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Controversy erupts over Latest research on Umeme gets new Gov't tipped on how to
tragedy on Lake Victoria eradicating malaria connection targets stir industrial growth

Issue No. 549 Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

Justine Bagyenda
Why former BoU supervision
director defied parliamentary probe

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Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018
INBOX

Issue No. 549 Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018

News analysis Business Health Arts Motoring

Cover story
Justine Bagyenda
Why former BoU supervision director defied parliamentary probe

4 The Week
30 Comments
Wandera sails through
Busia LCV race When leaders won’t leave:
For every leader, managing
your succession is a key
9 The Last Word
task and one that must not
Uganda’s performance paradox: be left until it is too late
How Museveni behaves like
his critics in undermining the
32 Health
credibility of his own government
Eradicating malaria: Scientist
develop vaccine technique that
14 Analysis could block mosquitoes from
transmitting disease
Tragedy on Lake Victoria: Marine safety
concerns raised again as over 30 die on
unsafe cruise boat
35 Arts & Culture
27 Business
Value of our old buildings:
Umeme’s new target: ERA wants Exhibit rediscovers
the power distributor to connect modernistic architecture in
more customers, cut losses five African cities

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 Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018

 Offline

President Yower
Museveni and his
Somali counterpart,
President Mohamed
Abdullahi Mohamed on
Nov.24 after talks at
State House Entebbe.
They discussed “I would like to thank all of you who
areas of cooperation have reached out to me. By God’s
between the Somalia grace I am still alive, safe and getting
and Uganda particularly
in the areas of peace, medical attention but so traumatised.
security, defence, My deepest thoughts to our comrades
education, trade and who didn’t make it and condolences
investment.
to the bereaved families. What can I
say?”Iryn Namubiru after surviving the Lake
Victoria Boat tragedy
A boy plays on the
glass at Thailand’s
first skywalk. The
platform is 314
metres high, on
top of Bangkok’s
78-storey King
Power Mahanakhon
building.
“Some people think it is a miracle to
reach the mandatory age of 55 years
in order to access their savings, but
we have realised that only 2 per cent
of our clients die before that age.”
NSSF MD Richard Byarugaba

US President Donald
Trump and First
Lady Melania Trump
take part in the
annual tradition
of pardoning the
National Thanksgiving
Turkey. Following the
ceremony, pardoned
turkeys take up “I want to see someone arrested
residence at Gobbler’s for cutting a tree, all I see is people
Rest in the Virginia arresting those with bananas,
Polytechnic Institute yet our environment is being
degraded.”Speaker Rebecca Kadaga
calling KCCA to restore green belts

The only marine inspectors
8 the Ministry of Works and
Transport has
70%
Boarding schools in Famers in Acholi who will
Uganda operating
illegally
72000 get World Bank support
in an agricultural project

Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018 3

week
Correction
The Independent’s cover story, issue 53
(7th-13th September) contained incorrect
information regarding Ms. Rosa Whitaker,
CEO of The Whitaker Group and former
Assistant US Trade Representative for Africa.
The Independent reported that President
Yoweri Museveni received a list showing
that officials working on the process of
awarding a contract to construct the Stan-
dard Gauge Railway had received payment
from a Chinese contractor.
Rosa Whitaker has written to us noting
that contrary to our report, “she was not then
and at no time has received payment from
CHEC”. Rosa also noted that she did not fall
out with President Museveni as reported in
our story.
Specifically, she said that the claims that
she sought to “meet the President in Nairobi
on the sidelines of the Northern Corridor
Integration Project meeting” and “was
unsuccessful” and subsequently in Kampala
are false.
She told The Independent in a written
message that she was not in Nairobi at that
time neither was she afterwards in Kampala.
She noted that she and the President
Museveni have met several times to discuss
infrastructure projects since and before the
publication of the article. We regret any
inconvenience caused by our story.
Editor
Museveni receives special message from Burundi
Call: 071/0712/0752/0772-786 400 E-mail: sales@eyecareug.com
4 Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018
Wandera sails through Busia LCV race
On Nov.26, the Electoral Commission
(EC) in Busia district declared Independent
candidate Geoffrey Wandera newly elected
LC V of Busia district after he went through
unopposed. This was after nomination for
Democratic Party and National Resistance
Movement Party candidates was cancelled.
In two statements, EC chairperson Justice
Simon Byabakama said the nomination
of Paul Boniface Oguttu of the NRM had
been cancelled on grounds that the names
in the nomination papers he presented
did not match the names on the requisite
academic documents accompanying his
nomination papers. He also noted that DP
candidate Deogratius Hasubi Njoki was not
a registered voter under the national voters
register and thus overturned the returning
officer’s decision to have him nominated
President Museveni chats with spe-
cial envoys from Burundi led by For-
eign Affairs Minister Ezechiel Nibigira
(C) who delivered a special message
from President Pierre Nkurunziza.
Though the contents of this special
message were not revealed, the delega-
tion came in shortly after Museveni
recommended that the conflict ravaged
country needs a new constitution that
can see the country return to stability
and have their citizens that had sought
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him too.
Both parties had filed petitions challeng-
ing each other’s nomination. Earlier in the
campaign there was some controversy over
a rumor that the DP candidate Njoki had
been appointed by the government for a
job at the Uganda Human Rights Commis-
sion. His supporters said this was being
used as bait by the ruling party to keep
him out of the race. Calm only returned
when he declared that he had rejected the
government’s offer. “I thank the appointing
authority for considering me to serve on
the UHRC but considering the time when I
received the appointment letter on Novem-
ber 8, just a day after closure of nominations
in Busia, I can’t make any change,” he told
his supporters.
refuge elsewhere return.
This was shortly after Michel Kaf-
ando, the UN Secretary-General’s
Special Envoy for Burundi told the
Security council that the situation in
Burundi was calm but fragile and that
after supporting a regionally-led inter-
Burundian Dialogue process for more
than three years, he felt it was time for
partners to re-evaluate how best to help
the country out of its long-standing
political impasse.
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Mengo agrees to pay Uganda ready to host chemical management academy, Bigirimana
couple Shs35million The Uganda Government trainings and first responders
for negligence has asked States Parties to the
Chemical Weapons Conven-
to toxic chemical emergencies
in the region.
Mengo hospital agreed on tion to consider establishing an Bigirimana said the pro-
Nov.23 to take Responsibility academy in Uganda to build gramme had continued to
and agreed to pay Shs35million local and regional capacity in infuse the necessary skills and
to a bereaved couple that lost handling chemical, biological, capacity building within the
their baby boy when an intern radiological and nuclear-related implementation of the Con-
doctor gave him an injection affairs. The appeal was con- vention.
that took his life. According to tained in a statement delivered “My delegation (therefore)
the consent judgment, the hos- on Nov.23 by Pius Bigirimana, requests for support from
pital agreed that they failed to Permanent Secretary, Ministry State Parties in order to realise
implement Uganda Medical and of Gender, Labour and Social the idea of the academy and
Dental Practitioners Guidelines Development at the ongoing centre of excellence being
to supervise medical interns in fourth special session of the established in Uganda.” Bigiri-
their Hospital as per the attached conference of states parties to mana said.
Consent Judgment we arrived at. review the operation of the Pius Bigirimana Uganda ratified the chemi-
The couple went to court in chemical weapons convention. cal weapons convention in
2015 and filed a case claiming The high level conference technologies. 2001, after which, the Gen-
violations including right to kicked off last week and runs Uganda has been hosting der Ministry was appointed
quality healthcare, health infor- until today – Nov.30, at The the regional operational train- National Authority for
mation and life after a student Hague, Netherlands. Bigiri- ings under the Convention, domestication of the conven-
nurse approached Nantubwe mana noted that the academy with the latest training having tion. Although Uganda does
Rita the mother of the baby with would be an elevation of the taken place from 24thOctober not possess, produce or have
a rather large injection with a Africa technical support – 1stNovember, 2018 in Jinja. stockpiles of chemical weap-
drug that she assumed was her programme through which A total of 36 participants ons, several of the chemicals
own only for it to be used on African countries, including from Burundi, Kenya, Tan- used in local industries are a
the baby. He later developed Uganda, are benefiting from the zania, Rwanda and Uganda great threat to the population
strange signs like body color exchange of knowledge, provi- were trained as a pool of and require skilled handling.
change and later died. sion of equipment and related experts to conduct downward

MPs talk tough as Bagyenda snubs COSASE hearing

Members of parliament sitting on
the parliamentary Committee on
Commissions, Statutory Authorities
and State Enterprises (COSASE)
expressed displeasure when they were
informed the former executive director
in charge of supervision at Bank of
Uganda (BoU), Justine Bagyenda
had flown out of the country at a
time when she was needed to answer
questions relating to the closure and
sale of seven commercial banks.
Bagyenda who had appeared before
the committee a day before, Central
Bank staff informed the committee
on Nov.23 that she had written to the
governor notifying him that she would
be away to attend some engagements
which she had confirmed before
receipt of his letter Ref Gov.902 dated
19/11/2018 regarding Cosase meetings.
But, Governor Emmanuel Mutebile
said he had only received her letter
early that day.
This angered chairman of the
committee and Bugweri county MP
Abdu Katuntu who adjourned the
meetings and warned that if she
doesn’t appear a warrant of arrest
would be issued against her.
Bagyenda was forced out of her
BOU position early this year but
has since been quoted by the media
claiming that some businessmen are
paying the press to malign her.

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Week
Parliament rejects zoning as sugar bill is passed
Parliament has passed the Sugar Bill that
seeks to regulate the industry. In the new
piece of law passed on Nov. 23, the MPs
rejected a government proposal to provide
operating zones for mills which they had put
at a distance of 25kms apart.
Instead of zones proposed by government,
the Committee on Trade that considered the
Bill, proposed to have a nucleus operating
area of 2,000 hectares. The Chairperson of the
Committee, Robert Ssebunya, conversely not-
ed that the committee proposed an amend-
ment that a sugar mill or plant has a nucleus
estate instead of a zone of 2,000 hectares from
a 25km radius.
“This will be able to address the issue of
scarcity of sugarcane, create order and will
help mills to operate optimally and break
even,” he said.
However, MPs noted that the nucleus
would raise a number of issues concerning
the availability of land.
“You cannot easily get 2,000 hectares today;
secondly you will be creating a monopoly in
that area because this restricts out-growers
to selling sugarcane to only that mill,” said
Iganga legislator Brenda Asinde whereas
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Koboko’s district’s Margaret Baba Diri said
it’s unrealistic to leave government to dictate
the size of the area where a mill will be estab-
lished because 2,000 hectares is too much and
gives the miller a big expanse to have control
over,” she said.
Among other things that the MPs voted on
is doubling the number of out growers on the
Uganda Sugar Board from two to four consid-
ering that they are the majority.
The bill seeks to provide for the develop-
ment, regulation and promotion of the sugar
industry to ensure that there is a sustainable,
diversified, harmonized, modern and com-
petitive sugar sector.
Tycoon Shumuk fraud
file goes missing
Kampala tycoon Shukla Babub-
hai Mukesh was last week charged
with fraud and now his file has
gone missing from police, reports
say. Mukesh commonly known
as Shumuk is the boss behind
Shumuk Aluminium Industries
and was facing 13 counts ranging
from forgery, uttering false docu-
ments and conspiracy to commit
a felony. Makindye Magistrates
Court was forced to adjourn after
the prosecutor admitted there was
no police file. Prosecution alleged
that on April 17, 2015 in Kampala
District, Shumuk forged a letter
for official hand over of Hotel
Diplomate in Muyenga, a Kampa-
la suburb. The hotel belongs to the
Katatumba family although Shu-
muk and the late Bonney Kata-
tumba were engaged in a long
running feud over the ownership
of the hotel.
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Humour Did you know?

The difference between

green and black tea
Both green and black tea come
from the leaves of the Camellia
Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA ) has expressed frustration at
failure to meet the Minister of Education and Sports and First Lady Janet Museveni. sinensis tea bush. Whether
these tea leaves end up green or
black depends on how they are
processed or in other words how
they are ‘finished’ after being
picked.
Green tea is made from tea
leaves that are simply steamed
and dried soon after harvest.
Black tea is dried and crushed
which allows the action of
enzymes (which occur naturally
in the tea leaves) to convert some
of the simple catechins of green
tea to more complex forms known
as theaflavins and thearubigens.
These compounds are responsible
for the distinctive flavour and
darker colour of black tea.
They are also the well-known
‘antioxidants’ in tea responsible
Tribute to the Lake Victoria tragedy victims that passed in for much of its benefits.
a divesting boat accident that took place on Nov 24. Many people drink green tea in
the belief it is caffeine free
Because it looks and tastes
more like a light herbal
tisane such as peppermint or
chamomile, many people wrongly
believe green tea to be caffeine-
free. It’s not. Because it’s derived
from the SAME plant as black tea,
green tea contains similar levels
of caffeine (range 10 to 50 mg
caffeine per cup).
So green tea is not the thing
to drink before bed if caffeine
disturbs your sleep. However,
on a positive note, the caffeine
content of all teas is only around
one-third to one-half of that
found in coffee so you don’t get
such a ‘jolt’ of adrenalin when
The Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana took to social you drink it.
media to defend the picture of him holding an AK-47.

Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018 7

An employee selects a book from the shelves of the Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Founded in 1837
by a group of Portuguese immigrants, the library has been open to the public since 1900 and houses many rare and valuable books.

Uganda’s performance paradox
By Andrew M. Mwenda
How Museveni behaves like his critics in
undermining the credibility of his own government
T
here is a suffocating sense among
a large cross-section of educated
urban Ugandans that our country is
falling apart. In my frustrated mo-
ments, I too feel the same way. The growing
potholes and traffic congestion in Kampala,
the impunity of boda boda riders, and
the general lack of a vision around which
people can be mobilised ensure a grim na-
tional mood. One, therefore, understands
why some Ugandan elites rally behind
demagogues that denounce the status quo
and call for radical change.
Yet, this general sense of crisis is mostly
based on emotional conviction and not on
evidence. On most of the critical state func-
tions, evidence contradicts these popular
feelings. Take the example of Makerere
University Kampala; an institution I often
criticise, calling it a casino. It is characterised
by incessant strikes – one month it is by
academic staff over wages, the next by non-
academic staff, and the third by students
over fees or food. The halls of residence are
rotten and lecture rooms dirty.
Makerere has many students that are
intellectually curious and question conven-
tional wisdom i.e. have the foundation for
learning. Yet most of the students from that
university that I interact with, especially
on social media, depress me by their utter
intellectual ineptness, close-mindedness
and propensity for mistaking political slo-
ganeering for intellectual analysis. These
are the young Ugandans who gave up on
thinking long ago – or perhaps they grew
up in homes or studied in schools where
they were never challenged to think outside
the box.
It was with this later frustration, therefore,
that a young friend and first year student
of law, Joel Mukisa, gave me an inaugural
lecture by Prof. Sylvia Tamale on Nudity,
Protest and the Law in Uganda. And boy,
it was one of the most intellectually stimu-
lating pieces of writing I have read. Tamale
reminds me that Makerere has some of the
best brains in the world. Indeed, The Times
of London does an annual “Literary Supple-
ment” where it ranks the world’s universi-
ties. It ranks Makerere fourth best university
in Africa. Outside of South Africa, no other
country on our vast continent has a univer-
sity better than Makerere.
But no one sings this sweet music to our
national ears – not Makerere or our inept
The Last Word
government. Yet drumming this story from
hilltop to hilltop across Uganda is important
for building our national pride, uniting our
people and improving our mood. Ironically
many Ugandans would prefer Makerere
to be ranked the worst university in Africa
if only to get an opportunity to denounce
President Yoweri Museveni for the corrup-
tion and incompetence of his government.
Indeed, had it be so badly ranked, the noise
on social media would have been as deaf-
ening as the silence on these good results.
Yet celebrating our accomplishments does
us much better than grumbling over our
failures.
Makerere is not alone. Uganda’s water
and energy utilities rank best in Africa. The
National Water and Sewerage Corpora-
tion (NWSC), a government run utility,
has been voted best water utility in Africa
consecutively for the last four years. In a
country where service delivery is consid-
ered Museveni’s signature failure, this is a
paradox of the first rank. It is not. In 2016,
the World Bank produced a report showing
that only two countries in Africa are able to
pay for the operational and capital expen-
diture on electricity in Africa – Uganda and
Seychelles.
According to this World Bank report,
power utilities in Africa are all malfunc-
tioning and depend on government sub-
sidies to survive. In Uganda, Umeme has
created business efficiencies that have made
investment in our energy sector attractive.
Ironically, Museveni often joins his critics to
call for Umeme to be kicked out of Uganda.
Contrary to popular belief, Museveni
invests little or nothing in trying to improve
the image of his beleaguered government.
Instead, with his reckless statements, he
often personally contributes to damaging
its image.
The National Social Security Fund (NSSF),
run by the government of Uganda, is East
Africa’s largest and most liquid provident
fund. Last year it paid interest of 15% to its
subscribers, favourably competing with
private firms in giving a good return on
people’s savings. The Uganda Cranes has
twice in a row qualified for the Africa Cup
of Nations. Critics rave and fume against
our health system but the taste of the pud-
ding is in the eating. Life expectancy in
Uganda is consistently rising. Indeed, today
Mulago is doing heart and brain surgery.
Opinion
It is not the job of Museveni’s critics to
polish the image of his government but his.
But he does the opposite. Take the recent
cabinet decision to merge some public
entities or disband others “to save money”
as an example. Government resolved to
abolish the Uganda Wildlife Authority
(UWA) and take it back to its parent min-
istry as a department. Yet government
stopped funding it many years ago. Today
UWA collects more money than it can
spend. This financial year, its projected
revenue is Shs100 billion against a budget of
Shs70 billion.
Our government also resolved to abolish
the National Registration Bureau and
take it back to the Ministry of Trade as a
department. Since it was created in 2011,
this bureau has reduced the time it takes
to register a business from two months to
less than an hour and increased revenue
from business registration from Shs3 billion
to Shs50 billion. Given that it budgeted to
spend Shs25 billion this financial year, it has
huge surpluses that can fund the national
budget. Yet the Museveni administration
intends to deliberately abolish its own sig-
nature achievement.
In fact, most of the institutions cabinet
decided to abolish or merge are equally
some of the most successful; such as the
Uganda National Roads Authority, the
Insurance Regulatory Authority (which is
self financing), etc. Why? The committee
that made these recommendations was
composed of the Ministry of Public Service;
the most incompetent ministry in Uganda.
So government asked a blind man to search
for a pin.
But why recommend the abolition of the
most successful government entities? Here
vested interests that lost access to public
resources through the creation of these
independently run government entities
united with political sloganeering to create
a toxic mixture of bad policy and corrupt
politics. The most successful public entities
are equally the ones with the most money.
Some people in and around government
want their fingers on this money; the better
to take them back to parent ministries
where it can easily be stolen because of the
confusion there. Sad!
amwenda@independent.co.ug
Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018 9
cover story

Justine Bagyenda
Why former BoU supervision
director defied parliamentary probe
By Haggai Matsiko
A sitting of the Parliamentary Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and
State Enterprises (COSASE) which is probing Bank of Uganda’s dissolution of seven
commercial over 23 years turned dramatic on Nov.20 when central bank officials
contradicted each other and traded accusations.
They were eventually kicked out of the hearing amidst allegations that they were
deliberately withholding vital information on the movement of assets, including cash, of
some of the sold banks.

10 Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018

T
he former Director for Supervi-
sion at BoU, Justine Bagyenda
had specifically been sum-
moned to shed light on some
missing files said to contain
critical information.
This was after a ploy by BoU officials to
hide under shifts in banking regulations
to claim they were not required to keep an
inventory of assets and liabilities of closed
banks.
The seven banks whose closure by BoU
is under scrutiny include; Teffe, Greenland
Bank; formerly owned by the late Sulaiman
Kigundu, National Bank of Commerce
(NBC), formerly owned by tycoon Amos
Nzeyi and former Prime Minister, Amama
Mbabazi, among others, International Bank,
formerly owned by the Thomas Katto fam-
ily, Cooperative Bank, Global Trust Bank,
and Crane Bank which was owned by Sud-
hir Ruparelia.
Initially, Benedict Ssekabira, the Direc-
tor Financial Markets Development at BoU
insisted there are no reports. He explained
that ICB was closed in September 1998 and
that KPMG, who was appointed as a liqui-
dator agent by BoU, submitted a report only
once throughout that time. That final report
is dated September 30, 2001.
Similarly, he added, under Co-operative
Bank, KPMG also reported only once in
August 2001 and that was their exit report.
In Greenland Bank, Ssekabira explained,
Delloite Touché were engaged from day
one.
“The issues in Greenland were heavier
and more challenging. As for the terms of
their engagement, they were required to
issue frequent reports. That is why you see
frequent reports from the Central Bank,”
Ssekabira told the committee, “In KPMG
where frequent reporting was not required,
they sat in there and only did reports when
it was required. These are the differences
that existed.”
Following the takeover by BoU, which
happened in 2001, BoU did not want to
report to itself because at that time, BoU was
in charge of the liquidation and being in
charge, it would not issue a report to itself.”
He said that what BoU did was appoint
auditors in 2002 to audit the situations in
2002 and that indeed there is a statement of
affairs for each bank that was submitted to
this Committee.
At this point, Katuntu pressed Ssekabira.
“Which department was handling this
particular exercise,” Katuntu asked.
Ssekabira responded that it was the Bank
supervision department.
“Which organ of the bank was it report-
ing to?” Katuntu fired again.
When Ssekabira said it reports to the
Governor, Katuntu asked him where the
reports they had submitted to the governor
saying they were doing this and this was
the status, were.
“It is true that the governor may not have
received the reports because Ssekabira does
not report to the governor,” Ssekabira said.
He said he was appointed as an agent
of the liquidator and was reporting to
somebody far below the governor. “Those
reports exist,” Ssekabira said.
Katuntu: “You said there were no reports.
Now you are saying there are reports,
which is a contradiction. That is why mem-
bers are wondering what you are talking
about. We want to know the asset move-
ment schedule from Shs117 billion to Shs19
billion. Do we have documentation to show
movement of these assets?”
At that point Mutebile also jumped in.
“Mr Ssekabira said he had no reports to me
because he was too far from me,” the Gov-
ernor wondered, “He did not say which
person that was. Who is this person whom
he is not naming?”
“It was Mr Apollo Obbo, Ms Margaret
Matovu and Ms Justine Bagyenda,” Ssek-
abira responded.
Louis Kasekende Tumubweine Twinemanzi
Enter Bagyenda
That is when the committee decided to
summon Bagyenda to appear at the next
sitting. When Bagyenda appeared, she
appeared to have well-scripted answers
to questions on the missing reports. She
repeatedly insisted she is no longer an
employee of BoU and, having handed over
to her successor all the required reports as
part of her handover report, she was no
longer answerable for them.
But her successor, Twinemanzi
Tumubweine, told the committee that
Bagyenda never handed over the said docu-
ments.
Then Bagyenda insisted: “When you go
through each closed bank, all the informa-
tion is there. Every file. When you look at
that, I said in that handover report, I sent in
your office, there’s file A, Greenland bank,
UCL please take time to read them, it’s in
my handover report.”
However, Katuntu read out what Bagy-
enda handed over: “You handed over
Greenland bank legal audit report. You
handed over handover assignment final
cover story
draft. You handed over special audit final
report…
Now, we are talking about two files
because what Mrs. Bagyenda is talking
about, could only be related to those two
files. That is the sale of movable assets
and transaction audit interim progressive
report.”
It is at this point that Katuntu directed
that Bagyenda and the BoU team provide
all the other documents at the next sitting.
At the said sitting Bagyenda was no show.
The committee only learnt through a letter
that she had travelled outside Uganda.
Infuriated by this, Katuntu adjourned the
meeting with Bagyenda and warned that
if she failed to appear, a warrant of arrest
would be issued against her.
Interest in Bagyenda appears to be high
because on Feb.10, she was captured on
BoU CCTV cameras while appearing to
carry out of the bank various documents in
green polythene bags.
The documents were many and too
heavy for her to carry alone. She had her
Benedict Ssekabira
driver and bodyguard help her carry some
of them. This was days after her former
boss Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile had
relieved her of her duties in a major reshuf-
fle on Feb.08 in which he moved around
about 50 high level staff of the central bank.
The Independent understands that at the
time, a decision was made at BoU to have
her house searched.
Even a search warrant had been issued, a
source knowledgeable about the issue told
The Independent on conditions of anonym-
ity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
However, this information leaked before the
search was conducted and Bagyenda trav-
elled outside Uganda for four days.
When the security personnel at BoU later
asked Bagyenda to explain the situation, she
said that over the years, she had kept some
of her personal documents and that these
are the ones she was taking home.
Bagyenda’s departure from the bank was
not smooth. When Mutebile reshuffle staff
on Feb.08 and left her without an office,
protested.
She told the Governor that she could not
be fired because she was permanent and
Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018 11
cover story
Benedict Ssekabira hands a document to COSASE's Anita Among as other officials look on .
pensionable and her rights needed to be
respected.
“Process your handover,” Mutebile
insisted, “you are due to retire.”
So Bagyenda did not leave the bank and
stayed until months later when she hit
retirement age and left.
These incidents happened between mid-
February and Mid-March but have become
the centre of debate because at the time, the
auditor general’s office was carrying out the
investigation on the seven closed banks.
Most importantly, COSASE, which
directed the AG to carry out this audit, has
started its probe and is grappling with the
issue of missing documents on the process-
es surrounding the closure of the banks.
Indeed, when on March.23, AG John
Muwanga wrote to Governor Emmanuel
Tumusiime Mutebile raising concerns that
among others, he had not been furnished
with certain critical documents; Bagyenda’s
moving documents out of the bank came
up.
“A senior official was seen carrying loads
of documents out of the bank,” a source told
12 Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018
The Independent, “now the AG is asking
for documents and they are no where to be
seen.”
Muwanga requested BoU to furnish them
with documents.
“I shall be pleased to discuss the matters
mentioned in this report with you at Audit
House on 4th April 2018,” Muwanga wrote,
“Meanwhile, I await your responses which
should reach this office by 30th March
2018.”
But months later, when the final audit
report came out, it became clear that the
auditor general had not received the infor-
mation they needed.
Probe needs experts
Indeed, as the COSASE investigation
rages, the question of missing documents
has taken centre stage and Bagyenda finds
herself on the spot over the same issue.
So far the committee has explored only a
tiny fraction of the issues raised in the AG’s
report. Some of these issues include; miss-
ing records on the closure of Teefe Bank;
missing records on the transfer of assets on
GTB, NBC and CBL; lack of documents on
sale of assets for Greenland Bank, ICB and
Cooperative Bank; poor sale of assets; and
poor recovery of non-performing loans.
On Teefe, BoU did not avail the AG with
the inventory report, loan schedules, cus-
tomer deposit shedules and statements of
affairs.
“Due to this limitation, I could not assess
the status of the assets and liabilities of Teefe
Trust bank from closure to-date,” Muwan-
ga’s report observes.
Katuntu wrote to Governor Mutebile
demanding the said documents. BoU
responded that Teefe Trust bank was closed
in February 1993 under the provisions of the
Banking Act of 1969, which did not contain
substantive provisions on reports that the
liquidator was required to compile.
In a follow up meeting on Nov.12, the
legislators again demanded for the docu-
ments. In this meeting legislators directed
Twinemanzi Tumubweine, the current
executive director supervision to pass on
the question to Ssekabira, who was a staff at
BoU when Teefe was closed.

Initially, Ssekabira said that the invento-
ry report was provided as a summary but
later conceded that BoU never prepared an
inventory list before closing Teefe.
Deputy Governor Louis Kasekende, at
that point told COSASE that when Teefe
was closed, there was no legal requirement
to maintain an inventory list.
But it emerged that even the Financial
Institutions Statute of 1993 under which
Teefe was closed required the central bank,
among others, to as soon as possible after
taking possession of a financial institution,
make an inventory of the assets of that
financial institution.
Pushed to a corner, BoU provided more
information regarding the Teefe closure.
Away from Teefe, the committee
embarked on another aspect—the lack of
reports on the transfer of assets for Green-
land Bank, Cooperative, and ICB Bank.
The three banks had assets worth
Shs117.7 billion at closure. However, as
at June 30, 2016, the asset position had
reduced to Shs19.7 billion. Because the AG
was not availed with reports on how this
happened, he noted that he could not verify.
“Why are there
no reports
during the
time you are
managing the
process of
liquidation of
assets? Katuntu
asked
The committee wanted to know how the
assets reduced. Governor Mutebile first
said BoU does not have the reports.
In more specific terms, the current
executive director Banking Supervision,
Tumubweine Twinemanzi, told the com-
mittee that starting 2002, when BoU was
the liquidator, there were no reports detail-
ing the movement of assets for the three
closed banks.
But The Independent has been told that
when the central bank closes a bank, it is
required to prepare several reports. One
of these reports is called the statement
of affairs. It provides an overview of the
bank’s assets and liabilities.
For instance, while the statement of
affairs of June 30,2016 indicated that all the
physical loans and customer assets had
been sold, it later emerged that the liqui-
dator did not sell all the assets previously
owned by one of the banks—Co-operative
Bank.
These titles remain in the custody of the
Central Bank. Officials explained that the
three title deeds for Co-operative Bank
were not sold because of ownership dis-
putes over them.
BoU officials noted that in their view
the information they had provided the AG
was adequate to explain the movement of
assets.
However, Katuntu insisted that while
during the period when others performed
the role of liquidation, there were regular
reports which showed clear movement of
assets, when BoU directly took over, those
reports are not there.
“Now that those reports are not there,
cover story
the AG could not verify the movement of
assets,” Katuntu said,“Why are there no
reports during the time you are managing
the process of liquidation of assets?”
That is when the Bagyenda affair flared.
At the investigation rages, it is becoming
clear that at a very twist and turn in the
process of closure of banks, BoU officials
either lack critical documents to explain
their decisions (and therefore, did not do
their job as per the law) or are withhold-
ing these documents, which according to
critics, raises a question: what could be the
motive?
Amidst all this, questions remain as to
whether COSASE has the capacity to navi-
gate these waters and fully interrogate the
complex issues surrounding the closure of
banks.
Some critics feel that while COSASE
could deal with administrative issues, to
get to them bottom of the crisis around
closures and come up with a strong
report, government needed to get experts
from international institutions, which are
mature like the Bank of England to investi-
gate the central bank.
In the past, government has engaged
an international institution to identify
experts that could study the central bank’s
capital inadequacies. This study took place
between 2010 and 2012.
What is clear, though, is that COSASE
has further opened up the central bank for
public scrutiny and broadened the debate
beyond the squabbles within its leadership
ranks.
For instance, before the investigation
started, some had concluded that reports
about the crisis at the central bank were
merely the handiwork of detractors look-
ing to discredit senior officials at the bank.
But since officials started appearing
before the committee and contradicting
each, it is increasingly becoming clear that
several officials at the bank have a few
questions to answer.
The main question now is whether
Katuntu’s team can ask these questions,
press the officials for answers and once
they find them culpable of any wrong
doing, push for action against culpable
officials.
Even here, many remain pessimistic
mainly because many investigations by
committees of parliament including those
of COSASE under Katuntu, have tended to
be ritualistic and not translated in any con-
crete actions against any officials.
Despite this, many will be looking at
how the outcomes of the probe will affect
Mutebile, his deputy Kasekende, and the
central bank’s board, who are responsible
for carrying out the oversight role on the
operations of the central bank and under
whose watch all this transpired.
Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018 13
news analysis
Tragedy on Lake Victoria
Marine safety concerns raised again
as over 30 die on unsafe cruise boat
By Ian Katusiime and Flavia Nassaka
O
n the evening of Nov. 24, news
filtered through about a boat
that had sunk on Lake Victoria.
Nothing unusual, it appeared,
since tiny rickety fishing vessels sink often
on Ugandan lakes. But then a figure of
over 120 people on board started being
mentioned. Soon it was mentioned that
this was in fact a cruise boat, ferrying
revelers from one beach on the edges of
Kampala City to another in neighbouring
Kyaggwe County in Mukono district.
The boat sail normally takes 20 minutes.
Sometimes, however, boat cruises stop in
the middle of the lake for revelers to have
more fun time. But this one did not make
it.
By press time, two days later on Nov.26,
up to 30 people; 15 male and 15 female,
had been confirmed dead and the search
for more bodies was ongoing. It was all
guess work as no passenger manifest was
made. It was also unclear if the boat, which
keeled over the side before sinking, had
trapped any passengers under it. That
would take time to unravel because there
appeared no plans to right or float the
vessel.
Instead of facts and information, the
14 Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018
government has responded to the tragedy
with speculation, finger pointing, and wild
promises of reforms.
It is now claimed that the boat was in
poor mechanical condition and had been
dry-docked for maintenance and that the
organisers of the cruise defied a marine
police order not to take to water on a
suicidal late evening cruise.
None of this could be verified by press
time. What is clear is that this was not
an impromptu decision as the revelers
included close-knit groups of Kampala
city elite and appeared preplanned. Social
media messages announcing it circulated
well before the ill-fated evening.
Survivors’ tales
According to survivors, trouble started
when the boat which had been sailing for
some time, appeared to be hit by a strong
wave.
According to one survivor’s tale,
someone shouted “Balance the boat,
balance the boat” over the public address
system. It appeared that balancing the
boat was complicated as people in the
partying frenzy crowded to one side of the
boat.
A fishing boat had detected danger and
its occupants shouted that the cruise boat
was sinking.
Some people agreed to be rescued on
the small fishing boat. But, the survivor
said, many were already intoxicated by the
time the boat started filling with water, and
many calls for safety went unheeded.
As the boat started rolling from side
to side, and gushes of water made their
way onto the boat deck, panic ensued.
Pandemonium increased when a speaker
blaring music fell into the water, followed
by the generator, automatically killing the
boat engine. All on board knew danger
was imminent. The unnamed survivor
says he told his friend “We are going to
die.”
The boat with fishermen left with about
15 people and minutes later disaster struck.
She says by the time they docked, they
received news that the original boat had
sunk.
When the boat capsized, it was survival
for the fittest. Some good and strong
swimmers dived for a nearby beach that is
said to be about 100 metres from the scene
of the accident. Most survivors say there
were a few people with life jackets. But
some of them drowned when desperate
drowning passengers clung onto them.
Some of the ordeal was captured in
recordings. One can hear desperate cries

as other smaller boats rushed in to rescue
people. One of them, with most of a group
of about 20 people who had crammed into
it, sank.
Safety measures
John Opiro, the Managing Director,
Kalangala Infrastructure Services (KIS)
Limited which is one of the bigger marine
operators, says these deaths could have
been avoided if only the marine regulators
were skilled. He says such a boat under
proper circumstances should not have
been allowed on the lake.
“You can’t use a fishing boat for a cruise.
It’s not the kind where such happens. A
fishing boat has different stability on the
water because of the kind of load it carries.
People spreading makes such a boat
unstable”, he adds, “these deaths could
have been easily avoided”.
Opiro says most of the staff at the
Ministry of Works do not have the
capability to identify whether a boat has
a mechanical problem or not because
they are not trained to do so. “There’s no
training school for marines in the country,”
he tells The Independent.
World over he says cruise liners earn
big because boat cruises are one of the best
tourist activities where people camp on
boats for months having fun and clearly
this boat was not fit for that purpose.
The ideal thing that should have been
done in such a situation where the boat
was in poor condition is issuing reserve
boats to follow the main one to cater to any
likely emergency.
Apart from over loading, the other
consideration is how equipped the boat is
for extreme weather.
Opiro stresses there should be a
rigorous safety protocol that cruisers
should go through. He says it matters
how passengers are notified in case of an
emergency and this also needs some form
of training or expertise.
For any vessel to be allowed on the lake,
he says, it should be of known capacity
and with life jackets that fit that capacity
and an additional 20% for reserve.
Inspection of vessels according to
international guidelines should be done
every year and if maintenance works are
done before a year elapses, there should be
re-inspection.
He says ensuring that the boat has
marine insurance is also key since this
cannot be issued unless the Ministry
has granted the boat a certificate of sea
worthiness.
Mark Sali, the communications manager
of Uganda National Roads Authority
(UNRA) which operates all government
ferries told The Independent that they
are insured and have sea worthiness
certificates. “Our challenges come on
market days but our ferries have life
jackets, life rafts, and life rings,” he said.
Opiro adds that because of low capacity
by the regulators since marines are just a
small department, some vessels delay to
get permits even when they conform to all
standards.
He cites an example of MV Pearl and
MV Ssesse ferries, under KIS, which have
over seven months failed to get a permit
even when they meet all the requirements.
“These regulators are killing the marine
sector. They seem to be focusing their
energy in wrong places. Let them improve
their positions. People should meet basic
standards”.
The Ministry of Works had in 2014
news analysis
started a process to present a bill in
parliament to regulate all transport
operations on Uganda’s water bodies. The
plan was to merge all the laws governing
water transport – the Inland Water
Transport (Control) Act revised edition
1964 and The Vessel (Registration) Act 1904
and the Ferries Act into one law.
The law would put into consideration
all the issues in that industry since the old
ones are considered obsolete, something
that continues to compromise maritime
safety. But since then, nothing much has
happened even after a consultant was
hired to study the old laws and advise
accordingly.
Opiro says Lake Victoria is the only
water body in Uganda on which transport
operations are regulated by the Lake
Victoria Transport Act, a relatively new
law.
He adds that this law was enacted
at the regional level in 2009 by the East
African Community partner states. This
law, in addition to regulating passenger
and cargo safety, also looks into issues of
the competence of the crew and licensing
of vessels. “But even if it is there on paper,
theirs is no enforcement,” he says.
Hours after the boat sank, images on
social media of the Ugandans on the
boat cruise making merry were being
juxtaposed with pictures of some of their
lifeless bodies ashore after they were
retrieved by first responders.
A statement from the Office of the
Prime Minister on Nov. 25 said marine
units of the Uganda People’s Defence
Forces (UPDF) and Uganda Police had
rescued 26 people.
Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018 15
interview

An AIDS cure
Global Researcher speaks out on why
he cannot predict when it will come
American immunologist and Director at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the
National Institutes of Health in the U.S., Dr. Anthony Fauci was a young doctor when he saw his first HIV/
AIDS case. This was in 1981, and they were treating a strange illness that had no name. The now 78 year
old and colleagues moved to treating opportunistic infections until 1987 when he took part in the study that
gave the world the first HIV drug. He recently spoke to The Independent’s Flavia Nassaka on the sidelines
of the Global Biomedical Research for HIV Prevention conference in Madrid, Spain.

You have headed the National Institute

of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the
National Institutes of Health (NIAID) that
oversees research into infectious diseases
globally since 1984. This means you have
been involved in the AIDS journey since

I
its infancy. How has it been like?
first learnt about HIV in June 1981
when a weekly report came in at the
office showing five gay men from Los
Angeles had reported to the clinic with
strange symptoms of severe pneumonia.
These symptoms were not new. We were
already seeing them in cancer patients that
had suppressed immune systems. But, the
numbers kept increasing. When another
report came out a month later, they were
26 and all gay men but this time from
New York and San Francisco too. We were
scared; we wondered what this strange
illness was. We realised we needed to act
and very fast because our patients would
die only in a matter of weeks. That marked
the beginning of my close relationship with
HIV/AIDS.
We stormed the laboratories in panic
with very little knowledge and after about
five years of trial and era, Zidovudine
or AZT, the first antiretroviral drug was
approved for treatment of HIV in 1987.
Patients first used it as a single drug but
with more research, drug combinations
were also proven to work and approved.
That is how we moved into rolling out
antiretroviral drugs to different parts of
the world. By 1996, even developing
countries like Uganda could now
access treatment either in clinical
trials or those who could afford
to buy their doses. That
closed the dark age
of HIV, people
started

16 Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018


opening up, and there was scientific
evidence of what really causes infection
and how to avoid it. We started telling
people that everything is under control
and here we are now speaking about
innovations such as Dapivirine rings,
Carbotegravir injections and we are telling
people that you can have a HIV positive
partner but you will remain negative.
With so much research into prevention
and the new devices that have been
proved to be effective, what’s challenging
policy makers in Uganda now is dividing
up the little resources to ensure both
treatment and prevention are catered for.
What choice would you recommend that
they make?
They should try to strike a delicate
balance because you to can’t choose to do
one and ignore the other. There is PEPFAR
and the Global Fund providing some of
these interventions but countries should
make more investment in treating and
preventing infection in their own countries.
They can’t pick one against the other but
have to do more of both.
You are one of the global researchers
considered very instrumental in the
establishment of PEPFAR. What exactly
was your role?
Even as antiretroviral drugs were
quickly becoming available for all, many
Africans were still dying in the 1981
strange style. So in 2002 I was asked by
President George W. Bush to go to Africa
to put together a proposal for a program
to fight AIDS there. He was specific. He
needed something that would offer both
treatment and prevention. I spent most of
that year putting together mathematical
models to help us execute this assignment.
We knew there would be a lot of questions,
so we had to work out a procedure to
determine things like cost, which countries
to benefit and why and whether to focus
more resources on prevention or treatment.
We had to do a lot of consultations with
people already doing something in these
countries. When we came to Uganda,
we consulted a researcher called Peter
Mugyenyi. He already had a model for
providing treatment where he had come
up with a central core of treatment but
with affiliated clinics to provide care on
behalf of the center. We compared
notes a lot which of course
meant going back and forth,
making presentations
to president Bush
until he accepted
the proposal
for making a
contribution of
$15 billion over
five years. Our
We started
looking for
a vaccine in
1987 all of
which failed.
It’s impossible
to make a
prediction
because it’s
a scientific
unknown
initial focus was to provide treatments to
high prevalence countries.
One of the newest additions to the
treatment plan in Uganda is a new
combination drug – TLD that was
launched in September but, already, in
other African countries like Kenya it was
abolished shortly after its introduction.
In Botswana, studies have showed some
evidence of it being harmful to pregnant
women. This comes at a time when
there’s talk of Africans being used as
guinea pigs to test new medicines. What
would be your views about this drug?
Dolutegravir is an intergrase inhibitor.
It’s one of the best drugs being used
around the world including in the U.S.
in combination with Truvada and it’s
just a good regimen. The World Health
Organisation and other institutions have
carefully looked at it and approved that it’s
good. I am puzzled by those who think it’s
not a good regimen.
One of the problems we have faced over
the years and is not specific for Uganda is
that whenever therapies are developed;
especially by the western world to be
used in the developing world, because
of many years of history of oppression,
there’s always lingering distrust. The only
problem is that you have got to make sure
that this distrust doesn’t get in the way of
major benefits for the country. To say that
they are being used as guinea pigs I would
say is understandable but is just not true.
One of the things one has to know is that
all therapies that are proven elsewhere to
be important is not taking advantage of the
country that is helping.
You have been in the laboratory for 30
years trying to find an HIV vaccine.
Why has it taken you so long to find an
effective one?
interview
It’s a scientific problem. Vaccines for
HIV are one of the most difficult scientific
challenges that we have because of the
following reasons. When you look at all
the other vaccines that we have developed
for hepatitis, polio, small pox or measles,
what happens is that you use the natural
infection as a proof of concept. So we
know that whether you get infected with
polio; that even though there is degree of
morbidity and mortality, at the end of the
day most of the people recover and they
have an immune response that contains
the virus. With HIV unfortunately, that’s
not the case. The body doesn’t make an
adequate protective response against
natural infection. So it’s difficult to get a
vaccine that can do what natural infection
can’t. But, what we are trying to do right
now with a vaccine is trying to get parts
of the HIV virus in a form that the body
recognises it and makes a response better
than the response that it would make
against natural infection. We say that we
have to do better than natural infection
because this is very unique from the
viruses that we have been dealing with.
So when do we get a HIV cure?
We don’t know. It’s impossible to predict
when you don’t have a scientific answer.
There is a lot of activity that is going on
around the world but there are two major
studies taking place in South Africa. One is
using Clade C which is a predominant HIV
sub type in Africa mostly among women
and the other is the Imbokodo vaccine
candidate both being tested to see if they
will be able to work. We started looking
for a vaccine in 1987 all of which failed. It’s
impossible to make a prediction because
it’s a scientific unknown.
And it’s still costing the world billions
of dollars trying to find. Why can’t
researchers abandon it and put all your
energy and money in innovations that
have been proven to work?
We can do both because clearly even with
the non-vaccine prevention methods we are
not decreasing incidence dramatically even
as science has given us the tools we need
to change the course of the pandemic and
ultimately end it. Any argument that this
cannot be achieved because we do not have
evidence-based tools is no longer valid.
Science has given us the tools. They must
all be applied because ending the pandemic
is a multifaceted challenge, but we know
it is possible. Yet it will not happen
spontaneously. It will require a global
commitment of countries, governments and
communities to strengthen their health-care
systems and build the capacity to provide
both treatment and prevention.
Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018 17
NEWS ANALYSIS
Opposition politicians say police brutality complicates the process of a national dialogue.
Which way for
national dialogue?
Organisers insist December 12 meet is on but party
leaders bicker over hostile political environment
By Ian Katusiime
J
ustice James Ogoola is determined to
have the national dialogue take place.
He is the chairperson of The Elders
Forum; a group that advocates for
healthy politics. It was behind the first ever
presidential debate in Uganda in 2016.
The former Principal Judge has traversed
the country preaching the essence of a
national dialogue and he is set on a major
meeting of party presidents taking place on
Dec. 12. However Ogoola and colleagues
in the Inter Religious Council of Uganda
(IRCU), another group pushing for the
dialogue, face invincible odds because of
controversy sparked by the unprecedented
proposition.
Ogoola has found himself in a position
where one day, he is announcing how
many politicians they have on board for
talks or the number of Ugandans they have
so far consulted and the next day he has to
deal with another episode of violent arrest
or torture and its implications for the dia-
logue.
The Inter Party Organisation on Dialogue
(IPOD); a grouping of five parties in parlia-
18 Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018
ment; NRM, FDC, DP, UPC and JEEMMA
has also been conducting several meetings;
including one at State House Entebbe with
President Museveni, on the same issue.
The Netherlands Institute for Multiparty
Democracy (NIMD), an NGO with offices
in Ntinda, Kampala that works to promote
peaceful and inclusive politics worldwide
gives IPOD a secretariat. Frank Rusa, the
NIMD Country Representative, is the Exec-
utive Secretary of IPOD and is immersed in
the process of the dialogue.
Rusa acknowledges that Ugandans are
always doubtful of the dialogue process
because of the ruling party. He says they
should not be this time. He says this time
the situation is different and all players rec-
ognize that the proposed dialogue between
the topmost leaders of political parties is
important.
“This time it will be different because
there has never been demonstration of a
political will like now; the Head of State has
confirmed attendance,” he told The Indepen-
dent in an interview.
Rusa says there is momentum after a
lull of two years since the 2016 presidential
election. He adds that the NRM has com-
mitted that their secretary general Kasule
Lumumba, Director of Legal Affairs, the
Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda,; an
NRM historical, will also attend the meeting
to be held at Commonwealth Resort Mun-
yonyo on Dec. 12.
Rusa says the Munyonyo meeting will
adopt an agenda for engagement between
the various party leaders.
“In any healthy multiparty system, we
need to have room to cooperate. We want
this to be a constant feature of our politi-
cal space where we routinely engage each
other,” he says.
He says the dialogue process started after
the contentious 2016 presidential election
although it is just picking up now. Meetings
were held between cultural institutions,
civil society, academia but along the way,
momentum was lost. It got worse in 2017
when no activity took place as the highly
divisive campaign to amend the constitu-
tion to enable President Museveni run again
neutralised any room for the dialogue.
But despite his optimism as a facilitator,
Rusa is aware of the political terrain he is
operating in. The torture cases that have
been highlighted this year, against opposi-

tion MPs and other political activists are not
lost on him.
“Of course the spirit of the dialogue is
undermined when such things happen
because dialogue is built on ongoing trust,
he explains, “We cannot dialogue in the
room, when outside the room you are
kicking me. We are working with all state
agents.”
Party leaders speak
James Akena, the president of the
Uganda People’s Congress (UPC), and the
current chairman of IPOD is optimistic and
he believes dialogue is best for Uganda’s
politics going forward.
He says that any political actor who
is not interested in the talks either has to
come up with a Plan B or a formula to alter
the status quo outside of the processes
offered by dialogue.
“Sitting and waiting for a changed situ-
ation is the least interactive route but may
be construed as simply burying your head
in the sand,” he states in an email to The
Independent.
Akena agrees with some of his col-
leagues in politics and observers on the
many valid and justifiable reasons why
there should not be talks but he is more
concerned about the uncertainty of the
future.
“Viable and functional political par-
ties which are able to hold a principled
dialogue across political lines provide an
institutional mechanism to overcome and
mitigate unplanned transitions, even if the
desired well managed transition proves
unassailable.”
FDC as the largest political party in the
opposition has been open about its dis-
comfort with some aspects of the dialogue
although sources in the party say President
Patrick Amuriat will join his counterparts.
Party spokesperson, Semujju Nganda,
who doubles as the Opposition chief whip
in parliament issued a statement saying
the party does not regard Museveni as the
legitimately elected President of Uganda.
“If that issue is part of what will be dis-
cussed in December, then FDC manage-
James Akena Gerald Siranda
ment will sit and take a decision,” he said.
Norbert Mao, the president-general
of the Democratic Party (DP), initially
was enthusiastic about the dialogue but
switched to say his party was pulling out
of the process. Recently, however, DP’s
Secretary General Gerald Siranda, told The
Independent that the DP leader will attend
the upcoming meeting although a number
of issues remain unresolved.
“We gave conditions so that the dialogue
does not turn out like the Nairobi Peace
Talks or those in Moshi, Siranda explains,
“We want a dialogue where there is an
agreeable agenda.”
Siranda says the way parties were con-
sulted by the conveners leaves a lot to be
desired. He is critical of the way the con-
veners acted after they secured the atten-
dance of President Museveni.
“They started waving to all how NRM
was part of the talks. Even the NRM Secre-
tary asked them; have you consulted us as
a party? That is why you saw the deputy
attorney general saying contradictory
things about the dialogue? I don’t want
my party whip to say something different
from me.”
He says in the meeting of Dec. 12, the
position of Museveni should remain as
party chairman strictly. “The overall goal is
multiparty growth,” he says.
Siranda adds that beyond constitutional
and electoral reforms, the goal should be
how to build capacity of political parties. In
NEWS ANALYSIS
his view, youth participation should be a
central theme of the talks.
He says the same about individuals
behind the dialogue. “Some of them are
supporters of Museveni. In IRCU, we have
[Mufti] Mubajje and we also have Ndi-
langwa of the Kibuli faction,” he tells The
Independent.
According to Siranda, the personalities
of individuals behind the dialogue is also
a sticking issue. He says members of the
National Fellowship of Born Again Church-
es, another member of the IRCU, is full of
factions. He adds that some of the bishops
are too close to Museveni. “There are many
issues; who is the funder of the dialogue? If
we are going to ceasefire, can we mobilise
freely?”
He adds: “We cannot dialogue when
Kawooya, our member is being beaten in
broad daylight.”
Siranda says the issues they raised have
not been answered a month since they
wrote to The Elders Forum.
Opposition parties view the ruling NRM
party with a lot of suspicion; especially its
chairman President Museveni. And Musev-
eni’s position will inevitably be a point of
discussion in the dialogue and it remains to
be seen on the reactions of those attending.
Richard Todwong, the NRM deputy
secretary general says any questions of
violence or any inappropriate acts the NRM
is accused of should be discussed in the dia-
logue. “NRM and all its members have all
committed to the structure of the dialogue,”
he says.
“This will be an issue of brainstorming,
all issues will come up. It is too early for
anyone to accuse the NRM of not being
committed. All issues shall be dealt with.”
It is proposed that after meeting in
December, the respective Secretaries
General of the parties will be meeting often
between January and May next year.
All seems to be in place for the big meet.
But it is a longtime between now and
Dec. 12, especially in Uganda’s political
environment which can be quite volatile.
Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018 19
news analysis
By Colleen P. Kirk
B
lack Friday, the most
celebrated shop-
ping day of the year,
abounds with tales
of fistfights over discounted
televisions or even stampedes
as consumers rush to get that
low-priced sweater they saw in
an ad.
Many people chalk it up to
bad behavior. But marketers
like me have a term to describe
one feeling that contributes to it:
psychological ownership.
Have you ever felt as if
another driver stole your park-
ing spot? Or were supremely
miffed when someone else
nabbed the last red sweater that
you had your eye on? And isn’t
it irritating when someone else
receives credit for your idea? If
so, you experienced psychologi-
cal ownership.
In other words, we often
take ownership over a thing
or service in our minds before
we actually give up the cash
that makes it legally ours. And
retailers use this psychological
trick to get us to buy more of
their stuff – or spend more. It
also makes us more likely to
20 Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018
Black Friday
Why do shoppers throw punches over bargains?
A marketing expert explains the psychology
brag about our purchases, valu-
able word-of-mouth advertising
for those brands.
While the concept itself is
well-known, there’s been little
research on how people actu-
ally react when someone seems
to infringe on their psychologi-
cal ownership. My colleagues
Joann Peck and Scott Swain and
I conducted several studies to
find out.
That feeling that something
is yours
Psychological ownership is
an important concept in mar-
keting. Sellers are motivated to
elicit it because having it makes
you want to buy their goods.
An example of this is potato
chip maker Lay’s “Do Me a
Flavor” contest, which began in
2008 and invited customers to
suggest and vote on new chip
flavors. By tickling custom-
ers’ sense of ownership in the
product and the brand, it was a
remarkable success in markets
around the world.
But it doesn’t have to be a
major campaign. A simple ad or
invitation to touch can have the
same impact.
There are three factors that
foster psychological ownership:
If you can touch or control
something or even imagine
doing so. An example is putting
something in your shopping
cart – whether physical or vir-
tual online. If you have cus-
tomised something or invested
your efforts in designing it.
When the server brings the
food to your table and places
your dish in front of someone
else, you’re quick to say, “That’s
mine.” And intimate knowl-
edge. If you grew up with a
product, have always used it or
have a special or unique way of
using it, the odds are good you
feel psychological ownership
over it.
Furthermore, you can feel
psychological ownership over
pretty much anything that
doesn’t legally belong to you,
from the last chocolate truffle
in a display case to the dream
home you found on Zillow,
and even intangible things like
ideas.
Psychological ownership in
action
To find out how people react
when their psychologically
owned property is threatened,
my colleagues and I conducted
a series of experiments. Each
was designed to elicit or manip-

ulate feelings of ownership in consumers
and then have other people communicate,
or signal, psychological ownership of the
same product.
In the first one, 58 college students par-
ticipated in a simulated dining study in
our lab. At one point, they each poured
themselves a cup of coffee from a bar and
customised it with condiments like sugar,
frothed milk and syrup, which helped
create strong feelings of ownership of the
coffee.
Later, after serving participants a piece of
cake at their table, a waiter asked, “Is every-
thing OK?” The waiter also, in half the cas-
es, moved their coffee cup for no apparent
reason. After the “bill” came, we found that
participants whose coffee cup was moved
tipped the server 25 percent less. In a sub-
sequent survey, these participants reported
that they felt the server had infringed on
their territory and said they would be less
likely to return to such a restaurant.
A second experiment extended this ter-
ritorial feeling to something less tangible:
an artistic design. As part of volunteer work
for a local nonprofit, 162 university students
decorated folders for children’s educational
materials. They either copied a design onto
the folder – which elicits low psychological
ownership – or created their own design –
leading to high psychological ownership.
After they finished, a staff member walked
up to half the participants and said, “That
looks like my design!”
Later, as the staff member left the room,
she “accidentally” dropped a pen, sup-
posedly without noticing. We found that
participants who designed their own folder
and were told by the worker that it looked
like hers were 66 percent less likely to pick
up the pen and return it.
A later survey showed that these par-
ticipants indeed felt that the staff member
infringed on what they considered theirs.
As a result, they were also less likely to
donate to the nonprofit or volunteer again.
Interestingly, they reported they would
be more likely to post a selfie with their
folder on social media – in other words,
they tried to defend their psychological
ownership by communicating their own
claim to ownership.
Limits of psychological ownership
Other similar experiments showed there
are some limits to psychological ownership
and who’s more susceptible.
One such experiment, conducted online,
involved asking participants to imagine
they were queuing to buy a comfy sweater
for an upcoming social event and told to
close their eyes and picture themselves
wearing it. They were then told, at random,
to imagine either that another customer
reached out and touched the sweater or
asked permission to do so. We found that
asking first reduced the participant’s feeling
of infringement and tendency to respond
news analysis
territorially.
In a separate experiment, we wanted to
see if more narcissistic people were more
likely to respond territorially when some-
one infringed on their “property,” in this
case a delicious-looking pizza. We elicited
psychological ownership of the pizza by
asking participants to imagine they had
traveled a long distance just to get it.
As they were standing in front of the
pizza stand, a stranger came up and said
either “I am not familiar with this pizza”
or “I know this pizza well. I call this pizza
‘Antonio’” – the latter phrase meant to sig-
nal ownership. At the end of the survey,
we measured narcissism using a common
personality scale.
We found that customers who scored
high on narcissism expected others to be
more aware of their feelings of ownership.
Thus, they were more likely to feel infringed
upon and respond territorially to the strang-
er who signaled ownership.
How to cope
Together, these studies demonstrate
we really don’t like it when others show
signs of ownership of something we feel
is “ours,” particularly if we believe they
should know of our prior claim. Further-
more, we might retaliate when given a
chance.
Consumer responses when this happens
can vary from simply abandoning the loca-
tion to talking badly about the business or
person involved. In other words, companies
that play on this feeling of psychological
ownership to spur sales should bear in
mind that there’s a cost as well, particularly
when a product or its low price is scarce,
such as on Black Friday.
So as you hunt for bargains next time,
bear in mind that psychological ownership
sets in long before a cashier puts your stuff
– or a fellow shopper’s – in a bag. My best
advice is be polite.
Colleen P. Kirk is Assistant Professor of
Marketing, New York Institute of Technology
Source: The Conversation
*terms and conditions apply
AfricellUG @AfricellUG
Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018 21
news analysis
Morocco launches Africa’s
first high-speed train
By Agencies
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI
and French President Emmanuel
Macron launched on Nov.15 the
first high-speed train in Africa.
The Moroccan king and Macron
took the train from the northern city
of Tangier to arrive in the capital
Rabat, in a ride that lasted 80
minutes, compared to around four
hours for a normal train ride before.
C
alled Al Boraq, the 200-km high-
speed rail line has been built
with a budget of more than US$2
billion (Approx.Shs7.5 trillion or
Shs37 billion per km).
In addition to over US$600-million
financing from Morocco, several
foreign countries contributed to the
implementation of this project.
France contributed half of the total
budget of the project, while the rest was
mobilised by loans from Gulf countries,
namely Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and
the United Arab Emirates. The French
Development Agency and Morocco’s
national railway operator, the ONCF
signed the deal.
The new train exceeded a speed of 220
miles (352 km) per hour in the tests, but
it will travel at a speed of 320 km per
hour during normal operation.
As a result, the journey time between
Tangier and Casablanca will be reduced
from five hours to two hours and 10
minutes.
Morocco becomes the first African
country to operate high-speed trains.
The first of the trains received by the
Office National des Chemins de Fer
Marocain (ONCF) are manufactured
by Alstom; a French rail transport
multinational. Up to 14 high-speed trains
in total were proposed to be supplied
by Alstom, 14 in total, each capable of
carrying 533 passengers.
The line has been eight years in the
making. The route, first mapped out
in 2005, was made more complex by
hilly terrain and strong winds and
required the building of several viaducts
including some more than two miles
long. Engineers in Morocco started
testing the in 2017.
22 Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018
At that time, project was set to go
around 15 per cent over budget, but
ONCF head Rabii Lakhlii said the project
had still cost “less than €9 million euros
per kilometre (£13million per mile),
compared to a European standard of €20
million euros per kilometre”.
Alstom’s Avelia Euroduplex trains
are articulated double-deck units that
have been built with Morocco’s climate
in mind. Each train comprises eight cars,
including a catering carriage, and will
able to hold more 533 passengers. The
director general of ONCF, Mohamed
Rabie Khlie, has stated on record of
the country’s aim to double the current
annual ridership figures to six million
people.
With the line, Morocco is hoping to
give its economy a boost by effectively
bringing business centres closer together
and improving connections for the
country’s well-established tourism
industry.
It has also been reported that the
French car manufacturer, Peugeot, is
considering building a manufacturing
plant in Kenitra – one of the stops on the
new high speed line.
Alstom has said that the new trains
will offer passengers with mobility issues
big benefits owing to the open-plan
layout, while passenger information
have also been given an upgrade with
Arabic- and French-enabled systems
on board every train. Henri Poupart-
Lafarge, the Alstom CEO, spoke of the
company’s pride to be selected to deliver
Africa’s first high-speed train.
“This inauguration is a significant
milestone for this prestigious project
which will allow Moroccan people to
benefit from an incredible passenger
experience. Alstom is committed to
remaining a close and long-term partner
for Morocco, addressing its mobility
needs and supporting its upcoming
transport projects.”
It currently costs in the region of 136-
261 Moroccan Dirham (US$15-US$28) to
take the line all the way from Casablanca
to Tangier on the ONCF’s existing
service, and Lakhlii said that tickets will
cost about 30 per cent more on the speed
train.
Moroccan leaders have heralded the
project as a key step in modernising the
country’s infrastructure.
But opponents argued that the money,
the total cost of which is around €2
billion, could have been better spent in a
country where many live in poverty.
Morocco - which gained its
independance from France in 1956 - has a
gross national income of just 26,800MAD
(US$2,825) per capita, according to the
World Bank.
Supporters argue, however, that if
the new high-speed railway succeeds
in attracting more tourists, it will boost
what is already one of the most lucrative
sectors in the Moroccan economy.
Umeme workers erecting electricity poles.
Umeme’s new target
ERA wants the power distributor to
connect more customers, cut losses
S
By Julius Businge
elestino Babungi, the
managing director of
Uganda’s largest power
distribution company,
Umeme, wants the industry
regulator, Uganda Electricity
Regulatory Authority (ERA) to set for
them fair targets amid high consumer
expectations.
Babungi said fair targets benefits all
players in the industry arguing that
aggressive targets would require more
resources to invest in the network hence
causing unwanted increases in the power
tariff.
He was speaking to The Independent
on the sidelines of a half day public
hearing in respect of its application
for modification of License No.048
specifically relating to the performance
parameters for the coming six years from
March 2019 to March 2025, following
the expiry of the current targets come
February 28, 2019.
The company also wants amendments
done in respect to computation of
the total excess revenue earned as
per modification number five of their
contract.
The public hearing is one of the
consultative meetings that ERA is
conducting in accordance with section
44 of the Electricity Act, 1999 to set new
targets for Umeme.
According to ERA’s Secretary and
legal expert, Harold Obiga, focus group
discussions amongst other stakeholders
will continue and that the final decision of
this matter will be made in January 2019
and effected on March 1, 2019.
Umeme’s application
According to its application dated
March 28, 2018, the company was
supposed to present performance for the
review period 2012 –2018 and anticipated
or trajectory performance for the coming
six years to partly inform the decision on
new targets – to be set by ERA.
The company’s proposed energy loss
trajectory for the year 2019 is 15.24%,
in 2020 (14.63%), 2021 (14.75%), 2022
(14.50%), 2023 (14.23%) and 2024
(14.36%).
According to ERA, the company has
consistently reduced losses for the ending
period but performed below the target;
27.3% against a target of 27.0% for 2011,
26.1% against a target of 25.5% in 2012,
24.5% against a target of 23.0% in 2013,
21.3% against a target of 20% for the year
2014, 19.5% against a target of 18.3% for
2015, 19.1% against a target of 16.9% in
2016, 17.2% against a target of 15.7% in
2017 and 16.5% against a target of 14.7%
in 2018.
The other targets are in regards to
Distribution Operation and Maintenance
Costs (DOMC).
The company wants these set as follows
for the new six years; Shs235.2bn (for
2019), Shs255.5 (2020), Shs274.2 (2021),
Shs287.4 (2022), Shs299.0 (2023), Shs317
(2024) and Shs338.2 (2025).
In the ending period, according to
ERA, the company incurred higher costs
[DOMC] compared to the target with
the variances being Shs12.5bn in 2012,
Shs27.6bn in 2013, Shs34.4bn in 2014,
Shs32.1bn in 2015, Shs13.8bn in 2016 and
Shs18.3bn in 2017.
The other area of targets will be on
Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018 23
business
revenue collection though Umeme or
ERA did not indicate what the former
would prefer for this target.
Available figures, however, shows that
the company performed above target
for the ending period. For instance, the
company hit the 99% collection target for
2011, 94% in 2012 and 100% against 97.3%
at some point in the ending period.
In 2014, the company recorded a 99.1%
collection point against a target of 97.50%,
a 98.2% collection against a target of
97.7% in 2015, 98.4% against a target of
97.9% in 2016 and 98.9% against a target
of 98.2% in 2017. ERA set the target for
2018 at 98.5%.
Participants, however, raised concerns
on whether ERA had capacity to
verify Umeme’s set targets and actual
performance.
The other issues were the high
electricity costs, existence of power
outages and or unstable power amidst
excess power generation capacity, and
whether the distributor would provide
bulky or aggregate meters for large
consumers.
Poor quality of prepaid metres,
opaqueness in computation of the tariff
also took a center stage in the discussion.
ERA, Umeme responds
In her response, the ERA Chief Officer
Eng. Ziria Tibalwa Waako, said they have
more than enough capacity in terms of
human resource and technology to verify
Umeme’s performance targets.
“We have the experts that are being
benchmarked even internationally….and
Afreximbank seeks to recruit
700 banks as agents
By Isaac Khisa
C
airo-based African Export-Import
Bank (Afreximbank) is seeking
to recruit at least 700 commercial
banks as agents across the continent
to extend financial services to Small and
Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
Amr Kamel, the Bank’s Executive Vice
President, Business Development and Cor-
porate Banking, said the multi-lateral lender
has on board about 170 African banks and
that the target is to have 700 banks by the
end of next year.
“The purpose of this is to ensure that
our services reach too many business and
SME’s,” he said during the 18th edition of
Afreximbank’s Annual Seminar on Struc-
tured Trade Finance held in Casablanca,
24 Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018
we have the most qualified competent
experts on the continent,” she said.
Commenting on the power distributor’s
performance, she said the regulator
would want Umeme to improve in all
areas.
She, however, said the company has
performed well as “we were coming from
a vertical organisation (UEB) when all
parameters were low.”
“What we need is to balance the
investment we are putting in to bring
down the losses and the tariff so that we
arrive together,” she said adding, “our
demand is improved efficiency, improved
performance and that is why we are here
to tap into the public’s input by way of
comments.”
She added that part of ERA’s work is
to represent the views of other Ugandans
who are unable to interpret the numbers
to ensure they get value for the money
they are paying.
In terms of outages, Tibalwa said
it is being handled at two levels – at
generation and distribution.
“The beauty is that when they (Umeme)
do not achieve their target the consumer
does not compensate them; they dig into
their return and their profit and that
incentivises them to run around to ensure
that they achieve the target,” she said.
She said the company has the
responsibility to ensure that power supply
is reliable in line with the concession
agreement with the government.
On his part, Babungi said they have
performed well and they expect fair
targets in the coming six years.
Morocco.
Kamel said the new initiative was to
bridge the gap created as international
banks pull out of the continent and that it
is intended to promote intra-African trade,
which currently stands at 16%.
Last year, UK-based Barclays Bank pulled
out of the African market seeking to concen-
trate in Europe.
The French bank, Groupe BCPE, said it is
considering divesting its banking interests
in Africa to the Moroccan banking group
BCP which is in line with Groupe BPCE’s
strategy of refocusing on sectors and
regions considered to be priorities for devel-
oping the group’s business lines. BCPE
has operations in Cameroon, Madagascar,
Congo and Tunisia.
Similarly, French-based Societe Generale
For instance, he said, in 2005 the
industry was collecting Shs160bn in
addition to costing government in
terms of subsidies but last year alone
(2017), it collected Shs1.6tn and paid the
transmission company Shs1tn.
He asked government to deliver on
their promise of increasing electricity
access through free connection policy,
increasing uptake by directing power to
industrial zones, increasing affordability
by brining onboard more generation
plants and investing more in transmission
lines.
He said the company needs regulatory
support during this period and the
amendment in the electricity act to curb
power theft so that they can achieve the
targets that are set.
“My message is we need to continue
investing in the network to improve
reliability. We need a very strong
backbone to deliver power so there is
reliability in the country,” Babungi said.
He added that the public hearing was
an opportunity for them to highlight on
the achievements for the last five or six
years as well as respond to consumer
queries.
“For us the last period has been great,”
he said citing introduction of prepaid
metering, cashless payment, staff training
and growing the distribution network.
He said the company plans to continue
pressing forward to achieve more
efficiency in electricity distribution to more
than 1.3million customers that it serves.
is in talks with South African lender Absa
about selling its local unit as the French
bank prepares to pull out of Africa’s most
industrialised economy.
Obi Emekekwue, Head of Global Com-
munications at the bank, said interested
African banks should make application to
Afreximbank for consideration.
“These banks will have access to a vari-
ety of credit lines, enabling them meet the
needs of their customers,” he said, adding
that a small fee will be charged upon dis-
cussion.
This development comes as Afreximbank
plans to disburse $25 billion to support
intra-African trade for five years ending
2021. Last year, the bank approved more
than $60 billion in credit facilities to African
businesses.

How to stir industrial growth
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung offers suggestions
ahead of new policy launch
By Julius Businge
P
olicy documents alone will not
industrialise Uganda. The gov-
ernment should lead this agenda
by acting and learning from the
mistakes and failures. Also industrial devel-
opment should become a political priority
in action and funding, not in talking and
policy papers.
That was the summary of issues that
emerged from the half day meeting organ-
ised by the Office of the President and
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Uganda office at
the Kampala Serena Hotel on Nov.20.
Attended by close to 200 people from
government, private sector, academia and
research and development partners, the
meeting themed ‘an inclusive industrial
policy review dialogue – to inform policy
development’deliberated on the country’s
industrial policy journey and plans ahead.
It comes as government through the Min-
istry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives is
in the final stages of completing the review
of the 10-year National Industrial Develop-
ment Policy building on the old one whose
implementation stood at only 30%.
FES’ Resident Representative for Uganda,
Mareike Le Pelley, said the policy review
process is vital for Uganda’s development
as it will connect with key local, regional
and international development goals.
This includes among others; Uganda
Vision 2040 – where the government seeks
to reform and optimise the industrial struc-
ture through establishing a modern indus-
trial system, the National Development Plan
II that prioritises the development of the
industrial sector, Sustainable Development
Goal No.9 that calls for the promotion of
inclusive and sustainable industrialisation
and the East African Community Industri-
alisation Policy 2012 – 2032.
The organisers also sought to use the
meeting to find solutions to sector challeng-
es including; poor coordination, planning
and budgeting processes, lack of compe-
tences within the relevant institutions, poor
communication, corruption, bureaucracy,
low levels of technology, limited financial
resources and infrastructural bottlenecks.
FES recommendations
The Issues paper that was drafted by
FES and the Makerere University Business
School economics lecturer, Ramathan Ggoo-
bi, say there is need to go beyond facilitation
President Museveni Amelia Kyambadde
of industrialisation by ensuring capitalisa-
tion of Uganda Development Corporation
by the state and giving it full support to
incubate industries.
It adds that investments should be in stra-
tegic industries such as textile and leather,
iron and steel, cement, petroleum, chemical,
pharmaceutical and metal industries.
They say these industries are strategic in
the sense that they act as stimuli to econom-
ic transformation due to their importance in
economic development, linkage with other
industries, and ability to create productive
jobs.
FES also calls on government to harmo-
nise the National Industrial Development
Policy (NIDP) with other policies and
strengthen the monitoring framework. Also
revise the key national policies, including
but not limited to: Investment Code, 1991;
National Trade Policy, 2007; National Land
Policy, 2013; and National Agricultural
Policy, 2013 among others to refocus them
towards development of home-grown
industrialisation.
They suggest the need to re-orient the
macro-economic framework (fiscal, mon-
etary, exchange rate, capital account and
labour market policies) towards supporting
the country’s industrialisation agenda.
“The lending and exchange rates that that
have consistently remained high should be
reduced to increase capital to manufactur-
ing firms and reduce the cost of importing
industrial raw materials,” the paper says
in part, adding that perpetual restrictive
monetary and fiscal policies at a time of
industrial establishment and upgrading
should be avoided since they tend to reduce
the growth of domestic demand and pro-
duction.
business
Government should also increase public
investment to crowd-in private investments
in addition to developing guidelines for
accessing industrial development incentives
such as tax exemption schemes and duty-
drawbacks for manufacturers.
To successfully implement agro-based
industrialisation, the issues paper says that
government should holistically invest in
smallholder farmers along the entire value
chain.
This is through increasing the agriculture
budget to 10% and organise the smallholder
farmers into cooperatives.
The other area is on legislating and
enforcing competition and anti-trust laws to
promote and regulate competition among
the private sector players and ensuring that
other sectors like energy, oil and gas and
agriculture are complemented.
The policy should also consider the pro-
motion of exports while satisfying the local
demand in addition to promoting local
content through encouraging equity and
shareholding.
President’s office ready
Wills Bashasha, the acting secretary in the
Office of the President welcomed the rec-
ommendations.
He said the 10-year year industrial
policy will provide the strategic direction
for industrial development in Uganda and
bring about the required transformation
that will propel Uganda to a modern and
prosperous country by 2040.
He added that the policy will build on to
what the old one achieved especially on the
legal and policy framework where a num-
ber of bills and policies were developed to
guide its implementation.
He outlined these as: the National SME
Policy 2015, National Grain Trade Policy
2015 and Packaged Water Policy, 2015 as
well as the passing of Uganda National
Bureau of Standards (UNBS) Act (Amend-
ment 2013) and Uganda Development Cor-
poration (UDC) Act 2015.
Bwanga George, the head of infrastruc-
ture, industry and physical planning at
National Planning Authority said they
would support the implementation process
of the policy so that the country can achieve
GDP per capita of US$9,500 embedded in
Vision 2040 and industrial sector contribu-
tion to GDP would increase from the cur-
rent around 9% to 31% by 2040.
Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018 25
business
New e-passport: All
you need to know
The document is set make customs clearance faster
By Isaac Khisa
T
he Directorate of
Citizenship and
Immigration Control
is set to rollout a
new International East
African passports to replace
the current ones.
The exercise that starts in
January 2019 is an initiative
of the EAC Heads of State
to synchronise passports
across the region. The
e-passport is expected to
comply with guidelines set
by the International Civil
Aviation Organisation,
making it acceptable
around the world.
Kenya is already issuing
the latest passports in an
exercise that started last
year while Tanzania plans
to do so in 2020.
Here is all you need to
know about the planned
e-passport.
Distinct features: The
new International EAC
e-passport will be a
physical passport like the
current ones but will be
embedded with a secure
electronic chip that will
contain more details
including a bio data page
that will have special
security features.
The new passport will
also have more security
features like the Coat of
Arms, the Crested Crane,
the Mountain Gorilla, the
Independence Monument,
Murchison Falls and the
fishing man.
Phase out East African
Passport: The new
International East African
e-passport will replace and
eventually phase out the
current East African (Blue)
26 Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018
and National Machine
readable passports (Black,
Red and Green).
Application/Renewal:
Applicants for the
e-passports will be required
to appear in person at the
Passport Offices and have
their facial and finger
prints taken. Ugandans
with a valid National
Identification card will
not need to go to the Local
Council for clearance.
Those without IDs will be
required to register with
NIRA prior to applying for
the Passport.
Those intending to apply
for new passports or to do
renewal are encouraged to
do so in January 2019 unless
there’s an urgent need to
travel within the remaining
period. Those travelling
to Kenya and Rwanda are
advised to use their ID,
Temporary Movement
Permits and Certificates of
Identity.
How it works:
The new passport will
ease clearance at the
entry/exit points. It will
facilitate use of e-gates for
self clearance, automated
issuance of Boarding Passes,
and quicker processing
across airports worldwide
where e-passport reader
equipment is installed.
Issuing periods:
e-passports will be issued
for a period of two years
from 2019 2021.
Diaspora community –
Ugandans in the
Diaspora will be able to
make applications for the
e-passports at seven missions
abroad by November 2019.
Fees:
The new International
East African e-passport
shall cost Shs250, 000 for
the Ordinary e-Passport
category under the normal
service standards of seven
days. Those who want the
Express service that takes
two days will be required to
pay an extra fee of Shs150,
000. Official passports
shall cost Shs400, 000 while
Diplomatic Passport shall
cost Shs500, 000.
New applicant’s who
paid Shs 150,000 and are yet
to receive their passports
will be required to top
up Shs 100,000 for the
e-passport. Those who paid
through the Express service
scheme will get the new
e-passport at no additional
cost.
How transition is to be
managed:
In the interest of
providing un-interrupted
service during the
transition, some e-passports
will be issued to citizens
during the pilot period
prior to commissioning the
e-Passport System. These
e-passports, according
to Benon Mutambi, the
permanent secretary in the
Ministry of Internal Affairs,
will be valid and can be
used for travel, but their
chips will be inactive.
Those who will be issued
with e-passports during the
pilot phase will be required
to return to immigration
headquarters to have their
biometric features taken
so that their chips are
activated. This will be done
after January 2019 but not
later than January 2021.
Executive Style
International money
transfer costs set to drop
How big is your business
W
at the moment?
orldRemit
processes
more than
one million
transactions a month and
has 3.5 million customers.
Our business in Uganda is
growing rapidly, driven by
our partner network. We
are proud to partner with
11 major Ugandan financial
institutions including lead-
ing banks like Centenary
Bank, Standard Chartered,
and Stanbic Bank; mobile
money services like MTN
mobile money and Airtel
money as well as a range
of microfinance partners
offering cash pick-up ser-
vices. We have noticed that
Ugandans are increasingly
sending mobile-to-mobile re-
mittances, which have grown
by over 150% between October
2016 and October 2018 reflect-
ing East Africa’s status at the
top destination for mobile
money remittances worldwide.
Of what importance was the
financial inclusion week that
you attended in Kampala re-
cently to your business?
I co-founded WorldRemit
in 2010, and over the last eight
years we have disrupted an
offline sector that has under-
served millions of migrants
across the globe by bringing
it online. It is our vision to
accelerate financial inclusion
through our digital service.
Attending Kampala’s Financial
Inclusion Week strengthens
our resolve to accelerate inclu-
sive finance for the benefit of
our customers across the globe.
One billion of the 1.7 billion
unbanked people in the world
already have access to a mobile
phone – meaning they poten-
tially have access to financial
services for the very first time.
Mobile money is an expanding
industry and is an extremely
strategic part of our business
with more than a third of our
global transfers and just under
half of our transfers to Africa
going to mobile money ser-
vices.
The average cost for send-
ers of remittances stands at
around 7% which is higher
than the average 4% cost that
is recommended by the G20
and the UN. When should
customers expect the 4%?
The global average cost
for sending money is around
7.1%. To send to Sub-Saharan
Africa, it is 9.4% according to
the World Bank. Money trans-
fer services like this were built
for a different time - an offline
world. At WorldRemit, we
want to use our digital model
to drive down these costs.
When using the WorldRemit
app or website to send US$200
to MTN or Airtel mobile wal-
lets in Uganda it costs our cus-
tomers US$2.99, which is 1.5%
of the total transaction. This fee
is significantly lower than the
average cost. Competition and
digital innovation will continue
to bring down the costs for the
benefit of the customer.
Catherine
Wines is a
Co-founder of
WorldRemit - a
global money
transfer
company. She
spoke to The
Independent’s
Julius
Businge
about the
trends in the
international
money
transfer
market.
Why should people trust your
service?
Once you have made a
money transfer, you can easily
track exactly where your money
has gone. You can call customer
service or even more quickly
take advantage of our new ‘track
your transfer’ feature on the
WorldRemit app. You have to
simply tap on the ‘track your
transfer’ on the transfer confir-
mation screen and then be taken
to the transfer status screen to
check the transfer status. Our
system gives customers instant
notifications on the status of
their transactions.
What opportunities does digi-
tisation of businesses offer to
money transfer ventures like
WorldRemit?
Whilst the US$600 billion
(Shs2trilion) remittance market
remains predominantly cash-
based, this market is beginning
to move online. By 2021 it is
estimated that around 60% will
be online. Increasing cellular
subscriptions, the rise of mobile-
to-mobile remittances and the
convergence between social
media and money transfers are
the main factors driving the digi-
tisation of the remittance space.
Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018
How does Uganda compare
with other markets in this line
of business?
Uganda is one of the top five
remittance receiving countries
in Africa for WorldRemit, in
addition to Ghana, Nigeria
and Kenya. The World Bank
estimates that the country
received over US$1.4billion in
remittances in 2017, accounting
for 5% of its GDP. This figure
will continue to rise, and Worl-
dRemit will play a key role in
driving this growth. Top send
countries with WorldRemit to
Uganda include the UK, Swe-
den, Australia and the United
States. Now having secured all
50 state licenses in the US, we
expect remittances sent from
the US to Uganda to continue
accelerating. We are continually
expanding our partner network
to meet our goal of connecting
10 million people in emerging
markets by 2020.
What new offers should your
customers expect in the near
future?
WorldRemit has launched
inter-African money transfers,
enabling customers in Africa to
send as well as receive money
transfers to 145 markets to drive
down the cost of remittances
(an average cost of 9.4% for
sending US$200, according to
the World Bank) and advance
regional integration. This new
service will first launch in East
Africa.
What is the appropriate strat-
egy for running a global busi-
ness?
To build a global business,
you must follow global trends.
South-South trade, migration
and remittances are on the rise,
and regional integration within
the global South is accelerating.
We see this as a key strategic
area of growth for our business.
To capitalise on these trends we
are launching receive countries
as send countries.
27
Business
PENSION HOSPITALITY

NSSF unveils new payment plan Hilton Garden Inn to open

qualify for age and 13 properties next year

withdrawal benefits.
Once embraced by the
members, Ayota said
it will enable the Fund
to have more funds to
invest in different areas.
Currently it has slightly
over Shs10tn worth of
assets.
Meanwhile, the Fund
was on Nov. 14 declared
the overall winner of the
NSSF Head of Marketing Barbra Arimi (L) and NSSF Deputy MD, Patrick 2018 financial reporting
Ayota addressing media during the launch.   Courtesy Photo. awards organised by
H
ilton Garden Inn has announced
the opening of 13 new properties
in six countries across the world in
the following months, several of
them in Africa.
Hilton’s upscale brand plans to tap into
these new destinations by offering guests
their signature combination of “warm hos-
pitality, featuring enhanced food and bever-
age offerings, modern and contemporary
decor, and the brand’s hallmark bright and
airy design.” The brand has experienced
significant successes in the run up to this
year’s fourth quarter, and during the first

A
fter consulting a
good number of
its members, the
National Social
Security Fund has put in
place a benefits payment
plan that will allow
qualifying members
to retain part of their
savings with the Fund at
the point of exit so as to
aviation
avoid misappropriation
of their savings.
The Deputy Managing
Director of the Fund
Patrick Ayota unveiled
the product on Nov.21 in
Kampala dubbed ‘NSSF
Draw Down Payment
Plan’.
He said it would
benefit members who
Construction
the Institute of Certified
Public Accountants of
Uganda (ICPA-U).  It
was recognised for
having presented an
impressive and highly
innovative annual
report that showed high
standards of financial
reporting covering areas
of environment, social
aspects and more.  locations that they may not previously have
three quarters Hilton Garden Inn opened
an incredible 38 properties in 16 different
countries including one near Jomo Kenyatta
International Airport in Nairobi,Kenya.
A number of these new hotels are virgin
ventures for the Hilton Garden Inn in Ugan-
da, France, Zambia and Albania.
The beauty of these new hotel openings,
apart from expanding the brand’s portfolio
into new destinations, is that guests will
be encouraged to travel and explore some
thought of.

Ethiopian Airlines ups Hima cement launches new cement brand

Mogadishu flights
O
n Nov.9, Hima “Our products adhere to
Cement an- the stringent quality stan-

E
thiopia’s national car-
rier, Ethiopian Airlines,
has announced plans
to have daily flights
between Addis Ababa and
Mogadishu starting Dec.01,
less than two weeks since the
carrier re-launched flights on
the route.
Presently, Ethiopian Airlines
operates three weekly flights.
Seeing neighbours Kenya
Airways also jump on the
bandwagon a few days ago
with Mogadishu flights has
nounced the
launch of Supa-
set cement brand which it
said comes to reinforce the
company’s commitment to
market innovations.
Launching the brand at
the company’s offices in
Kampala, the Marketing
Director, Allan Ssemakula
said Supaset 32.5R is one of
Hima Cement Marketing Director, Allan Ssemakula the brands buyers can rely
(R) and others unveil new Supaset 32.5R cement. on during construction.
aviation
Fastjet now majorly owned by Solenta
dards and undergo very
strict testing procedures
to ensure reliability,” Sse-
makula said.
He said that SupaSet is
suitable for high strength,
medium and low strength
concrete projects that
include among others,
flooring for both domestic
and industrial purposes,
making foundations and
blocks.

Ethiopian promptly upped the
ante with the announcement
of daily flights via their hub in
Addis Ababa.
Meanwhile has Ethiopian
also taken delivery of the 4th
of 26 on order Boeing B737Max
aircraft earlier this month, able
to uplift 160 passengers in the
dual cabin configuration of
business and economy classes.
The delivery has brought the
Ethiopian Airlines fleet to now
105 operating aircraft.
S
outh Africa’s Solenta Aviation has become
the majority shareholder in Fastjet
PLC following the recent acquisition of
additional shares.
Solenta Aviation increased its shares from 29.8%
to 54.3% automatically placing it in the driving
seat of fastjet and its operations in operations in
Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
It is also understood that the Fastjet Zimbabwe
shareholders will sell their majority share to a new
Solenta controlled company, according to media
reports. Fastjet Zimbabwe’s fleet has been boosted
with another Embraer ERJ145 to cater for double
daily operations between Harare and Bulawayo
but to also enhance on time dispatch reliability
on the other routes from Harare to Johannesburg,
Harare to Victoria Falls and Victoria Falls to
Johannesburg. For Fastjet Mozambique are
the prospects now bright as new routes are
reportedly being lined up, not just domestic
but also into the region. Fastjet Tanzania will
remain with two Embraer E190 aircraft while
the planned introduction of three ATR72-600
aircraft has been shelved and the planes will be
redeployed elsewhere.

28 Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018

 Business

Stanbic to open three

more incubation centres
By The Independent port and lack of skills includ-

S
tanbic Bank is set to
open three more busi-
ness incubation centres
countrywide as it seeks
to tap into investments in the
oil and gas industry ahead of
the production.
Patrick Mweheire, the
bank’s Chief Executive, said
the lender will open the three
training centres in Mbarara,
Gulu and Mbale next year.
“This is meant to extend
MTN Uganda CEO Wim Vanhelleputte (L) flags off runners for the MTN services closure to the people
Kampala Marathon on Nov. 25. The proceeds of the 2018 MTN Kampala who need this kind of train-
Marathon will support maternal health countrywide.   Courtesy Photo. ing,” he said at the Stanbic’s
business incubator in Kololo,
Kampala, in which 420 entre-
preneurs from 119 SMEs were
awarded with certificates upon
completing various courses.
Mweheire said SMEs are
key engines of economic
growth in the country employ-
ing approximately 2.5 million
people, contributing 20% of
Gross Domestic Product and
producing 80% of Uganda’s
manufactured output.
He, however, said they con-
tinue to be plagued with chal-
lenges that limit their potential,
Irene Muloni (centre) flanked by Vivo Energy top executives including lack of financial sup-
performing a traditional activity during the official launch of the
company’s new fuels with dynaflex technology at Serena Hotel on
Nov.22.   THE INDEPEPENDENT/JULIUS BUSINGE
ing entrepreneurial, manage-
ment, marketing and financial
planning.
“Stanbic Bank, through this
incubator, is nurturing SMEs
in order for them to develop
and grow by bridging the
identified gaps,” he said.
He said it is prudent that
local companies grab a share
of the oil and gas investment
to stimulate economic growth
and development.
Uganda hopes to invest
nearly US$15-20bn in oil and
gas infrastructure that among
others includes a refinery and
pipeline ahead of oil produc-
tion slated for the next two-
four years.
The bank’s Head of Enter-
prise Development, Tony
Otoa, said it is the lender’s
interest that majority of the
Ugandan SMEs are equipped
with the necessary skills,
knowledge and understand-
ing of the requisite standards
required to successfully
participate in the oil and gas
sector, and to run their busi-
nesses in a sustainable and
profitable manner.

Weekly share price movement (Nov 19, 2018)

Security Nov 19 Oct. 26 Movement
BATU 30,000 30000 00
BOBU 139 140 0.7
CENT 1,015 918 10.5
QCL 255 253 0.8
DFCU 845 849 0.5
EABL 6,017 6,644 9.4
EBL 1,422 1,438 1.1
JHL 15,225 15,850 3.9
KA 349 426 18.0
KCB 1,413 1,484 4.8
NIC 15 16 6.3
NMG 2,519 2,579 2.3
NVL 340 350 2.8
dfcu Executive Director, William Sekabembe (L) hands over a dummy
SBU 32 33 3.0
cheque to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Henry Oryem
UCHM 23 24 4.1
Okello on behalf of Kitgum All Saints Cathedral Bisho consecration
on Nov.23.   Photo by Silver Ofwono. UCL 20 23 13.0
UMEME 340 347 2.0
ALSI -- -- --

Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018 29

COMMENT
By Bill Emmott
When leaders won’t leave
For every leader, managing your succession is a key
task and one that must not be left until it is too late
T
he spectacular rise and fall of Carlos
Ghosn, “Le Cost Killer” who saved
Nissan after 1999 and built a pow-
erful partnership of the Japanese
carmaker, its big French shareholder,
Renault, and Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors,
resembles a Kabuki play, with the Japa-
nese powers-that-be asserting themselves
in the end. But Ghosn’s downfall is really
more like a classic Greek tragedy, with
contemporary German elements. This is a
story of Hubris meeting Nemesis. And the
best parallel to Ghosn is German Chan-
cellor Angela Merkel.
Even superstar managers or political
leaders risk disaster if they overestimate
their power and outstay their wel-
come. That is what Merkel has done by
remaining in office for 13 years, making
her the longest-serving chancellor since
Helmut Kohl held the post, from 1982 to
1998.
Within recent memory, Merkel was
seen, rightly or wrongly, in heroic terms
for her role in stabilising the euro single
currency. But when she leaves office,
probably in the next few months, she will
cut a much-diminished, perhaps even
humiliated figure.
At least her fate looks to be better than
that of Ghosn, who was arrested in Tokyo
when he landed there in a private jet, and
now faces accusations that he misappro-
priated company funds and paid himself
millions of dollars in hidden compensa-
tion. Whatever facts eventually emerge,
the Brazilian-Lebanese-French executive’s
career, which included 18 years running
Nissan and 13 years running Renault, has
come to an abrupt end.
Ghosn’s arrest holds many lessons. One
is the newly prominent role of whistle-
blowers in Japan’s corporate sector. As
in the 2011 accounting scandal involving
Olympus Corporation, Ghosn’s alleged
misconduct was revealed to the compa-
ny’s management by an inside source.
Another lesson, however, is that big
Japanese firms’ auditing and other corpo-
rate-governance safeguards remain weak.
If Ghosn truly has been hiding his real
income from Nissan’s published accounts,
there must have been collaborators in the
company’s finance department, and such
practices ought to have been identified by
auditors and investigated by independent
30 Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018
directors. Such a sudden, belated disclo-
sure of executive malpractice casts a dark
shadow over the entire firm.
That shadow extends to the claim
that corporate governance in Japan has
been improving substantially, following
reforms encouraged by Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe’s government. And yet that
failure may be overlooked thanks to a
further feature of this tale, evident after
the arrest when the man who had been
Ghosn’s co-CEO, Hiroto Saikawa, brutally
ejected him: Japanese managers have
reasserted their traditional solidarity at
the firm in an effort to shift the balance of
power in the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi
Motors alliance away from Renault and
back toward Nissan.
This shift risks destabilising the alliance,
but Nissan managers appear to regard
that as preferable to being subsumed in
a de facto merger – which is what the
stories emerging in Tokyo suggest Ghosn
was plotting. Renault currently owns a
43% stake in Nissan, while Nissan holds
15% of Renault and 34% of Mitsubishi
Motors. Crossholdings of that sort are
common practice in Japanese business,
but full ownership may well have looked
like a more sustainable long-term model
to Ghosn and to Renault.
Ghosn’s arrest
holds many
lessons. One
is the newly
prominent role
of whistle-
blowers
in Japan’s
corporate sector
The main moral of this tragic tale,
however, does not stem from a struggle
between Japanese and European prac-
tices, much less from a pay squabble and
dodgy corporate practices. It is that unless
you own a company, you had better not
think you can stay at the top of it forever.
Ghosn had remained chairman of
Nissan after he stood down as co-CEO
last year, and he evidently believed he
could still call the shots. Managing your
succession is a key task for any leader,
one that must not be left until it is too
late. He failed to do this, in part by failing
actually to leave.
That is also what, if you take her liter-
ally, Merkel is doing now. In October, she
announced that she would not stand in
December for re-election as leader of the
Christian Democratic Union, but claimed
she would stay on as Chancellor until
2021. Yet as soon as her successor as party
leader is chosen, the drums will begin
beating for her immediate retirement –
especially if the victor turns out to be her
old rival, Friedrich Merz.
She would do far better to pre-empt
that pressure by taking the initiative
in announcing her own departure in
December. It is too late for her to alter
her legacy, which will always be domi-
nated by her controversial decision in
2015 to throw open Germany’s borders
to more than a million asylum-seekers
from Syria and other Middle Eastern
countries. Her last chance to influence
what historians write about her will be
to choose the moment and manner of her
exit from the political stage.
Ghosn, by contrast, can now affect his
legacy only through what his lawyers
can prove in whatever trial eventually
takes place. If only he had bowed out a
lot sooner, handing over the reins grace-
fully and completely, his story would
have remained one of great achieve-
ment. And a lot less damage would
have been done to the companies he
once served so well.
Bill Emmott, a former editor-in-chief of The
Economist, is the author of ` The Fate of the
West’.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018.

By Michael Mugabira
Behind new Sugar Act
Thank you parliament for ensuring that new law on sugar
shifts from ‘bitter’ Sugar Bill to new ‘Sweat’ Sugar Act
T
he Parliament of Uganda delivered
a land mark victory on Nov.21 by
passing the Sugar Act to streamline
the affairs of the sugar industry.
The Sugar Bill 2016 had bitter clauses/areas
and if they had been passed into law, the
Ugandan cane farmer would have been
rendered ‘a slave’ to the sugar barons. The
contentious issues addressed are as follows:
Sugar Board Vs Advisory Sugar
Council and Representation: Lack of
leadership was being demonstrated
by proposals for an Advisory Council
instead of establishment of a Sugar Board
with full powers. The argument being
advanced was that a Sugar Board will be
expensive and bureaucratic to manage.
As farmers before the Parliamentary
Trade, Tourism & Industry Committee,
we did object to the proposal of an Advi-
sory Council as this would be subject to
power abuse; that is, it could be ‘remote-
controlled’ by those intent to serve the
interests of the sugar barons.
Our argument was that putting a
structure that does not have full power,
such as the proposed Advisory Council
was actually an expensive option when
we consider the real issue that we are
attempting to address, such as inequi-
table distribution of value within the
industry.
The farmers argued that such a body
was unlikely to effectively represent
the interests of the Ugandan sugarcane
growers, which has the effect of perpetu-
ating the current inequitable distribution
of sugarcane value in favour of millers,
while at the same time burdening the
farmers with the huge cost and risk of
growing sugarcane for two years before
marketing.
We emphasised that this should be
the real cost under consideration here,
and not the cost of having an effective
body such as the Sugar Board. We also
recommended an equal representation
with millers on the board on condition
that the position of chairperson will be
rotational between growers and millers.
Finally, government representatives will
have no voting rights.
The Trade Committee generally upheld
our position save maintaining govern-
ment representative voting rights and
an independent chairperson. The main
Plenary addressed the issue of power
imbalance by proposing that since gov-
ernment representatives tend to side
with powerful millers, then the growers
should be four (4) and millers three (3),
and maintained that the Chairperson to
be appointed from the private sector and
non-aligned to the sugar industry.
Zoning: the most contentious bitter pill
in the bill.  The entire plenary (save a few
‘the prodigal sons/daughters’) quashed
zoning arguing that Uganda is a liber-
alised economy, then why create monop-
olies to enrich a few ‘sugar barons’ and
enslave our own people through discrim-
inatory clauses such as zoning, which are
unconstitutional.
Price Sharing Formulae: as with zoning,
this issue had been misinterpreted by
Members of Parliament as price setting
and/or controls and therefore arguing
for its deletion. As growers who were
listening to the arguments from the gal-
lery, our hearts started sinking because
if removed then the Contracted growers
(receiving inputs) from milers would
be at the mercy of the millers with con-
tinued exploitation since they have con-
tractual obligations.
For clarity, internationally the sugar
sector is governed by price formulae
that determine the sharing of proceeds
between millers and growers as a result
sales of sugar and its by-products in the
market for a whole year. The formula
basically sets the minimum price for
negotiations between the two parties.
In our Sugar Act, the formula for
sugarcane is prescribed as (Pc = Ps x
R x D) where Pc = Average price of
sugarcane paid to farmers per tonne,
Ps = Average price of raw sugar per
tonne (for simplicity this is sugar sold
to market at factory gate prices based
on supply and demand market forces,
for instance in the first quarter of year
a bag can be sold at Shs150,000, second
quarter can be Shs165,000, third quarter
can be Shs185,000, and last quarter say
Shs160,000 at the end of year an average
price is computed to determine Ps
and, therefore, cane farmers receive a
COMMENT
top-up payment i.e., at start of the year
farmers receive interim or advance pay-
ment. R simply means quantity of sugar
recovered per tonne of cane milled, i.e.,
simply this is a reflection of cane quality
which is a result of cane maturity. There-
fore, immature cane is discouraged as
recovery from it is low. For example,
cane maturity of 18 months mainly gives
a recovery of 90-110 kg raw sugar per
tonne of cane compared to cane of 12
months which can give recovery of 60-70
kg raw sugar per tonne cane crushed. D
= minimum percentage guiding negotia-
tions between both parties and for the
case of Uganda this has been set to be 50
percent of sugar sales and by-products.
Worldwide most farmers earn in range
of 50 to above 70 percent of the sugar
industry proceeds and by-products
i.e., molasses, power generation etc.,
(see World Association of Beet & Cane
Growers Association, Report 2015). 
Therefore, the 40% which had been
set in the bill and so far based on mill
sugar alone (exclusive of sugarcane other
products) was implying that Ugandan
farmers would be earning  less than 40%
of the sugarcane proceeds.
Therefore, on behalf of Uganda Sug-
arcane Growers we wish to extend
our magnanimous appreciation to the
Speaker of Parliament, Trade Com-
mittee Members (endorsed majority
report), Hon. MPs in Plenary debate for
re-shaping the ‘Bitter’ Sugar Bill 2016
transiting to the ‘Sweat’ Sugar Act, hence
for the first time cane growers will test
the sweetness of the sugar industry value
chain. Further, we are also humbled and
yet exalted that H.E. Gen ‘Sabalwanyi’
Y.K. Museveni, put the Country First and
we do pray and implore him to assent
to The Sugar Bill to be The Sugar Act as
a Christmas gift for his voters 2018 as
this period coincides with the famous
Christmas amended constitutional gift of
last year 2017.
 DR. Michael MUGABIRA is the
Coordinator, Uganda Sugarcane Growers
Associations’
Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018 31
COMMENT
By Joseph Were
Katuntu’s BoU snake-beating committee
The danger of hunters of personal gain forcing an indecisive
executive to dance to their tune in the legislative gallery
F
or some smart minds, the parlia-
ment probe into Bank of Uganda’s
sale of seven commercial banks over
23-years from 1993 is the peak of
absurdity. That seeing the once invincible
Governor Tumusiime Mutebile humbled
before the Parliamentary Committee on
Commissions, Statutory Authorities and
State Enterprises (COSASE) but mum-
bling “I don’t remember” to every query,
is a circus. They say it is absurdly similar
to Justice James Ogoola’s 1999 Judicial
Commission of Inquiry into the closure of
banks. Some even wish playwright Robert
Serumaga was alive today to write a sequel
to his absurdist 1974 play `Majangwa’. It
could depict the hopelessness of today. But
all that is a mistake.
This COSASE is different and the many
invisible forces around COSASE will be
revealed when it is done with hanging
BoU’s dirty laundry in parliament’s public
square. For now, it is enough to note
Ogoola’s investigation was on whether the
banks were rightly closed. COSASE’s target
is the individuals who closed them. It is a
subtle difference whose outcome might be
as different as popping corn is from pop-
ping dynamite.
Secondly, although COSASE Chairman
Abdu Katuntu likes to affectedly scratch his
goatee and invoke a supercilious awareness
of his responsibility, it is not clear to what
extent he is in charge of this mission. That
depends on how entrenched he is in the
ranks of today’s puppet masters. It could
also explain why some members of the
30-strong COSASE, like Medard Ssegona,
Mbabali Muyanja,Muhanga Margaret,
Michael Tusiime, and others who are usu-
ally either quite informed or voluble are
quiet.
Katuntu is in this position because he pro-
motes himself as what is technically called a
“sound” legislator; someone the public can
trust to effectively dig into any dirty pile,
and the government trusts to have enough
sense not to expose too much stench. But is
he a coopted outsider or a complicit insider?
Katuntu’s mission is clear; pin the BoU
officials on the missing inventories of the
assets and liabilities of the banks, how they
mismanaged them and unscrupulously
transferred some of them. The mission
mirrors the seven TORs COSASE gave the
Auditor General John Muwanga. It, there-
fore, does not matter whether BoU officials
32 Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018
hide all documents and refuse to cooperate.
This is a political inquisition not a forensic
investigation. And some people smiling
and acting untouchable today might be
licking dry lips tomorrow.
Significantly, earlier in March 2017,
President Yoweri Museveni uncharacteristi-
cally handpicked Katuntu – an opposition
stalwart, to head a secretive, non-official
general investigation into the affairs of
BoU. This committee reportedly handed
Museveni its report in October.
So the executive, and Katuntu as its proxy,
could be mistakenly floating on delusions
of COSASE as another grand circus where
a hot potato could be parked until it cools
down but a new game has emerged; of
using the committee to implicate, tarnish,
and embarrass job holders at BoU.
The mission is to render tenures unten-
able, stymie some careers, and make some
money. It is a bid to create a new order via
a grand ruse erected on fascinating subter-
fuge. Seeing the executive is indecisive, the
hope is that the public’s hue and cry will
compel action.
Big business players, State House, the
Buganda kingdom, the Catholic Church,
and the ever lurking officials of the World
Bank/IMF have a stake. It gets murkier
when opposition stalwart Nandala Mafabi
and NRM’s Raphael Magyezi of Remove
Age-limit Bill fame bat on the same side.
The probe is a consequence of the special
audit into BoU’s closure of the banks that
COSASE ordered the AG to undertake in
a letter dated November 28, 2017. But it
is Nandala Mafabi who in July 2017 peti-
tioned COSASE to launch it over alleged
negligence and unethical conduct, collusion,
and corruption by individuals. Mafabi’s
move appeared well-orchestrated as it
was seconded by Magyezi from across
the aisle. Deputy Speaker Jacob Oulanyah
appeared to halt it on August 1, 2017 fol-
lowing protests from MMAKS Advocates,
the sharp-suit lawyers for BoU from the
powerful Buganda kingdom. The Solicitor
General Francis Atoke also weighed in on
the blockers side. But the AG resurrected
it in an April 23, 2018 letter to Speaker of
Parliament Rebecca Kadaga and on May
10, 2018 got the go ahead. This ping pong
signals the high states game with COSASE
as a tiny part.
Finally, heads will roll when COSASE
is over. But does jail await some? And for
parliament, it might become prudent for
another committee to handle future BoU
issues. For expertise, the Committee on
National Economy might be considered.
The debate on central bank independence
might also reawaken. In the past, some
experts, including renowned banker and
financial sector scholar Ezra Suruma have
argued that problems such as seen at BoU
today result from meddling by politicians
and wrong policy directives from the IMF/
World Bank. Suruma’s position is imputed
from his views in his 2014 book `Advancing
the Ugandan Economy: A Personal
Account’.
Others, like Mutebile, have argued for
more power for BOU. In fact, the champion
of this camp, Prof. Phares Mutibwa, wrote
a book; `Bank of Uganda (1966-2006); a His-
torical Perspective’ which was a centerpiece
of activities when BoU marked 40 years.
They pushed and got the Financial Institu-
tions Act (2004) and later the FI (Amend-
ments) Act of 2016.
Mutebile, an economic ultraliberal, even
developed a mantra of commercial bank
supervision. “Bank regulators cannot be a
substitute for bad bank managers,” he often
pipes.
But many note that by the time he was
appointed in 2001, four of the banks under
scrutiny today had been `neatly’ sold or
closed. So, for years, Mutebile opined that
“in many of the failed banks, a dominant
shareholder or group of shareholders
was able to exert undue influence over
the management of the bank which
resulted in abuses such as pervasive
insider lending.
And he even devised a four-point survival
formula for commercial banks; including:
Appointing skilled and competent board
of directors, ensuring independence of
management, managing risk, and ensuring
independent audits. The question is why
the three bank closures under his tenure
have caused such a stench. Could there be
forces that Mutebile cannot handle beyond
his theories?
Anyway, when the late Idi Amin’s
Uganda was at its bleakest, Alex Mukulu
started his Africa Social and International
Theatre of the Absurd. Today he is quiet. In
the ensuing silence, smart minds might con-
clude that although the BoU probe appears
pointless, it pointedly mirrors many current
political contradictions.
By Wei-Chiao Huang & Jonathan
Lovell

Is it possible to eradicate

I
malaria?
t is a question with
which many researchers
have grappled, and
many ideas have been
proposed. The reason
malaria has garnered so
much attention is that
it is one of the deadliest
diseases, infecting 200
million people and killing
more than 500,000 annually,
with infants in Africa
suffering the majority of
fatalities.
The disease is a huge
burden for humanity,
damaging economies
and social development.
According to the Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention, malaria
treatments cost Africa
nearly US$12 billion per
year. Reports have shown
that nearly 1,700 cases are

diagnosed annually in the
United States, usually in
people who have recently
traveled to regions of
Asia and Africa where the
disease is endemic.
For some decades,
researchers have being
working on a novel idea
called a “transmission-
blocking vaccine.” This
vaccine is different from
traditional vaccines that
protect the recipient from
getting the disease. Here,
the vaccine blocks the
transmission of the parasite
that causes malaria from
an infected human host to
mosquitoes.
When a human receives
such a vaccine, specific
antibodies are generated in
the blood. When a mosquito
bites and ingests the blood
of an infected human,
both the parasite and
antibody are taken up into
the mosquito’s stomach.
Once inside the mosquito,
the antibody attaches to
the parasite and inhibits
Eradicating malaria
Scientist develop vaccine technique that could
block mosquitoes from transmitting disease
its development. This
prevents the mosquito from
transmitting the disease to
another person.
The concept is bold but
has not yet been tested in
large-scale trials.
How the transmission
blocking vaccine works.
The cycle of disease begins
when a mosquito carrying
the malaria parasite
bites the first individual,
infecting him with the
disease. The parasite then
replicates in the liver and
spreads into the blood.
When the vaccine is injected
into the infected person,
it stimulates the body to
produce antibodies that
then attach to the new
parasites. When another
mosquito feeds on the
infected individual, it
slurps up the malaria
parasite and the antibody.
The antibody prevents the
immature parasite from
developing, which means
that this mosquito is unable
to transmit the disease.
Wei-Chiao Huang, CC
BY-SA
Liposomes: A vaccine
carrier
A vaccine works by
showing the body a piece
of the disease-causing
microbe. The part itself
does not cause disease but
gives the body a preview
of the invader so that it can
prepare antibodies that will
tag the microbe and label it
for destruction.
To develop a potent
vaccine that induces a
strong antibody response,
the choice of protein
from the disease-causing
organism is critical.
Scientists home in on
particular proteins that the
microbes produce to spike
the vaccine. For our work,
we chose a well-studied
protein called Pfs25, which
is found on the surface of
the malaria parasite.
The parasite displays
this protein on its surface
when it is developing
in the midgut of the

Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018 33

health
mosquito. Pfs25 as target protein for
transmission-blocking vaccine has
been clinically tested in Phase I trials;
however, progress has been limited.
That is because, by itself, the Pfs25
protein triggers only weak production
of specific antibodies.
In other approaches, researchers
have taken steps to genetically
engineer a modified and more
potent Pfs25 for other clinical trials.
In general, such approaches are
promising, but there is some potential
risk that the target protein does not
exactly mimic the natural protein on
the parasite.
We believe that a new type of
vaccine that incorporates liposomes
may be a promising candidate for
a transmission-blocking vaccine
adjuvant. An adjuvant is another
vaccine component that potentiates
the immune response. Liposomes
are hollow spheres made from fat
molecules.
The advantage of the liposomes,
compared to just the Pfs25 protein
alone, is that they can help deliver
more parasite protein to immune
cells. These cells uptake the liposomal
vaccines and trigger the production of
more antibodies which then target the
parasite for destruction and block the
disease.
Jonathan Lovell’s team has
developed a liposome as a vaccine
to fight against malaria. In 2015, Dr.
Lovell’s team figured out how to
anchor proteins to the liposome by
attaching them to a string of amino
acids called a histidine tag. The tag
works like an anchor which attaches
the protein to the liposome.
Adding a cobalt-containing
molecule with a structure similar
to vitamin B12 made the liposome-
protein structure stable.
34 Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018
Eliminating the spread of malaria
The Lovell lab developed a cobalt-
laced liposome-based vaccine that
displays the parasite proteins on its
surface.
Making a liposome vaccine: The
Pfs25 protein is tethered to a histidine
tag (green) and mixed together with a
cobalt-containing liposome. The two
parts combine to make a vaccine that
is injected into the mouse. The insert
shows how the histidine tail interacts
with the liposome to keep the proteins
firmly attached. CC BY-SA
Making this vaccine is simple. Once
we have the cobalt liposomes and
the Pfs25-histidine molecules, we
simply mix these parts together, and
the structures form spontaneously.
When this Pfs25 liposome is injected
into mice, it triggers high quantities of
antibodies.
The antibodies in the mice blocked
development of parasites in the gut of
the mosquito. So we expect that when
an uninfected mosquito bites a person
infected with the malaria parasite,
the blood it sucks up will carry the
parasite and the human antibodies
that will prevent the parasite from
multiplying in the insect’s gut.
When we tested this vaccine in mice,
the animals continued to produce
antibodies for more than 250 days.
These antibodies produced throughout
this period prevented the development
of the malaria parasite throughout this
period.
Moving forward
Another valuable feature of the
cobalt liposome is that we can attach
a variety of proteins from different
stages of parasite development
to create a particle that triggers
the production of many types of
antibodies – each targeting a unique
part of the parasite. Our results
showed that five distinct malaria
proteins could be attached to the
liposome surface.
The antibodies from mice
immunised with liposomes carrying
multiple proteins recognised many
stages of parasite development. The
results seem promising. In the future
we plan to explore the safety of this
vaccine and whether it will work for
different species of malaria.
Our next step is to test our vaccine
in other animals. Eventually the aim is
to translate this technology to human
clinical trials and assess whether
the liposome technology and the
transmission blocking vaccine strategy
is an effective tool for preventing the
spread of malaria.
Wei-Chiao Huang is a Ph.D. Candidate
in the Biomedical Engineering
Department, University at Buffalo, The
State University of New York & Jonathan
Lovell is Associate Professor of Biomedical
Engineering, University at Buffalo, The
State University of New York
 ART | BOOKS | SOCIETY | TRAVEL | CULTURE
Value of our old buildings
T
By Dominic Muwanguzi
he conversation on
the preservation
of old building in
Kampala has been
recently renewed in
an itinerary photog-
raphy exhibition titled `Africa
Modernism’ showing at the
Makerere Art gallery in Kam-
pala, the capital of Uganda.
The exhibition documents
over 80 buildings in five cit-
ies on the African continent
namely Kumasi (Ghana), Nai-
robi (Kenya), Abidjan (Côte
d’Ivoire), Lusaka (Zambia), and
Dakar (Senegal) built mainly
during the post – colonial
period. However, an additional
chapter documenting Kampala
architecture inspired during
that period is included - to
create a local narrative for the
audience.
The modern architecture
showcased here captures
the vibrancy of the African
economies at the time and their
optimism about the future. It
should be noted that this period
(1950s-1970s) was not only a
time of economic boom for Afri-
can countries, but a moment to
flaunt their new national iden-
tity as independent states to the
Exhibit rediscovers modernistic
architecture in five African cities
outside world.
In light of this grand oppor-
tunity, magnificent buildings
like Kenyatta Conference Cen-
tre (Nairobi), Coffee Marketing
Board Complex (Kampala), the
Stadium at Kwame Nkrumah
University of Science and Tech-
nology (Kumasi) sprung up
to mirror the forward looking
spirit of the continent and the
heroism that accompanied it.
Incidentally, most structures
were designed by colonial
firms. In Kampala, it was the
British firm Peatfield & Bod-
gener that designed most of the
monumental building gracing
the city landscape. This was an
ironical aspect that somehow
reflected the dilemma of the
new independent states. Natu-
rally, the design and construc-
tion of these colossal buildings
would have been undertaken
by the locals, perhaps only
supervised by the west.
Yet this predicament does not
compromise on the aesthetics
of this modern architecture nor
its functionality to the public.
ments on these structures. This
has inspired the trend of demol-
ishing them to pave way for
“better constructions” around
the city.
Such hasty developments;
Buildings like Uganda House
with no reference to already
add character to the urban land-
existing architecture, risks
scape making it attractive and
to erode the political –social
unique. The buildings are also
context that influenced such
a splendid sight with towering
constructions. In fact, many
apartments and designs that are
building constructed today,
symbolic of cultures and tradi-
lack cultural- social significance
tions of a specific locale. For
to the locale.
example the Uganda National
So this exhibit plays a crucial
Theatre building was shaped
role in rediscovering some of
like a bow to reflect the socio-
the best architecture on the Afri-
cultural, religious, political
can continent that needs to be
and economic significance of
preserved against the urgency
Uganda as a country. Similar
to court new trends in construc-
significance is mirrored in the
tions that come with globalisa-
architecture of national confer-
tion. It recognises that pressure
ence centres, banks, and legisla-
to be part of a wider African
tive buildings.
identity. Without preserving
Also, the fact that most of the
them, certain histories and heri-
information on these old build-
tage of many African societies
ings, in the Uganda context, is
will be lost.
stored in the British Archives
The show is curated by
in the UK poses a serious prob-
German architect and author
lem in terms of research on
Manuel Herz. The exhibition
them. Who was commissioning
in Kampala is supported by
these buildings? Who were the
the Goethe Zentrum Kampala/
architects? Who governed their
UGCS and will remain open to
design choice? Without quick
the public until 18 January 2019
and easy answers, current gov-
at the Makerere Art Gallery.
ernments are ill- equipped to
Images are courtesy of Goethe
make further possible develop-
Zentrum Kampala.
Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018 35

You can now pay to
attend strangers’
weddings in India
Paying hundreds of dollars
to attend the wedding of two
total strangers in a foreign
country may seem strange
to some, but according to
JoinMyWedding, a company
specializing in wedding
tourism, it’s “the ultimate
cultural immersion” for
tourists looking to experience
as many elements of Indian
culture in the shortest time
possible. Clients get to
put on traditional Indian
clothing, taste exotic food,
witness and take part in
beautiful wedding customs,
and soak up the unique
atmosphere. As for the
couples getting married, they
get to share the happiest day
of their lives not just with
family and friends, “but with
the world” and make some
extra money in the process.
Tourists pay $150 (Approx.
Shs550,000) for one day’s
attendance, or $250 (Approx.
Shs930,000) for two days.
This heelless running shoe allegedly prevents injuries
Looking at the new running shoes
unveiled by Spanish start-up FBR
you would be forgiven for thinking
it incomplete, but the missing heel in
the sole is actually by design. Athletic
trainer Franc Beneyto came up with
the idea for a heelless running shoe
five years ago, after reading the book
`Running with the Kenyans’, by
Adharanand Finn, a journalist and
amateur runner who lived for a few
months in Kenya with athletes and
coaches to investigate why they were
36 Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018
Cheese maker plays music to
his cheese for better taste!
Beat Wampfler , a cheese
maker from the Emmental
region of Switzerland has been
experimenting with various
musical genres to see if they
can make his cheese taste bet-
ter. While his idea may sound a
bit crazy, he actually managed
to get some scientists from the
University of the Arts in Bern
involved in his experiments
after they learned that there is a
field called sonochemistry that
looks at the impact of sound
on solid bodies and chemi-
cal reactions. To test out his
theory, Beat Wampfler has been
installing small speakers under
the large wheels of Emmental
cheese and split them into
several groups, by musical
able to run more, faster and get injured
less frequently than others. In the book,
Finn wrote that Kenyans had refined
a natural running technique that did
Woman `vampire’
jailed
genres. Some cheeses are aging
to techno beats, others to ambi-
ent music, or classic pieces
like Mozart’s Magic Flute. The
effects of rock and hip-hop on
the taste of cheese are also being
tested, with some wheels of
cheese “listening” to Led Zep-
pelin or A Tribe Called Quest.
“Will the cheese taste better?
It’s hard to say,” Wampfler said,
adding that if it turns out that a
A 22-year-old female fan of
certain music genre can make
the hit TV show “The Vampire
his Emmental taste better he
Diaries” who considered herself
hopes it will be hip-hop.
the real-life vampire heroine
A jury of expert cheese tasters
Elena Gilbert was recently sen-
will assess the effect of the vari-
tenced to two and a half years in
ous musical genres on Wamp-
prison after stabbing a man that
fler’s wheels of Emmental
she allegedly considered a were-
cheese, next year, on March 15.
wolf. The bizarre attack occurred
in the Russian city of Novosi-
birsk, back in February. Ekateri-
na Tirskaya, met her unnamed
victim on social media, and, after
hitting it off online, the two went
for a date and ended up spend-
ing the night together. But things
got weird the following morn-
ing, as the man later told police
that the woman he woke up
and out of the blue told him that
she was a vampire and wanted
blood. She grabbed a knife and
stabbed him in the chest with it.
He run out of his apartment and
was rescued by neighbors. A
psychiatric evaluation concluded
that Ekaterina Tirskaya was of
sound mind, and the supernatu-
ral fan was convicted to two and
a half years in prison.
not require the support of the heel,
but instead relied on the Achilles
tendon, plantar arch, soleus and calf
muscle. A few months later, Beneyto
met Javier Gámez, a renowned doctor
in biomechanics who recognised the
potential of his heelless running shoe
concept and Beneyto founded Faster
& Better Runners (FBR), the company
that produces the heelless running
shoe. A pair of FBR costs 139 euros
(Approx, Shs600,000).

By Agencies
T
he Range Rover Evoque pretty
much invented the idea of a style-led
baby crossover, back in 2012. Plenty
of critics said it seemed a bit frivo-
lous, but three-quarters of a million buyers
around the world prove they were wrong.
It’s been a massive success, selling three-
quarters of a million copies.
This new one launches in 2019. It’s got
some clever technologies to make sure
there’s substance behind the style. Its sur-
prisingly serious off-road chops are given
another leg-up. But it’s also got some canny
gadgetry and furnishings to serve the real
majority of its buyers: smart city couples.
It’s been given an-all-new platform with
amazingly little carried-over hardware. That
should make it stronger, safer, quieter and
better-driving than before, as well as slightly
roomier – all within the same city-friendly
overall length and width.
0783 614601/ 0753 614601
2019 Range Rover
Evoque revealed
Driveline technology hasn’t been over-
looked. Like rivals, the engines are 2.0-litre
four-cylinder units, but there’s a mild
hybrid system attached to all the AWD ver-
sions. This is a 48-volt motor-generator that
harvests energy during braking and feeds it
back in as a helping hand of torque in gentle
slow acceleration. It saves about 6.0 per cent
fuel overall, the maker claims, and helps
especially in town. On the highway, thirst is
trimmed back because of a lower aero drag.
The longer wheelbase means a little more
rear legroom than before, so it feels just
about adult-sized. But Evoque owners sel-
dom carry people in the back, so the main
The Largest 7 Seater 4x4 In Uganda
Mercedes Benz GLS
sales@spearmotors.co.ug
aim was to improve boot space. It’s now 591
litres. The box under the centre armrest can
take big bottles or tablets.
Also the fuel tank is bigger, at 65/67 litres
for diesel/petrol, and the AdBlue tank rises
to 17.2 litres, cutting the need to stop for that
emissions fluid.
By the way, this new platform means the
Evoque now has few under-skin similarities
with the Jaguar E-Pace or Land Rover
Discovery Sport, though obviously when
those cars get replaced they’ll move onto the
new hardware.
Source: Internet
Only available at Spear Motors Limited
www.spearmotors.co.ug
Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018 37
Profile
Ramathan Ggoobi on `simplicity
as the ultimate sophistication’
By Agnes E Nantaba
R
amathan Ggoobi is Policy Ana-
lyst, and political economist who
spearheaded the arm ‘economics
that works in Uganda. He lecturers
economics at Makerere University Business
School (MUBS) and has co-authored several
studies on Uganda’s economy. Aside from
living his career dream, he is also passionate
about imparting and sharing knowledge
with others; especially young people. He
set off to change the face of economics in
the country from a complicated and math-
ematised discipline to make it user friendly.
That was more than ten years as an under-
graduate student of economics at Makerere
University. Although he had chosen to be
an economist as early as senior three, Ggoo-
bi was tasked with a tough course which he
says appeared like rocket science.
“The way it is taught makes it appear
like rocket science yet it deals with real life
and everybody would be interested,” says
Ggoobi.
“I had a critical mind and vowed that if I
ever become a teacher, I would change the
way it is taught”.
Upon graduation in 2003, Ggoobi was
among the best students of economics and
was recalled to offer lecturing services at
Makerere University. But before the process
of induction would be completed, Ggoobi
was contacted to offer the same services at
Kampala International University (KIU).
A month later, Kampala University was in
need of his services which he also offered to
deliver. Ggoobi says that he juggled both to
make ends meet until he was contacted by
MUBS.
This would finally be his best and for the
last ten years, he has taught economics at
the institution.
“I must confess that it has been a very
beautiful journey,” he says, “Most of my
students have testified that my way of
teaching helped them to love economics.”
Ggoobi also got involved in the global
debate of why economics teaches more
neo-liberalism. He says that he drew his
inspiration from Prof. Patrick Kabunakuki
who advised him to pursue economics that
works.
As many teachers continue to abandon
the profession in pursuit of better pay-
ing jobs, Ggoobi is not about to drop his
passion. As some of his colleagues are
38 Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018
complaining about the teaching load, he is school environment as the family spent
happily asking for more although he con- many years residing at the school campus.
fesses that his only challenge comes at the He also recalls visiting some relatives in
time of examining and marking thousands Kampala during holidays and getting
of scripts. actively involved in some work to earn
“Many people have tried to get me out some money.
of teaching; including the government but Ggoobi has a partner; Stella Nakamya,
I maintain my stand,” Ggoobi says, “I want with whom they have two children.
to keep changing the mindset of young
people which contributes to the betterment
of the country.”
Ggoobi is pursuing his PhD at Walden
University and works on several projects.
But he always avails time for teaching.
He says his passion for economics was
inspired by former Bank of Uganda Gov-
ernor and proprietor of defunct Greenland
Bank, Sulaiman Kiggundu who visited his
secondary school a couple of times during
fundraising drives and other ceremonies.
“I would listen to some of his stories of
how he had travelled the world and from
then, I set out to be like him as an econo-
mist,” Ggoobi said.
Ggoobi even volunteered to craft Kig-
gundu’s image as an art piece.
Ggoobi possibly picked his teaching traits
from his parents, both teachers. Two of his
other siblings are also lecturers.
Ggoobi was born in Butambala Kitagobwa
Ngando to teaching parents although his
father crossed over to civil service after
some time of teaching. His mother, Lucy
Nakibuule taught until retire-
ment. He studied at
Kitagobwa UMEA
primary and sec-
ondary school.
Most of his child-
hood memo-
ries revolve
around the

Ramathan Ggoobi’s Liteside
Any three things that we
I
don’t know about you?
am a simple guy; I
believe that simplicity
is the ultimate
sophistication although
some people take me to be
unserious. I am so obsessed
with happiness. I love
people a lot which explains
why I share a lot .
What is your idea of
perfect happiness?
Freedom of choice, self
esteem, and having a stable
income
What is the trait you most
deplore in yourself?
Sometimes I am over
generous; my people have
actually told me to lessen.
What is the trait you most
deplore in others?
Loose talk; there are
people who can’t observe
something and keep it to
themselves. There are also
those who are not objective
in their thinking and
conversation. I don’t like
people who use their own
biases to judge others.
Which living person do
you most admire?
I admire economists
but one who stands out
is Amartya Kumar Sen.
He is a professor of
economics and is like the
grandfather of economics
that works. He introduced
the aspect of development
as freedom and he helped
so much to switch the
mindset of economists
who used to think that
economic development is
about countries getting
infrastructure. Like him, I
believe that development
is about people and in that
education and health are
very important.
What is your greatest
extravagance?
I buy books a lot and
sometimes I buy those I will
never read.
What is the greatest thing
you have ever done?
Turning my life into what
it is now. I am a self-made
person who had to trade
certain things to get where I
am. I traded my teenage life
for what I am today.
What is your current state
of mind?
I am a happy person.
What do you consider the
most overrated virtue?
The institution of
marriage and weddings;
some people think that their
lives will stop if they don’t
get married to a certain
person or in a certain way.
We also overrate religious
practices.
What does being powerful
mean to you?
Being powerful means
being knowledgeable
buttressed with money. The
most powerful people who
are believed to have walked
this life are those who
have brought in something
positively new in the way
people view life.
On what occasion do you
lie?
Telling lies is inevitable;
especially if it’s going to
keep relationships good
and going.
What do you most dislike
about your appearance?
God was very generous in
my creation.
Which living person do
you most despise?
I despise politicians who
change goal posts.
What is the quality you
most like in a woman?
Simplicity, happiness,
and beauty.
What is the quality you
most like in a man?
Ability to give people
their freedom and respect
their emotions.
What or who is the greatest
love of your life?
My mother Lucy
Nakibuule comes up in
number one position. My
partner Stella Nakamya
is also a very special
person. My boss, Patrick
Kabunakuki introduced me
to the world where I am
now.
When and where were you
happiest?
February 2013 when I had
my first son. I was also very
happy graduating with my
first degree in 2003.
Which talent would you
most like to have?
I love singing and it is
something I picked from
my mother but have a bad
voice.
Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018
Q&A
If you could change one
thing about yourself, what
would it be?
Nothing.
Where would you most
like to live?
What is your most
treasured possession?
Being able to impact lives
of young people
What do you regard as the
lowest depth of misery?
Losing a person who is
so close to you and it might
not be a family member.
For instance, I lost a friend
in Gen. Aronda Nyakairima
(RIP).
What is your favorite
occupation?
Being an economist
What do you most value in
your friends?
Availability and
dependability.
Who are your favourite
writers?
William Russell Easterly
is a man who brought
political economy to
another level. He has
written a number of books
that point out a correlation
between politics and
economics.
Who is your hero of
fiction?
I am a realist.
What is your greatest
regret?
I don’t regret because I
love what I do. Life is not
yet perfect but is near there.
How would you like to
die?
I can’t think about death.
What is your motto?
Simplicity is the ultimate
sophistication.
39
Global comment
By Tony Blair
Uniting Africa for power
Integration is essential to scale and connect markets
where lack of electricity is holding back progress
A
frican countries are increasingly
coming together. A landmark
free-trade agreement was
concluded earlier this year. East
Africa has made great progress on free
movement of people. And a commitment
to a single market for air travel has been
revived, potentially connecting countries
better than ever before.
Each step toward greater cooperation
and unity on the continent is, on its
own, an important one. Together they
show how a new generation of African
leaders understand that power in the
twenty-first century reflects strength in
numbers.
But, for Africa, power requires power
in another sense: a lack of electricity
continues to hold back the continent’s
progress. And here, too, integration is
essential to scale and connect markets,
reduce consumer costs, and drive
growth.
Despite advances in recent years,
more than 600 million Africans still lack
access to electricity. Solar technology
has improved, and its declining cost has
made it a viable option. Rising inflows of
private capital have been accompanied
by large-scale national energy-sector
reforms, which should help increase the
availability of electricity. But pushing
down the price of power and making it
available across growing cities and vast
territories remains a daunting, and yet
central, task.
All of the African leaders with whom
I speak tell me that making electricity
affordable is a top-priority issue, and
most have set ambitious targets for
power generation and transmission.
But achieving these targets requires
adopting a mix of technologies, which is
hard enough in the best circumstances,
but even more so when countries try to
go it alone.
The fact is that resources are not evenly
distributed among countries. Some
have gas, others hydrological resources.
Some have no particular resources and
build thermal power plants or import
expensive liquid fuels to meet their
needs. Added to this are planning issues,
which usually go one of two ways: either
too much or too little supply.
The most efficient way to overcome
40 Nov 30 - Dec 06 2018
these costly electricity imbalances would
be through a common energy market.
Much like the European Union’s internal
market for electricity, power trading
would ideally extend across Africa and
form part of the continued evolution
of the African Union, which Rwandan
President Paul Kagame is so admirably
pushing forward. But high-volume
power trading from Ethiopia to Lesotho
is unlikely in the foreseeable future, and
a more realistic path forward would be
at the sub-regional level.
One such opportunity is through the
West Africa Power Pool. Little more
than half of the region’s population has
access to electricity, and only around 3%
of power generation currently crosses
borders (based on current capacity
levels). With an integrated market,
however, power demand could be
met as countries such as Ghana, Côte
d’Ivoire, and Guinea produce surpluses,
while others such as Burkina Faso and
Mali are in deficit and reliant on costly
liquid fuels.
Such a sub-regional market would
yield significant benefits not only for
families, but also for governments
and investors. More people would be
connected, exporting countries could
generate more revenue, and imports
would become less expensive, more
reliable, and cleaner. According to
modeling by the Africa Governance
Initiative (part of the Tony Blair
Institute for Global Change) and the
U.S. government’s Power Africa,
an integrated energy market would
save the region $32 billion in energy
costs in the next decade. With better
infrastructure and increased supply, this
figure could be many times more.
Developing a sub-regional market
would also spur economic growth,
create jobs, and boost income for
millions of people. Private capital
would be attracted to new opportunities
as national markets open up for
economies of scale in the production
and transmission of electricity. From an
environmental perspective, an integrated
market would save around 23 million
tons of fuel oil – roughly the equivalent
of the United Kingdom’s annual fuel
consumption by diesel vehicles.
But to realise the potential of power
trading, four conditions must be met.
For starters, the politics of trying to align
national policies with a regional vision
must change. Those of us with a long
history in the EU will understand the
difficulties of this better than most, and
for some West African countries, rolling
back costly and inefficient but politically
popular subsidies will be difficult. The
gains from trade would offset the effects,
but this is likely to be a hard sell for
politicians to make to their publics.
Second, infrastructure needs to be
developed to connect national markets.
International donors already are
supporting much of this work. It is
crucial to complete it, so that isolated
grids are integrated into a unique
regional market.
Third, gas must become increasingly
available. Nigeria is the most likely
source; another is imports of inexpensive
Liquefied Natural Gas. Without the
development of reserves, countries
will need to revert to liquid fuels, at
higher cost and larger carbon dioxide
emissions.
Lastly, regulatory harmonisation is
essential to ensure the right enabling
environment. But so, too, is support for
first-time, specific transactions – such
as that along Africa’s west coast all the
way from Côte d’Ivoire to Mauritania –
which can help countries to overcome
obstacles and open the door to future,
more expansive power trading.
Developing this internal market is
key to West Africa’s energy future.
Over the next decade, it could have a
major impact on the lives of more than
300 million people. It would also be
a significant step in Africa’s push for
greater unity, more self-reliance, and
an economy driven more by trade and
less by aid. And it would reinforce the
progress African leaders are making
toward projecting strategic power in the
world today.
Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom from 1997 to 2007, is Chairman of
the Africa Governance Initiative.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018.
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