
surance ceded thus leading to increased Shs1.4billion as interim dividend before end sector in 2018.
commission income,” he said adding, “there of next month. In March last year, the Uganda Insurers
was an improvement in the general real He said the company plans to continue Association unveiled the sector’s 10 year
estate market and this enhanced the values coming up with customized products that market growth and development with the
of the group’s properties.” meet customer’s demands. Currently NIC intent to see insurance penetration grow
The company also recorded good perfor- controls merely 2.85% of Uganda’s insur- from the current less than 1% to 3% by 2025.
mance under its general insurance business. ance market, and is ranked 13th out of the 29 The plan intends to bring about increased
Edu said the company has put in place insurance firms. penetration through streamlining a series
strategies including further improvement in Market analysts, including Joseph of actions and activities under four key
their claims and underwriting processes to Kibuuka, the deputy managing director at intervention areas; increased understanding
meet the expectations of numerous policy a brokerage firm, Crested Capital, say the and appreciation of insurance, lobbying and
holders. company’s growth in assets and profits in advocacy, leveraging on technology and
“Total claims settled in 2017 amounted to the year 2017 is positive news and ‘may’ capacity building.

28 May 18 - 24, 2018

 Executive Style
Fresh Cuts set for
oil and gas industry
What is your leadership style
I
as a Managing Director?
am a hands-on Manager. I
like working closely with
my team in operation,
sales, administration and
production. I am a problem
solver and therefore always
working with my team in
quick problem solving. I am
a perfectionist in that I like
things to be done properly
and rightly. I am open to con-
structive feedback from my
subordinates to improve
myself.
What is your assessment of
Uganda’s meat processing
industry?
Uganda’s meat process-
ing is improving every year
though not as fast as we
would have expected. Indeed,
the growth of meat process-
ing in this country could be
faster if there was a well-
structured meat industry.
Better coordination between
the different stakeholders
within the industry could
help to quicken any decision
and improve growth rate. Fresh
Cut seems to be way ahead
compared with the rest of the
meat processors in Uganda.
What is Fresh Cuts product
portfolio?
We produce beef, chicken,
goats, pork and fish and their
related products. We are the
only meat processing fac-
tor in Uganda which is ISO
22000 certified and certified by
Bureau Veritas from Nairobi.
We have four premium butch-
eries - one in Imperial Mall in
Entebbe, one in Forest Mall in
Lugogo, one in Kisementi by
Crane Plaza Complex and one
in Italian Supermarket in Muy-
enga. We also plan to open
more butcheries in future.
Who are your target clients?
We target clients from
various segments ranging
from upper/middle class and
Eric Tin is the managing director of a meat
processing firm, Fresh Cuts, a subsidiary of
the Mauritian-based Ireland Blyth Ltd. He
spoke to Isaac Khisa about the country’s meat
processing industry and the future outlook.
expatriates and also to the
lower ends to some extent.
We distribute our products to
the hotels, restaurants, super-
markets and caterers. We also
export our products to the sur-
rounding countries within the
EAC.
How has been your revenue
growth over the past two or
three years?
There have been ups and
downs in our revenue growth
over the years. For instance,
in the past two years starting
2015, revenue dropped as the
company’s main focus was
on transition of management
upon acquiring Fresh Cuts
from the previous owner. We
also lost big contracts in South
Sudan and in DRC. Also busi-
ness has been slowed since the
Presidential election in 2016
and was still slowed to pick up
in 2017. But this year, business
has started to pick up and we
are growing constantly from
last year.
What has made the company
to pick-up since last year?
We have managed to re-
establish contact and stabilize
our supply. We have also
moved closer to customers –
restaurants and hotels. As a
result, we have regained the
confidence of our clients with
consistency in our supply.
What are some of the chal-
lenges, if any, that the indus-
try face?
The industry is still a cash
business oriented. Our farm-
ers prefer to be paid cash yet
we supply processed prod-
ucts to our customers who
pay us after some days. This
is a blocking factor for faster
growth. The other challenge
is that most farmers are sub-
sistence and thus are unable
to provide the quantity of
May 18 - 24, 2018
animals. We have to identify
a large number of individuals
in order to meet our require-
ments. We also face unfair
competition from other local
companies who do not neces-
sarily follow good practices
when it comes to hygiene and
respect of cold chain. Our
products are higher in price
compared to the local com-
petitors because our costs of
production are higher because
we do not cut corners when it
comes to hygiene and quality.
What is your market share?
Uganda’s meat processing
industry is divided into two
– the formal and the informal
segments. Based on statistics,
I think formal segment has
only 5% and the rest being
informal. Out of this 5%, Fresh
Cuts has an estimated market
share of 50% in the formal seg-
ment. This means that there’s
potential for more growth in
the formal sector if the infor-
mal sector is managed and
regulated correctly.
What is the future outlook
of Uganda’s meat processing
industry?
The demand for processed
meat is on the upward trend
because more and more people
are starting to take the issue
of quality and hygiene more
seriously. Also the middle class
is being better off and they will
surely contribute to our growth
since they will be able to afford
higher quality products.
Where do you see Fresh Cut in
the next few years?
I see ourselves growing
much faster with the planned
developments in the oil and
gas industry. I believe we are
the only local meat processor
that can service the industry, in
terms of quality and hygiene
standard and volume. We plans
to ensure that we satisfy our
customers with quality and
quantity in supplies.
29
business
CSR
Stanbic donates Shs 20 million to USAID
Stanbic bank CEO Patrick Mweheire(L) with one of the beneficiaries (M)
A
s part of its commit-
ment to transforming
lives in communities,
Stanbic Bank, has sup-
ported a key literacy initiative in
partnership with United States
Agency for International De-
velopment with the handover
insurance
UIA urges on marine deals
U
ganda Insurers As-
sociation (UIA) have
embarked on a sen-
sitising importers of
goods to buy marine covers
locally, arguing that it makes
claims processing easy in case
of loss or damage of cargo.
The new initiative that
comes at the time the country’s
insurance penetration stands at
BANKING
Stanbic’s Mweheire now UBA chairperson
S
tanbic Bank’s Chief
Executive, Patrick Mwe-
heire, is now the new
chairperson of the Ugan-
da Bankers Association taking
over from Centenary Bank’s
Managing Director, Fabian Kasi.
This follows an election that
was held on May 09 in Kam-
pala. Kasi has been the chair-
person of the Association in the
last three years.
Mweheire, an accomplished
banker with extensive com-
mercial and investment banking
experience, takes over the man-
tle of chairmanship at the time
the country’s banking industry
30 May 18 - 24, 2018
of reading cards worth Shs 20
million. The support is aimed at
providing primary school pu-
pils with reading materials.
Speaking during the hando-
ver ceremony on May 09,
Stanbic Chief Executive, Patrick
Mweheire said: “Stanbic is
less than 1% is targeting mainly
importers including Uganda
Shippers Council, Uganda
Clearing and forwarders
Association, Uganda Chamber
of Commerce, Uganda Small
Scale Industries Association
and car dealers.
The Head of Public Relations
and Advocacy at UIA, Faith
Ekudu, said in a notice that
is struggling private sector
credit growth amidst declining
interest rates.
Other members elected on
the UBA Executive includes;
Rakesh Jha the CEO of Barclays
Bank Uganda as vice chair,
Mathias Katamba the CEO of
Housing Finance Bank as trea-
surer and Sarah Arapata the
CEO of Citi Bank as Auditor.
Established in 1981, UBA
membership consists of com-
mercial banks and financial
institutions to develop, pro-
mote, protect and represent
the professional interest of its
members.
committed to transforming
lives by promoting sustainable
growth, this is the reason why
the main focus of our CSI initia-
tives are in Education.”
“Access to quality education
is a critical ingredient in helping
raise the youth out of poverty
by giving them the skills to
chart their own path towards
prosperity,” he said.
The initiative is part of
the bank’s partnership with
the USAID/Uganda Literacy
Achievement and Retention
Activity project being imple-
mented by the education
ministry through the learning
campaign: Tusomere Wamu.
USAID Chief of Party Geri
Burkholder said a combination
of both in-school and home
efforts in support of reading
are necessary for early grade
literacy.
with local marine purchase, a
trader will be able to reduce the
importation costs and the anxi-
ety related to loss and damage.
Ekudu says it is essential for
businesses engaging in inter-
national trade; especially those
shipping large quantities of
goods by sea to take up marine
insurance policies so as to deal
with likely losses of the trade.
construction
Sadolin opens new colour centres
I
n a bid to get closer to its
customers, Sadolin Paint has
partnered with local entre-
preneurs to open two new
colour centres – one in Ntinda
and the other in industrial area
in Kampala. The colour centres
will serve as one stop shopping
centres for customers wanting
telecom
MTN Uganda unveils
packaged products
for SME’s
T
elecommunications firm,
MTN Uganda, has un-
veiled special products
specifically for Small
and Medium enterprises aimed
at making entrepreneurs and
SMEs work smarter to sustain-
ably grow faster.
Tadeo Bwire, the MTN Senior
Manager SME Sales said the
company has unveiled “compre-
hensive solutions that have three
key offers: Business Booster
Packs targeted at startups and
SMEs, Unlimited and Dedicated
Business Internet powered by
MTN Fiber targeting at busi-
nesses and organizations with
larger internet needs and finally
Mobile Money Solutions for
businesses.”
He the solutions under a
new campaign dubbed Tukole
is in line with the MTN vision
of delivering a bold, new digital
world to their customers.
Sophia Mukasa, the Senior
Manager - Enterprise Products
and Marketing at MTN said
access to affordable communica-
tion channels remains crucial to
success of many businesses.
“It is clear that all these entre-
preneurs and SMEs in Uganda
are looking for enablers of prog-
ress because it is always a tough
journey starting and running a
business,” she said.
to buy any type of colour for
construction and related work.
Deon Nieuwoudt, (pictured)
the Akzonobel [the brand
owner of Sadolin] Planning
and Execution Manager, said
on May 10 that the new centres
would support in growing their
brand and footprint through
local entrepreneurs. An aver-
age colour centre cost up to Shs
100 million to set up, according
to Nieuwoudt. He said, in the
coming months; they plan to
have a total of 10 centres spread
across parts of the country
which would create some jobs
to Ugandans.
 business

Jumia records drop in

profit to US$32.2million
By Isaac Khisa to specific local needs and

A
nearly 70% rise in
orders helped lift the
revenues of Jumia,
Africa’s e-commerce
platform for 2017. Financial
results released in Kampala
on May 10 shows that revenue
rose from US$447.5million in
2016 to US$605bn in 2017 cit-
ing increased orders of various
products and services on its
platforms – Jumia food, Jumia
Zephania Dube, Prudential Uganda Chief Operations Officer, CEO Arjun Mallik, Travels, Jumia real estate and
and Nashiba Nalubega, the Marketing and Communications Officer display the Jumia online shop.
bonus snapper frame at Pearl of Africa Hotel. Prudential declared a bonus of The number of orders made
Shs1.5billion to its customers on their insurance policies. through its platforms increased
from 4.9million to 8.3million
during the same period under
review.
However, the company
recorded a 10.6% drop in
gross profit to US$ 32.2million
in 2017 compared with the
previous year citing increased
investments in the platforms.
Sefik Bagdadioglu, the
Regional Manager for Jumia
in East Africa said the decline
in profitability is attributed to
huge investments last year.
“We launched Jumia Pay in
Nigeria to facilitate transac-
tions between merchants and
consumers and tailor solutions
George Arodi, Business Head Uganda Baati (L), handing over a dummy gift
voucher to David Ssenyonjo, the winner of the Series trivia quiz at the recently
held 2nd Edition of the Innovation series under the theme, “Making Real Estate
Ownership a Reality: “Practical Innovations for Uganda”.
requirements…This is still
under pilot and will be rollout
in other markets,” he said.
“We also unveiled a con-
sumer-facing payment mobile
application dubbed Jumia One
to enable customers to easily
access digital services such as
airtime, data, TV and other
utilities.”
He said Jumia One is slowly
integrating online and financial
solutions to help consumers
access large set
Jumia operates in 12 coun-
tries across the Africa, and
charges about 10% of the value
of the product or service that
is bought via its platforms as
commission.
Jeremy Hodara, Jumia
Group’s co-Chief Executive
Officer, said the revenue
growth in 2017 demonstrate
the robust momentum in their
core businesses and markets as
the population embrace online
services.
Jumia has over five million
products and services on its
platforms, up from 50,000 in
2012. In Uganda, the company
has 15,000 products, with plans
to add on new brands popular
in Asia, Europe and China.

Weekly share price movement (May 14))

Security May14 May 07 Movement
BATU 30000 30000 00
BOBU 150 150 00
CENT 1,396 1,508 -7.4
DFCU 890 890 00
EABL 9,281 9,405 -1.3
EBL 1,885 1,870 0.8
JHL 19,747 19,662 -0.3
KA 412 422 -2.3
KCB 1,849 1,768 4.5
NIC 19 17 -11.8
NMG 4,033 4,010 0.6
Uganda Revenue Authority Commissioner General, Doris Akol (L) and NVL 510 510 00
the Barclays Bank Managing Director, Rakesh Jha on May 10. URA SBU 30 31 3.3
added Barclays Bank to its electronic-payment system to enable its UCHM 74 87 3.4
customers pay taxes, non-tax revenue and other statutory fees using UCL 28 29 3.4
their Visa, MasterCard or American Express cards. So far, five banks
UMEME 400 410 2.4
and other financial service providers have signed up to thesystem.
ALSI -- -- --

May 18 - 24, 2018 31

comment
By Joseph Were
Misunderstanding why nations fail
Political instability, bad economy, and why Museveni
billionaires could vanish when he is no longer in power
W
henever the question of
whether the Ugandan economy
is growing as well as before is
asked, ordinary people’s views
are starkly different from those of ruling
party politicians and Finance ministry tech-
nocrats. Ordinary people lament increasing
poverty while technocrats spew robust GDP
projections.
The recent intrusion into public debate of
private discussions around the ideas of pro-
fessors Daron Acemoglu and James Rob-
inson in their book `Why Nations Fail: The
Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty’
has exposed the cause of the disparate posi-
tions. Museveni and his people know the
problem, its causes, and its cure. But they
fear the reality. However, it is time their self-
induced intellectual amnesia is called.
The debate seeped into the public domain
mainly through the writing of Andrew
Mwenda and Prof. Samuel Ssejaaka, board
chairman of the Uganda Development
Bank, especially in “Understanding why
nations fail” (The Independent) and “How
can economic growth be achieved?” Part I
&II (Daily Monitor).
Ssejaaka claims that to achieve economic
growth, “there needs to be a tradeoff
between freedoms and productivity” and
later that democracy needs to endure
strongmen. Mwenda ropes in culture,
history, and location but focuses on the
significance of human capital in creation of
national wealth. He stretches even farther
by implying that a country is not developed
if it does not have a highly developed tech-
nology sector.
But Acemoglu and Robinson (hereafter
AR) are clear. Writing about the 2011
political uprising in Egypt, they explain that
all economic impediments nations face stem
from the way political power exercised. If
it is monopolised by a narrow elite, that is
“the first thing that has to change”. The
book shows that “this interpretation of
Egyptian poverty turns out to provide a
general explanation for why poor countries
are poor”.
Uganda attained its highest ever GDP
growth rate of 11% in 2008. Why? It was
buoyed by the return to multiparty politics
in 2005. GDP growth plummeted when
term limits were removed and it became
obvious that no orderly transfer of power
32 May 18 - 24, 2018
was likely. GDP growth in 2017 was 4.5%
despite this being the digitisation era.
Despite all evidence, Mwenda, Ssejaaka,
and others dodge AR’s central argument;
that “Repression + Absence of Social justice
+ Denial of channels for peaceful change =
A ticking bomb”. That formula in the book
is attributed to Mohamed ElBaradei, former
director of the International Atomic Energy
Agency. It is the recipe for why nations fail.
President Museveni, when he was fighting
in the bushes of Luweero, showed he
knows this formula. That is why he put
democracy first on his 10-point programme.
It remain on top even in the 2016 election
NRM Manifesto. But there is a difference.
To explain his decision to put democracy
first, the bush-Museveni wrote that: “For
democracy to be meaningful and not a
mockery, it must contain three elements:
Parliamentary democracy, popular democ-
racy, and a decent level of living for every
Ugandan”.
Museveni added: “It must be pointed out
that the immediate problem of Uganda is
not economic, but political. When the polit-
ical questions were mishandled, and unless
the political question is amicably resolved,
there will be no economic recovery in
Uganda”.
Even Milton Obote, as early as 1962 when
he had just become prime minister soon
after independence understood this very
well. When John South, a journalist from the
Uganda Argus newspaper (called The New
Vision today) asked him about what he
thought was the key to the economic future
of Uganda, Obote replied: “The key to the
economic future is that we should maintain
a stable country. That is fundamental. After
that we need to work out schemes that we
can sell to private enterprise. I am deter-
mined that the country shall remain stable
and people can confidently invest their
money in Uganda.”
Obote’s view echo AR that for a nation to
succeed “people need to know that if they
work hard, they can make money, and actu-
ally keep it’.
But in Uganda today, people are not
working. Up to 80% are self-employed
(including subsistence production), similar
to 18th century Britain. The productivity
of those working has also been negative
and declining in agriculture, fishing, and
manufacturing since 2002. Only services
have seen positive growth of 4.1%, giving a
general labour productivity average of 2%,
according to Bank of Uganda experts using
UBOS data. Annual national aggregate
demand growth is equally low at 2.7% in
2017 and 1% in 2016.
Museveni and ruling party apparatchiks
often claim that Uganda is stable because
the NRM has held power for 32 years and
there is no war.
That is misleading because, according to
AR, a political system is inherently unstable
unless it is inclusive and does not allow
clinging to power by a few.
According to AR, unless a system allows
change, it negatively impacts the level of
political stability and affects the level and
sustainability of national economic pros-
perity.
They argue that, “sustained economic
growth requires innovation and innovation
cannot be decoupled from creative destruc-
tion, which replaces the old with the new
and also destabilises established power rela-
tions in politics”. National economic pros-
perity is, apparently, a long-term marriage
to broad economic inclusiveness not a short-
term elopement with enclave opulence.
According to AR, when a few people
control all the political and economic power
and enrich themselves at the expense of
the many, it makes their political position
a target for many others who also want “to
eat”. As more and more people fight for
positions in this exploitative situation, the
outcome is political instability.
AR also argue that political instability
occurs because autocrats want to be the only
people prospering and with money – so
that the rest come to worship them and beg
from them. They will expropriate property.
Ask Sudhir Ruparelia.
That in turn will kill innovation, which
will kill the economy, which will create first
economic instability, then political insta-
bility. The book quotes former Brazilian
president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva when he
was still a young trade unionist. Lula says
even struggles for wages, ultimately have
political objectives. So watch the teachers,
doctors, and state attorney’s strikes over
wages closely. Something is happening In
Uganda. Smell your cheese.

By Carl Manlan
Amazonian trade for Africa
To ensure all participants benefit, Africa’s Continental
Free Trade Area should look to Amazon
A
t a recent summit in Kigali,
Rwanda, 44 African heads of state
signed a new free-trade agreement
aimed at changing the way the
region does business. If every African Union
country were to join the Continental Free
Trade Area (AfCFTA), the resulting single
market would be one of the world’s largest
– covering 54 countries that account for
roughly $4 trillion in combined spending.
But full implementation remains uncer-
tain. Ten countries have refused to sign
the deal, including Nigeria, one of Afri-
ca’s largest economies and its most pop-
ulous country. If AfCFTA is to appeal to
protectionist holdouts, it must be struc-
tured in such a way that all participants
benefit. To accomplish that, the bloc’s
supporters should look to Amazon, the
e-commerce giant, for inspiration.
Since its founding in 1994, Amazon
has revolutionised how producers and
consumers interact. With its “platform
strategy” approach to retail trade,
the e-commerce giant has connected
companies and customers in mutually
beneficial ways. Shoppers can easily
access products and services, and busi-
nesses can reach more of them cheaply.
By breaking down barriers to access,
Amazon’s platform ecosystem has even
spawned new companies and services.
Africa needs its own platform strategy,
and the new single market can deliver it.
But five key changes will need to happen
first.
For starters, the continent’s businesses
must integrate tools like big data, algo-
rithms, and cloud computing into their
operations. These technologies helped
Amazon build a platform with global
reach and appeal. Africa’s companies
need a similar commitment to innovation
if they are to connect with one another
other and remain competitive in the
global economy.
Second, Africa requires greater access
to capital markets to help sustain manu-
facturing and technological innovation.
But investment is being hampered by a
dearth of economic data. To lure African
and foreign funds, Africa’s governments,
businesses, and industries must commit
to improving and making more acces-
sible statistical information across all sec-
tors, so that investors can assess market
conditions with the necessary degree of
confidence.
Third, African economies must commit
to extending the benefits of trade beyond
urban tech “bubbles.” If the new trading
regime is to be fully embraced, a Cape
Verdean must be able to purchase fresh
Ethiopian or Kenyan roses, and a Swazi-
lander should have the choice of eating
fufu or attiéké made of Ghanaian or Ivo-
rian cassava. But the only way to achieve
this level of integration is for regional
and continental supply chains to be sup-
ported by reliable transport and commu-
nications infrastructure.
Fourth, just as Amazon did when it
launched a quarter-century ago, Africa
should focus on what it does best. And
in much of the continent, that means
agriculture. Because many businesses in
Africa are tied to agriculture, the sector
should serve as the backbone of any
expanded trading regime. If Africa’s
smallholder farmers had easier access to
Africa requires
greater
access
to capital
markets to
help sustain
manufacturing
and
technological
innovation
comment
markets, economic growth would natu-
rally accelerate, and industrialisation
would eventually follow.
Lastly, as Africa’s parliaments work
out the details of the single-market
framework, negotiators must keep the
needs and interests of consumers and
producers firmly in mind. That means
focusing first on small and medium-size
enterprises (SMEs), which account for
80% of all African businesses. As other
countries have demonstrated, improving
market access for small firms helps long-
term economic stability. For example,
in the United States, SMEs account for
about two-thirds of all new private-
sector jobs, while in China, SMEs account
for roughly 60% of GDP.
As for consumers, Africa’s single
market will take off only if it takes
demographics into account. This means
engaging women and young people,
many of whom are unemployed. For the
AfCFTA to gain wide acceptance, goods
and services must reach these groups,
and young people must benefit from
increased employment opportunities.
One of the biggest challenges that
Africa’s economies have always faced is
overcoming exceptionally low volumes
of intra-continental trade in value-added
products. The AfCFTA could address
this imperative. By opening these econo-
mies to the free flow of people, products,
and services, the AfCFTA could help
drive Africa’s future growth. Getting to
that point will require an Amazon-like
“platform” approach to business, and
the recognition that after decades of sub-
regional protectionism, the continent’s
future will be brighter if it is one of
shared openness.
Carl Manlan, a 2016 New Voices Fellow
at the Aspen Institute, is Chief Operating
Officer at the Ecobank Foundation.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018.
May 18 - 24, 2018 33
Private lab tests in
Uganda are costly
But recent research by experts shows
price doesn’t equal quality
By Timothy Amukele
A
ssistant Professor Johns
Hopkins University, and
Director of the Hopkins
Bayview Medical Center
Clinical Laboratories, Johns Hopkins
University
Laboratory tests are the backbone of
clinical care. They are used to screen
patients, to diagnose diseases and
to manage conditions ranging from
34 May 18 - 24, 2018
anaemia and diabetes to HIV and
malaria.
Considerable effort has gone into
improving laboratory services in
many African countries. But, as many
previous studies have shown, the
quality of laboratory tests in much of
sub-Saharan Africa is poor.
This is because most of these
laboratories do not have the necessary
infrastructure nor enough competent
staff who are adequately trained or
the adequate management systems in
place.
In many African countries
laboratory testing is provided both
as a free service in the public health
sector and for a fee by private
companies. In some countries the
majority of lab tests are done in the
private sector; for instance, more than
90% of the laboratories in Uganda’s
capital city Kampala are privately
owned.

Research shows that these
services, for which patients pay
out of their own pockets, tend to
be costlier than those offered in
the public sector. But there’s been
no evaluation of whether the more
expensive tests provide better, more
accurate results.
We tried to answer this question in
our study which looked at the costs
and accuracy of tests at laboratories
in Kampala. We randomly selected
close to 80 laboratories and ordered
13 of the most commonly ordered
laboratory tests – among them
tests for malaria, pregnancy, HIV,
syphilis, glucose; complete blood
counts, and liver and kidney
function tests.
We found that people are paying
up to 36 times more for private
laboratory tests than they do
in the public sector. And, most
importantly, test prices do not
predict their quality. Higher costs do
not mean more accurate or clinically
useful results.
The findings suggest that Uganda
should put an external system in
place to ensure that the public gets
what they pay for.
Global standards
There are two broad sets of
measures where the quality of
laboratories can be checked against.
Firstly, countries are obliged to set
up guidelines for both public sector
and private laboratories.
But many countries around
the world failed to follow these
prescriptions, leading to the World
Health Organisation also creating
guidelines to help them set up their
laboratory systems.
Although this has improved the
quality of a few laboratories, the
challenge is that the vast majority of
laboratories are still not meeting the
lowest bar of the guidelines.
The second set of measures are
international accreditation standards
that monitor laboratory quality.
There are two. One is US-based
and the other are standards created
by the International Organisation
for Standardisation based in
Europe. Laboratories that meet
these standards are considered
accredited and recognised as
meeting international performance
standards. But laboratories are
not obliged to go through this
accreditation.
There are thousands of
laboratories across Africa. Ideally,
each of these should be accredited.
But a 2014 study shows that in
37 of 49 sub-Saharan African
countries there was not a single
accredited clinical laboratory.
Only 380 laboratories accredited to
international standards in the region
– and 91% of these were in South
Africa, Namibia and Botswana.
Uganda has both accredited and
non-accredited laboratories. We
included both in our study to try
and gauge whether the relevant
“stamp of approval” affected the
tests’ accuracy.
To establish how accurate and
expensive the tests were we sent
real, but unknown samples, to all
the laboratories in our study. And
we then also recorded how much
About 98% of
the samples
from accredited
laboratories were
correct while only
66%
of the samples
from the
unaccredited
laboratories were
correct
they charged us for performing
the tests. To establish accuracy, we
used results on the same samples
from specialised laboratories both in
Uganda and Australia to determine
the correct results.
We made three important
observations.
Our findings
Firstly, accuracy varied widely.
About 98% of the samples from
accredited laboratories were correct
while only 66% of the samples from
the unaccredited laboratories were
correct.
Secondly, accuracy depended
on the type of test that was being
done. For example, about 90% of test
results for HIV, malaria, and syphilis
were correct. But only 38% of the
tests for urine pregnancy screenings,
blood counts, and liver and kidney
function tests were accurate.
health
And test prices ranged widely
for an individual test performed in
different laboratories. Some labs
in the private sector were charging
36 times more than others. Yet we
found no relationship between price
and quality.
Our findings show that both
accreditation and the test being done
matters. Tests done by an accredited
laboratory is likely to produce
correct results 98% of the time. The
figure plummets in unaccredited
labs.
The quality is likely to be
acceptable at all the laboratories
for common tests such as HIV and
malaria. But for people who had
kidney or liver disease, the quality
of test is generally not good. These
problems stem from a lack of clear
and enforced laboratory quality
requirements. They have real impact
on what diagnoses and treatments
patients receive, and must be fixed.
The way forward
The way to address this problem
is to make the market more
transparent by making quality
measurable and obvious to the
public.
Based on our study, there are
two practical approaches that
could work. The first is ensuring
that laboratories in Africa have
international accreditation. The
second involves doing quality
checks such as those used in this
study.
Some countries –like South
Africa and Namibia – have bodies
that monitor the quality of the
laboratories but this is not a uniform
practice across the continent. The
responsibility to enforce such a
practice could emerge from bodies
like the World Health Organisation
or the African Society for Laboratory
Medicine which aims to strengthen
laboratories.
Achieving international
accreditation should be the goal for
every laboratory.
But accreditation is an expensive
and challenging task in the short
term, especially for small private
laboratories. In the meanwhile
countries that still have challenges
with the quality of their laboratories
could use the testing of unknown
samples as an achievable, affordable,
and effective way to monitor their
laboratories and reestablish the
public’s trust.
May 18 - 24, 2018 35
feature
Meghan weds Harry
A woman of color is starring
in a real-life fairytale
By Terryn Hall
W
hen news of Meghan Markle’s
engagement to Prince Harry
broke, my entire Twitter time-
line exploded. Memes express-
ing unbridled joy at the upcoming royal
wedding flew down my Facebook news-
feed. I shared their excitement. After all, my
mother is a hopeless romantic who raised
me on Disney princesses movies.
But most fairytales don’t feature women
who look like me, so it was heartening to
see black and brown women across the
globe eager to celebrate a black princess.
No matter that her formal title will likely be
Duchess. Markle is beautiful, accomplished,
confident and stylish, and she’s written
eloquently about the challenges she’s faced
growing up biracial. (Her mother is black
36 May 18 - 24, 2018
and her father is white.)
Ariana Austin, a black American, mar-
ried Ethiopia’s Prince Yoel earlier this year,
but Markle and Prince Harry’s engagement
feels different. The British Royal Family
occupies a particular place of fascination in
the eyes of the world — despite the monar-
chy’s waning power and flawed history.
Markle is also older than Prince Harry,
she’s an actor, she’s American and she’s
divorced. Had their engagement occurred
25 years ago, it would have been a scandal.
It’s also important to remember that Prince
Harry likely won’t ascend to the throne. As
a friend said: “I do wonder what the reac-
tion would have been if she was marrying
Prince William.” Yet Harry and Meghan’s
relationship seems to reflect an evolution of
British sensibilities, including those within
the royal family itself. And their nuptials are
a modern fairytale.
Americans might assume that Britain
is more progressive on issues of race and
class than they are. It therefore might be
tempting to view the royal engagement as
an extension of that. But the truth is that the
reach of the British Crown’s former imperial
rule over much of the world colours its poli-
tics in the same way that slavery still colors
America’s. The anti-immigrant sentiments
that swept the U.K. leading to up to Brexit
are just one example. Britain’s history of
pillaging black and brown continents for its
own benefit shouldn’t be easily forgotten —
and the Royal Family is still living off of the
spoils of those exploits.
The romantic part of me is ecstatic at the
dreaminess of a half-black woman starring
in her very own fairytale. But my more
pragmatic mind understands that most fan-
tasies feature gruesome parts. Markle will
inevitably have to contend with the gravity
of the history of her future in-laws.
In America, we make our own royalty.
This is especially true for black women,
who are often told explicitly and subtly that
our beauty, our bodies and our personhood
are not valuable — unless it is in service
to someone or something else. It is for this
reason that we so vehemently guard the
black women in the spotlight, like Beyoncé,
Oprah, Serena Williams, Michelle Obama
and so many others. Black women on a
public stage often face scorn.
Markle has already come under attack.
When Prince Harry formally announced
their relationship in July 2016, he did so
with an unprecedented rebuke from Kens-
ington Palace on their relationship, and not-
ed that Markle had been subject to a “wave
of abuse and harassment” and “outright
sexism and racism” on social media. Markle
has been called “straight outta Compton”
and “unsuitable” to marry Prince Harry. In
her first interview after her engagement, the
future royal said the negative focus on her
race was discouraging. “It’s a shame that
that is the climate in this world — to focus
that much on that,” Markle said. “At the end
of the day, I’m really just proud of who I am
and where I come from.”
I pray for any woman that has to face that
type of scrutiny. For Markle I pray that she’ll
be able to manage her new life and every-
thing that comes with it. To become royalty
means one must forfeit normalcy.
For now, I’ll celebrate this happy
moment alongside Markle — and relish
the fact that the entire world will be
captivated by a woman of color getting
her storybook ending.
Terryn Hall is a writer based in Virginia who
has written for The Guardian, The Rumpus,
The Los Angeles Review of Books, and
VerySmartBrothas.com. You can follow her
on Twitter @terryngrams.
This Article first appeared in Time online on
November 28,2017.
 ART | BOOKS | SOCIETY | TRAVEL | CULTURE

I
By Dominic Muwanguzi

nternational recognition continues to

elude local football players, but one
artist is enjoying global fame in inter-
national football circles with his cre-
ation of the BBC African footballer of
the year trophy. The bronze trophy
presented to the best football player from
the continent by the British Broad Casting
network, based in London, is globally rec-
ognised and is a symbol of ultimate success
in the sport.

Uganda’s bronze
The redesigned bronze sculpture has a
pyramid at the bottom that is symbolic of
the many footballers vying for the coveted
prize- the wide base, but only one – the

topmost tip - is voted best. The star-bars
that spread out from the map of Africa rep-
resent the stardom of the winner, while the
faceless figure of the athlete is a representa-
tion of the different individuals who win
the trophy every year.
This is not the first artistic triumph of
Peter Oloya, the little-known artist on the
local contemporary art scene. In 2007 Oloya
sculpted the famed crowned Crested Crane
that he presented to H.M queen of England,
on her visit to Uganda to attend the Com-
monwealth Heads of government meeting.
The sculpture that stands at about 6 ft
high and is weighty in nature has the Crest-
ed Crane –Uganda’s national emblem- tak-
ing off. This is a symbol of a country that is
ready to embrace opportunities of the new
world. The figurine in dark bronze today
sits at Buckingham Palace, England, but its
replica- a much smaller statue- adorns the
entrance of the British High Commis-
sion in Kampala.
Oloya’s innovation
and studio dexter-
ity that influence his
sculpting such masterpieces is a
result of his relationship with the world
renowned sculpture foundry, Rwenzori
Founders Art Centre located on the foothill
of the Rwenzori Mountain, in western part
of Uganda.
The foundry is an initiative by three
Ugandan sculptors who trained at the Pan-
golin Editions foundry in England, and is
supported by a UK Charity organisation.
Through numerous residences at both the
Rwenzori based Foundry and in England,
the artist mastered the art of building sculp-
tures of world-class taste. His technique
is rigorous and requires unmatched skill,
patience and talent.
He employs the lost work technique
master
Oloya crafts a metaphor for reconciliation
while casting the metal (bronze) to create a
figurine that slowly shrinks as it dries out.
Care is needed not to interrupt the process
with any outside objects because this leads
to the perforation of the sculpture and it
becomes a reject.
This traditional method of casting,
however time consuming it maybe – it
takes one to two days for the final sculpture
to dry- is advantageous because the artist
has direct control of the artwork while it
is being molded. He can make any
alternations
during the process, unlike the modern
technique that is primary controlled by
machines.
Oloya’s studio deftness and innovative-
ness stretch to his childhood. Growing up
in Kitgum district, Oloya make objects out
of anthill earth, specifically the bull fight
that is a central effigy in his Acholi culture.
Even after being abducted as a child soldier
by the infamous Lord Resistance Army
(LRA), the memories of playing in the
courtyard with earth remained with him.
“After being rescued from the LRA, I
decided I wanted to recover from the war
trauma. I thought art was a perfect way to
do this,” he says.
Oloya has translated his personal
healing into inspiring peace and social
change in the communities world-over.
His art is a strong metaphor for unit-
ing people regardless of tribe, race,
colour and religion. The BBC African
Footballer of the year trophy and
many others under his name, are a
perfect gesture to this reconciliation.
Peter Oloya has pioneered the
Museum of Acholi Art and Culture
located in Kitgum, district. This initiative
is part of his responsibility to give back
to the community and preserve Acholi
cultural heritage.
Images are courtesy of the artist.

May 18 - 24, 2018 37

 The debt pyramid: An original way to shame debtors
After having its Systems Ltd. had long slogans like “A Debtor
written payment been trying to get Lives Here” and
notifications ignored US$810 for unpaid “You Must Pay Your
by a client, a utility water bills and had sent Water Bill” on all four
company in Russia written notifications, sides. After seeing
came up with an contacted by phone, journalists and curious
ingenious way of and even sent people neighbors gathering
coercing the debtor to reason with him the around the pyramid
to pay his dues – it debtor to no avail. So and taking pictures of
dumped a three-tonne management decided it in front of his house,
concrete pyramid in to try something new. the man reportedly
front of his luxurious They commissioned expressed his intention
villa. Samara Utility the pyramid, featuring to pay the debt.

Women having Expert claims parents should ask babies for

‘virginity repair’
operations
Surgery to reconstruct the
hymen, a thin membrane at the
opening of the vagina that can
tear during sex – though can tear
in a variety of other ways – takes
about half an hour and costs at
least £1,000 every time. At least
109 women have undergone
the procedure in NHS hospitals
between 2007 and 2017, but the
real number is believed to be far
greater. Experts believe women
are having the operation after
feeling guilt about their first
time, and wanting to experience
it again. ‘A lot of people have
a bad experience for their first
time,’ Harley Street relationship
counsellor Louise Van der Velde
said, “‘Often it’s not what it’s
meant to be, it’s meant to be a
sacred thing and you never for-
get losing it.”
permission before changing their nappies
Consent is an important uality expert has claimed that educator, author, and speaker
thing to get the hang of in we should be asking babies for Deanne Carson, says although
many different situations. One their permission when chang- she does not expect a baby to
situation that many of us never ing them, in order to forge reply, it’s more about fostering
thought we’d need consent in, good communication habits a lifestyle where a child’s opin-
though, is when changing a in later life. It may sound ion and answers to questions
baby’s nappy. However, a sex- completely crazy but sexuality like this matter in the home.
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Celebrated On 100-year-old
Royal Wedding Commemorative Coin says secret is in
The Canadian Mint
revealed a com-
features maple leaves, roses
and the escallop shells
Guinness
memorative coin from Harry’s official A 100-year-old woman
in honour of coat of arms around
has credited her long
Prince Harry and the couple. There life to drinking a daily
Meghan Markle’s are three Swarovski
glass of Guinness. Doris
impending crystals at the bot-
Olive Netting, known to
nuptials. The $20 tom of the coin that
everyone as Olive, has
Fine Silver Coin is symbolize Meghan’s
made it a ritual to drink
limited edition and engagement ring,
a whole glass of the dry
costs $104.95. The coin according to the Mint.
Irish stout every day since
the Second World War
ended. And to mark her
Clever dog invents own currency 100th birthday recently,
she enjoyed her usual
A dog named Negro ting it be known that he tipple during a Guinness-
has, after watching stu- wanted a cookie,’ says themed party at her
dents buy him cookies at teacher Angela Garcia care home in Plymouth,
a local store using paper Bernal, the store’s atten- Devon. Olive has been
money, decided it was dant. She was so aston- drinking Guinness every
time to stop sponging ished by Negro’s intel- day since her early 30s,
off kids and start paying ligence that she had no after a campaign stating
his way. ‘One day, spon- option but to ‘sell’ him a that the drink contained
taneously, he appeared biscuit. Now he comes high levels of iron was
with a leaf in his mouth, for cookies every day, launched.
wagging his tail and let- with his leaf in mouth.

38 May 18 - 24, 2018

 Toyota Camry 2018
It doesn’t use exotic, lightweight materials. It doesn’t have a clever electric
powertrain. But the Toyota Camry is undoubtedly one of the most important
cars we’ll ever review, if only because Toyota sells so damn many of them.
T
he Camry is now in its eighth gen-
eration, and Toyota says this one
is sportier and more upscale than
Camrys of old. However, after a
week with one, I’m left with one conclu-
sion: there are evidently an awful lot of car
buyers out there who just don’t care much
about their cars.
We first saw the new Camry just over a
year ago in Detroit, at which time I wrote
that it “does look sportier and more excit-
ing than what may well have been the last
taxi you rode in.” While I still stand by
that statement, I can’t say I’m a big fan of
the styling—particularly the XSE version,
which gets an aggressive front bumper and
a rear with a (fake) diffuser, plus rocker
panel extensions and a rear spoiler on the
trunk lid.
There’s something about the Camry’s
styling that calls to mind the cars of the
early jet age, cars from the late 1950s with
wings and vents on them. Then again, the
Camry’s deadliest rival right now is the new
Honda Accord, and that car looks like it left
the factory with a huge piece missing from
the front bumper, so one’s mileage may
vary.
On the inside, things probably weren’t
helped by the Camry’s bright red leather
interior. The ergonomics are sound, with
the most widely used controls close at
hand, and there’s plenty of storage space in
the doors and various other cubbies in the
center console. The cabin is bright and airy,
particularly thanks to our test car’s twin
sunroofs.
The inside is also very roomy, both in the
front and back (although the driver’s seat is
rather hard and doesn’t offer much in the
way of lateral support). And the trunk is
voluminous.
Toyota has packed plenty of advanced
driver assists and safety systems into the
new Camry. Toyota’s system—called
“Safety Sense”—comprises forward col-
lision warning with pedestrian detection,
automatic high-beam headlights, adaptive
cruise control, and lane-departure alert with
steering assist.
Additionally, the XLE and XSE cars get
some extra features: blind spot monitors,
rear cross-traffic alerts, and intelligent clear-
ance sonar, which uses the car’s ultrasonic
sensors to detect possible obstructions when
moving at low speeds.
The infotainment system, called Entune
3.0, is Toyota’s latest. It’s built on Automo-
tive Grade Linux; Toyota is a big (and long-
time) fan of open source software. In V6
models, you also get some added features
like Siri and Google voice controls (but no
Android Auto or CarPlay), dynamic naviga-
tion (which updates the map regularly over
the air with POIs and recently added roads),
HD and Sirius XM radio, and 4G LTE with
Wi-Fi. Everything is controlled from an
eight-inch touchscreen (seven inches for
lower-spec cars). You also get Qi wireless
charging in the V6 as standard.
Despite Toyota’s press materials claiming
this is the sportiest and best-driving Camry
to date, and despite the wide stance, aggres-
sive bumpers, and that diffuser at the rear,
there’s no getting away from the fact that
it’s still a Camry. That means it has been
designed to be as appealing as possible to
the largest number of people; the result is
a safe-if-unexciting time behind the wheel.
The ride is good and isolates you from poor
road surfaces, but it’s not a car that encour-
ages you to grab it by the scruff of the neck
or demands to be taken out for an early
morning drive on a twisty road.
May 18 - 24, 2018 39
Global comment
By James Manyika and Myron Scholes
Solving the productivity puzzle
Why the 21st century’s steam engine – digitization is
not powering and transforming economic activity
F
or years, one of the big puzzles in
economics has been accounting for
declining productivity growth in the
United States and other advanced
economies. Economists have proposed a
wide variety of explanations, ranging from
inaccurate measurement to “secular stagna-
tion” to questioning whether recent techno-
logical innovations are productive.
But the solution to the puzzle seems to
lie in understanding economic interactions,
rather than identifying a single culprit.
And on that score, we may be getting to the
bottom of why productivity growth has
slowed.
Examining the decade since the 2008
financial crisis – a period remarkable for
the sharp deterioration in productivity
growth across many advanced economies
– we identify three outstanding features:
historically low growth in capital intensity,
digitisation, and a weak demand recovery.
Together these features help explain why
annual productivity growth dropped 80%,
on average, between 2010 and 2014, to 0.5%,
from 2.4% a decade earlier.
Start with historically weak capital-
intensity growth, an indication of the access
labour has to machinery, tools, and equip-
ment. Growth in this average toolkit for
workers has slowed – and has even turned
negative in the US.
In the 2000-2004 period, capital intensity
in the US grew at a compound annual rate
of 3.6%. In the 2010-2014 period, it declined
at a compound annual rate of 0.4%, the
weakest performance in the postwar period.
A breakdown of the components of labour
productivity shows that slowing capital-
intensity growth contributed about half or
more of the decline in productivity growth
in many countries, including the US.
Growth in capital intensity has been
weakened by a substantial slowdown in
investment in equipment and structures.
Making matters worse, public investment
has also been in decline. For example, the
U.S, Germany, France, and the United King-
dom experienced a long-term decline of
0.5-1 percentage point in public investment
between the 1980s and early 2000s, and the
figure has been roughly flat or decreasing
since then, creating significant infrastruc-
ture gaps.
Intangible investment, in areas such as
software and research and development,
recovered far more quickly from a brief and
smaller post-crisis dip in 2009. Continued
40 May 18 - 24, 2018
growth in such investment reflects the wave
of digitisation – the second outstanding
feature of this period of anemic productiv-
ity growth – that is now sweeping across
industries.
By digitisation, we mean digital tech-
nology – such as cloud computing,
e-commerce, mobile Internet, artificial intel-
ligence, machine learning, and the Internet
of Things (IoT) – that is moving beyond
process optimisation and transforming
business models, altering value chains, and
blurring lines across industries. What dif-
ferentiates this latest wave from the 1990s
boom in information and communica-
tions technology (ICT) is the breadth and
diversity of innovations: new products and
features (for example, digital books and
live location tracking), new ways to deliver
them (for example, streaming video), and
new business models (for example, Uber
and TaskRabbit).
However, there are also similarities, par-
ticularly regarding the effect on productiv-
ity growth. The ICT revolution was visible
everywhere, the economist Robert Solow
famously noted, except in the productiv-
ity statistics. The Solow Paradox, as it was
known (after the economist), was eventually
resolved when a few sectors – technology,
retail, and wholesale – ignited a productiv-
ity boom in the U.S. Today, we may be in
round two of the Solow Paradox: while dig-
ital technologies can be seen everywhere,
they have yet to fuel productivity growth.
MGI research has shown that sectors
that are highly digitised in terms of assets,
usage, and worker enablement – such as the
tech sector, media, and financial services –
have high productivity. But these sectors
are relatively small in terms of share of GDP
and employment, whereas large sectors
such as health care and retail are much less
digitized and also tend to have low produc-
tivity.
MGI research also suggests that while
digitisation promises significant produc-
tivity-boosting opportunities, the benefits
have not yet materialised at scale. In a recent
McKinsey survey, global firms reported that
less than a third of their core operations,
products, and services were automated or
digitised.
This may reflect adoption barriers and
lag effects, as well as transition costs. For
example, in the same survey, companies
with digital transformations under way said
that 17% of their market share in core prod-
ucts or services was cannibalised by their
own digital products or services. Moreover,
less than 10% of the information generated
and that flows through corporations is
digitised and available for analysis. As these
data become more readily available through
blockchains, cloud computing, or IoT con-
nections, new models and artificial intel-
ligence will enable corporations to innovate
and add value through previously unseen
investment opportunities.
The last feature that stands out in this
period of historically slow productivity
growth is weak demand. We know from
corporate decision-makers that demand
is crucial for investment. For example, an
MGI survey conducted last year found that
47% of companies increasing their invest-
ment budgets were doing so because of an
increase in demand or demand expecta-
tions. Across industries, the slow recovery
in demand following the financial crisis was
a key factor holding back investment. The
crisis increased uncertainty about the future
direction in consumer and investment
demand. The decision to invest and boost
productivity was correctly deferred. When
demand started to recover, many industries
had excess capacity and room to expand
and hire without needing to invest in new
equipment or structures. That led to his-
torically low capital-intensity growth – the
single biggest factor behind anemic produc-
tivity growth – in the 2010-2014 period.
But, as more companies adopt and learn
through digital solutions, and as new forms
of employment and investment opportuni-
ties strengthen the demand recovery, we
expect productivity growth to recover.
Myriad factors contribute to productivity
gains, but it is the twenty-first century’s
steam engine – digitisation, data, and its
analysis – that will power and transform
economic activity, add value, and enable
income-boosting and welfare-enhancing
productivity gains.
James Manyika is Chairman of the McKinsey
Global Institute and a senior partner in
McKinsey & Company’s San Francisco Office.
Myron Scholes, a Nobel laureate in economics,
is the Frank E. Buck Professor of Finance,
Emeritus, at the Stanford Graduate School of
Business and co-originator of the Black-Scholes
options pricing model.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018.
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