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[Monitor] Finance minister Matia Kasaija was last night on the defensive following accusations that he irregularly dangled a top government job to secure the exit of his opponent in a parliamentary contest.
Many people have been killed since clashes began on Monday. Scores too had been killed in the run up to the vote as protestors marched against Conde's bid for a third term.
[Monitor] By Job Bwire
President Museveni yesterday told Parliament that after analysing the 2020/2021 Budget, they found a lot of wastes, which will necessitate a review to align the expenditure to the country's priorities.
we are coming back to engage our people,\" Mr Museveni said during the 2020/2021 televised Budget address at State House, Entebbe.
Mr Kasaija is going to review the Budget,\" the source said.
Presenting the Budget from Parliament, Mr Kasaija said the interventions for the pandemic came in after the Budget was approved.
Consequently, the budgets of all ministries, agencies and local governments will be revised to align them with the nine strategic priorities and fourteen production lines.
Two men have been arrested for allegedly creating a Facebook account in the names of the Commissioner General of Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) Mr John Musinguzi Rujoki.
URA said Wednesday that the fake account was being used in an attempt to defraud the public through false promises of jobs and business opportunities with URA.
\"Investigations have unearthed these two individuals and useful potential exhibits including seven used sim cards, four unused sim cards and six original National Identification cards have been recovered from them,\" Mr Ian Rumanyika URA's manager corporate affairs said.
\"A complainant who commenced interactions on April 27, 2020 with this \"fake\" Facebook account in an attempt to reach out to the Commissioner General was instead alarmed when the fraudsters running the fake account promised him a contract with URA for a kick-back of Shs 10, 000,000,\" he added.
So we have dispersed them, that URA crowd,\" Mr Museveni said.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Jane Frances Abodo has said her office was reluctant to sanction charges of being a nuisance against former Makerere University Research Fellow, Dr Stella Nyanzi last recently.
Counsel Walubiri had argued that it was high time the office of the DPP withdrew cases that have over stayed in the justice system like the treason case against Dr Kizza Besigye.
\"Perhaps, this is the time for the office of the DPP to weed out some files that have been pending in the criminal justice system for long as the same are clogging the system for no good reason,\" Mr Walubiri said.
DPP Abodo said she is determined to weed out undeserving cases from the justice system starting with those arrested during the ongoing lockdown.
Ms Winfred Adukule, the executive director of Freechild Uganda, urged the office of the DPP and the Judiciary not to forget about the juvenile justice in this Covid-19 lockdown.
The virtual meeting of the ad hoc commission for the normalisation of relations between Uganda and Rwanda ended on Thursday evening without a position, especially on the opening of the Gatuna border point.
The meeting was the first of the commission since the fourth Quadripartite Heads of State Summit of President Museveni, Rwanda's Paul Kagame, Angola's Joao Laurenco, and DRC's Felix Tshisekedi on February 21 at the Katuna/ Gatuna border.
Foreign Affairs minister Sam Kutesa chaired the video conference meeting, also attended by Rwanda's delegation led by Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation minister Vincente Biruta, and DR Congo's Deputy Prime Minister Gilbert Kankonde Malamba, and Angola's minister for External Relations, Mr Tete Antonio.
\"Uganda's stance in the meeting was that the border opens as the issues raised by Kigali are discussed further but which Rwanda vehemently shot down,\" sources told this newspaper on condition of anonymity as only Foreign Affairs Minister Kutesa is mandated to comment on the matter.
Meanwhile, in a dramatic turn of events, diplomatic sources further intimated that Uganda's UN Permanent Representative Adonia Ayebare, whom President Museveni named as Special Envoy on normalisation of relations late last year, was locked out of yesterday's virtual meeting on directives of Mr Kutesa over yet unknown reasons.
Malawi's electoral commission has appealed for peace and calm as it tallied ballots following a historic poll to re-elect a president after Peter Mutharika's victory was overturned.
He also said whereas government will distribute free masks to all Ugandans aged six years and above, others are free to buy their own facemasks.
Dr Aceng recommended that facemasks should preferably be made of cotton fabrics and have filters that they can wash or replace after use.
Dr Julius Lutwama, a virologist at the Uganda Virus Research Institute, said one has to change their facemasks at least three times a day, especially those working from public places such as markets, since the mask lets in tiny particles due to moist from saliva.
Dr Aceng said there is a shortage of fabric masks, especially N95, and urged Ugandans to reserve them for health workers.
A person wearing a mask needs to stay two metres away from other people while in public because coronavirus can still go through the eyes and touching other surfaces.
All planned Election Commission (EC) activities between March and May 2020, including elections for Special Interest Groups (SIG), have been suspended until further notice.
The EC secretary, Mr Sam Rwakoojo, on Tuesday said the Covid-19 lockdown affected many programmes on the elections roadmap and that discussions with different stakeholders are on-going to see how to readjust.
At the time government issued the directives, the EC was completing the public display of the national voters' register for the elections scheduled for April 2020.
The activities which have been affected according to the roadmap include display of tribunal recommendations for deletion or inclusion on the National Voters Register (NVR), gazetting and publishing of candidates' nomination dates and venues, Elections of Special Interest Groups (SIGs), including older persons, Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and youth at village and parish levels and internal political party candidates identification processes.
Former coordinator of Citizen Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda, Mr Crispy Kaheru, said the way out is to suspend the planned 2021 electoral programmes to fit between the months of July and October or have the elections of SIG after the General Election.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said total of 609 133 South Africans have been registered to vote in the by-elections on “Super Wednesday”
Judy Rugasira, the managing director of estate agency Knight Frank, says closing retail businesses that depend on the day-to-day cash flows for 60-days was damaging.
But as the country started to close down, sales in the retail sector slumped by 68 per cent, Rugasira said.
For the real estate sector, coronavirus came at a time when it was already struggling to attract demand and more properties were flooding the market.
A lot of space was being given up by government ministries as they built their own buildings, there was reduced Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the sector and more expatriates were leaving the country.
Rugasira says coronavirus will have a long term impact on the real estate sector, indicating that the non-performing loans that might come out of this might see interest rates up and reduce the ability of developers to borrow.
On the morning of November 3, opposition presidential candidate Patrick Oboi Amuriat left his home to go to his party’s headquarters in the south of Kampala, Uganda’s capital. ¨
From there, he planned to join his supporters and party officials in a procession to a venue where the electoral commission was conducting nominations for presidential contenders.
But before he could, the police pounced and violently arrested him. They then whisked him off to the nomination venue in the east of Kampala.
When he emerged from the police car, a visibly traumatized Amuriat was without his shoes.
‘Rich in symbolism’
Since November 3, the candidate for the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has never been seen in public with shoes. At campaign events, he shows up barefooted.
Hi @Johnlaban256 atleast this time ask for retweets so that the police brings back POA's shoes.Please laban have mercy. pic.twitter.com/uPTtJNSyDk
— MUZZUKULU WA KISOLO 🐺 (@DoniJohn3) November 3, 2020
Critics have called it a stunt to invite sympathy. Yet Amuriat says campaigning without shoes is a protest and that those who do not get its symbolism are missing a point.
Uganda is due to hold a general election on January 14. Amuriat and another opposition candidate, Bobi Wine have had their rallies violently dispersed by security forces or been arrested.
In mid-November, scores of people were killed as security forces attempted to quell protests against the arrest and detention of Bobi Wine.
Police has accused the candidates of addressing huge gatherings in contravention of regulations on COVID-19 prevention.
Swollen feet
In an interview with one of the dailies in Uganda, Amuriat said his feet hurt a lot and has to pour cold water on them in between campaign stops for some relief.
Doctors have cautioned him on the potential danger of contracting tetanus from cuts to his feet.
Yet Amuriat remains adamant. He says by refusing to wear shoes, he’s standing in solidarity with people whose wealth and opportunities have been stolen by the country’s longtime ruler Yoweri Museveni.
JUST IN: FDC presidential candidate Patrick Amuriat has been arrested at the border of Rubirizi and Bushenyi districts. The reason for his arrest is yet to be known📹 @MukhayeD#MonitorUpdates#UGDecides2021 pic.twitter.com/xopK4FMoD0
— Daily Monitor (@DailyMonitor) December 4, 2020
Museveni, in power since 1986 is seeking a new term. In 2017, he changed the constitution to remove age limits that would have stopped him from seeking re-election.
FDC is Uganda’s largest opposition party. In 3 previous elections, the party fronted veteran activist and retired army colonel Kizza Besigye for president.
Finance minister Matia Kasaija has been summoned to appear before Parliament for presenting wrong figures in the Budget speech.
While presenting the new Budget to the public on June 11, Mr Kasaija read figures contrary to what was passed by Parliament.
Mr Lugoloobi told Parliament that in Kasaija's speech, the Budget is Shs673b as opposed to the Parliamentary approval of Shs400b.
Other figures relate to Shs66b approved for Social Assistance Grant for the Elderly but the minister read out Shs107b and Credit to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises for which Parliament approved Shs40b but his speech contained Shs94b.
Mr Lugoloobi also pointed out Shs225b contained in the minister's speech yet Parliament approved Shs100b.
A human rights activist yesterday petitioned the Constitutional Court in Kampala, seeking its orders to, among others, compel the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) to pay out each of its members atleast 20 per cent of their savings to mitigate the pressures brought about by Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Morrison Rwakakamba states that the Covid-19 pandemic forced President Museveni to issue various directives that made many NSSF members to close their operations resulting in loss of money .
\"Court should give an order directing the second respondent (NSSF) to pay out at least 20 per cent to each of its members whose lives have been affected by the current Covid-19 pandemic,\" reads in part Mr Rwakakamba's petition.
Mr Rwakakamba contends that the efforts by government to distribute food to its citizens have not yielded much since members of NSSF are discriminated against for not being among the vulnerable who deserve the government hand-outs.
The petition against the NSSF and the Attorney General, comes at the time when there are numerous calls to the Fund to pay its members atleast 20 per cent of their savings to cushion themselves against the economic hardships brought about by Covid-19 pandemic.
[Monitor] On June 13, President Museveni appointed Ms Dorothy Kisaka as the new executive director (ED) of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to replace Ms Jennifer Musisi who resigned in October 2018.
\"Money consuming government agencies and departments/arms (like Parliament and others) have continued to receive lots of money than production facilitating MDAs - which are critical in creating jobs and related opportunities,\" says Ramathan Ggoobi, the senior economics lecturer at Makerere University Business School.
\"The coronavirus pandemic has helped us to once again demonstrate the economic capacity and the vast opportunities that our country has,\" Kasaija said, \"The budget for Financial Year 2020/21 will support the economy to fully recover, harness the potential that we have, and get back to our progressive journey of double digit GDP growth rate.\"
It is now estimated that the economy will grow by just 3.1% in the financial year ending June 30, about 40% slower than the average growth rate of 5.4% in the previous four years.
Even the new measures in the budget which Kasaija said would stimulate the economy to safeguard livelihoods, create jobs, support businesses, and ensure industrial recovery, are not universally convincing; not least his claim that \"the budget would focus on production and not consumption\".
That is an 8% increase from last year in taxes on business laying off workers, cutting salaries, and crying out for waivers over the COVID-19 crisis.
Ms Gadaheldam has been an almost permanent fixture on the sides of President Museveni in regional meetings to deal with relations with Sudan under former President Omar-al-Bashir and current military leader Gen Abdel Fatah al-Burhan.
Najwa Gadaheldam, a senior adviser to Sudan's leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, died Wednesday, about 24 hours after the plane that had intended to transport her back to Israel for treatment landed in the Arab country.
Times of Israeli in a lead article titled; 'Israeli MDs fly to enemy Sudan in failed bid to save diplomat behind secret ties', said despite the two countries still being technically at war, Israeli officials went to great length to send \"a plane with medical staff and equipment to Sudan in an attempt to save the life of a diplomat sick with Covid-19, who managed the clandestine ties between Jerusalem and Khartoum\".
The controversial Uganda link
Ms Gadaheldam was said to have first met President Museveni in Vienna, Austria at the UN conference on water in early 2000s when the relations between Uganda and Sudan were fragile.
Ms Gadaheldam's last 'official' function involving Uganda was said to have been on February 22 in Juba, where she attended a meeting between Lt Gen al-Burhan, the chairman of the Sovereign National Council of Sudan, and Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda, who was representing President Museveni at the inauguration of the new government of national unity of South Sudan.
There are also unconfirmed reports that the MPs in the deal will sooner or later receive another Shs60m each as a token for last week's resolution in which Parliament appreciated Mr Museveni for fighting Covid-19.
Many of the MPs had not followed Mr Museveni's directive, which the High Court reinforced, to refund the Shs20m each got in that appropriation until the Clerk to Parliament, Ms Jane Kibirige, gave them a deadline of May 27 to file accountability for the cash.
Addressing a press conference at Parliament on Friday, Lwemiyaga County MP Theodore Ssekikubo and Kumi Municipality MP Monica Amoding, said they had been informed by their friends that money was being dished out but that they had failed to access the venues where the distribution was taking place.
Some of the NRM party MPs from Busoga Sub-region about two weeks ago accused the President of fighting Ms Kadaga when he castigated Parliament over the Shs20m.
During the press conference, Mr Ssewungu said the President aims to destroy the institution of Parliament by fighting the Speaker and the MPs.
The Electoral Commission (EC) has outlined measures to curb spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) as it laces its boots for the compilation of a new voters register.
Though it is yet to give an exact date for the exercise, the EC has given indication of compiling a new register once it gets the green light from health experts.
The EC had scheduled April 18 for compilation of the new voters register ahead of the December general elections but had to put it on hold due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country.
The move to discard the old voter register, the EC contends, is in favour of the new Biometric Voter Management System (BVMS) which would among other things have a facial recognition ability.
The NDC has however vehemently resisted attempts by the EC to register citizens for a new register amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
[Monitor] As Ugandans struggle to adapt to the different healthcare guidelines set by the Ministry of Health in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr Monica Musenero, a senior epidemiologist and presidential adviser on Epidemics, has urged the general public to embrace preventive healthcare to reduce costs incurred in treatment.
In a bid to get the Ugandan economy moving again after nearly three months of lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus, the government on June 11 presented a budget offering a host of tax waivers and funding for the business community.
The plan to boost economic recovery seeks to support the agriculture sector for food security and export, make credit accessible to small businesses, give tax holidays to firms and put money directly into people’s pockets.
According to Finance Minister Matia Kasaija, the county’s Ush45 trillion ($12 billion) budget for the 2020/2021 financial year is aimed at “stimulating the economy to safeguard livelihoods, jobs, businesses and industrial recovery in the wake of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.”
According to Mr Kasaija, the government will roll out interventions to increase agricultural production to ensure food security and expand regional food exports, a move it hopes will restore demand for agricultural produce which will in turn restore jobs and other non-farm incomes.
To further address the short-term liquidity requirements of businesses in the tourism, manufacturing, horticulture and floriculture sectors, the government will defer payment of Corporate Income Tax or presumptive tax for tax compliant corporations and SMEs with a turnover of less than Ush500 million ($133 million) per annum with no accumulation of interests and penalties.
Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has issued routes and numbers for commuter taxis to ensure there is no congestion in the city centre as public transport resumes today.
Taxis, with route numbers from 31 to 58, operating in the New Taxi Park will use Mackay Road, Berkley (Bakuli) Road to exit and enter the city.
Public transport operators from Kisenyi Park (route number 59 to 73) will use Kisenyi, Ssemugooma, Rubaga Road and Berkley (Bakuli) Road for exit and entrance.
The Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesman, Mr Patrick Onyango, said yesterday an inter-security agency committee was still holding a meeting with KCCA officials on how they will manage traffic in the city since one of the largest transport terminal point, the Old Taxi Park, is under renovation.
Transport operators with buses and omnibuses plying long routes such as Kampala-Gulu, Kampala-Mbale and Kampala-Soroti, may not be able to make return journeys as they will have to beat the curfew time.
VIDEO
Confirmed cases = 18,630
\t
\t\tActive cases = 4,467
\t\tRecoveries = 14,046
\t\tNumber of deaths = 117
Ghana Health Service stats valid as of July 1, 2020
June 25: 15,473 cases; mask arrests, apex court ruling
\tCase load as of today hit a total of 15,473 cases with 11,431 recoveries and 950 deaths, according to stats released Friday evening by the Ghana Health Service.
Confirmed cases = 15,473
\t\tActive cases = 3,947
\t\tRecoveries = 11,431
\t\tNumber of deaths = 95
John Hopkins Uni stats valid as of June 12, 2020
June 22: 14,154 cases; how recoveries jumped
\tGhana recorded a boom in recoveries over the weekend as over 6,000 patients were added to the tally which now stands at 10,473 according to authorities.
Confirmed cases = 14,154
\t\tActive cases = 3,596
\t\tRecoveries = 10,473
\t\tNumber of deaths = 85
John Hopkins Uni stats valid as of June 21, 2020
June 15: 13,203 cases; law enacted to penalize mask flouters
\tCase load hit a total of 13,203 cases with 4,548 recoveries and 70 deaths, according to stats released Friday evening by the Ghana Health Service.
Total confirmed cases = 12,193
Total recoveries = 4,326
Total deaths = 58
Active cases = 7,809
\tFigures valid as of close of day June 16, 2020
June 15: 11,964 cases; schools reopen, masks obligatory etc.
Confirmed cases = 11,964
\t\tNumber of deaths = 54
\t\tRecoveries = 4,258
\t\tActive cases = 7,652
\tJohn Hopkins Uni stats valid as of June 14, 2020
June 13: 11,118 cases, NDC advocates mass testing
\tGhana’s case load as of this morning stood at 11,118 cases with the disclosure of 262 new cases.
The Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Mr George Bakunda, said the government of Rwanda has put in place stringent measures against the truckers entering into the country which has in turn paralysed movement at the border.
\"We have a challenge of trucks currently being held at Mirama border because of the strict measures Rwanda government has introduced to manage the truck drivers in their country.
He said truckers who have spent about two weeks at the border post have parked their trucks as they wait for Rwanda to ease the measures.
\"When a driver reaches at the border, he has to hand over this truck to another driver who is supposed to be stationed at the border in Rwanda and takes it to its destination or he can choose to offload the goods and put them on another truck which is based in Rwanda to take these items to where they are supposed to be delivered,\" Mr Bakunda said.
However, one of the stranded drivers, Mr Jonathan Wanyama wondered why only trucks, especially those transporting fuel and gas are allowed to enter Rwanda yet others carrying food items are not allowed.
Afterwards, a relieved Finance Minister Thabo Sofonea said he was happy the budget had been passed and the government ministries now had to get down to fully addressing the populace's demands for efficient service delivery.
The rest of the ministries and other public offices were allocated as follows: Trade and Industry (M292 498 085); Development Planning (M1, 1 billion); Agriculture and Food Security (M666 174 038) and Foreign affairs (M453 994 761).
The Ministry of Communications Science and Technology received M219 985 523; Public Works (M937 208 200), Energy and Metrology (M862 919 535); Forestry, Range and Soil Conservation (M156 742 108); Prime Minister's Office (M129 893 609); Labour and Employment (M55 246 804) and Tourism, Environment and Culture (M118 782 117).
The Ministry of Defence and National Security got M633 578 653; Local Government and Chieftainship (M801 865 039); Gender, Sport and Recreation (M309 198 235); Public Service (M42 112 367); Social Development (M410 183 058); Mining (M40 983 221); Police and Public Safety (M746 218 735); Small Business, Cooperatives, Marketing and Development (M135 087 482); Transport (M101 705 504); Water (M487 258 488); Justice, Human Rights and Correctional Services (M242 472 787) and Law and Constitutional Affairs (M96 219 389).
The Auditor General's Office got M32 371 698; His Majesty's Office (M123 095 565); National Assembly (M84 292 115); Senate (M58 561 696); Judiciary (M136 011 995); Public Service Commission (M14 705 429); Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (M25 928 888); Ombudsman (M10 514 614); Statutory salaries and allowances (M40 351 213); pensions and gratuities (M2 326 182 218); refunds on erroneous receipts (M2 268 000); centralised items (about M1, 1 billion), Public Debt (M2, 1 billion) and subscriptions to international organisations (M84 434 160).
Eight new cases of Covid-19 have been registered by the Ministry of Health pushing Uganda's tally to 665.
Additionally, 31 foreign truck drivers (16 Kenyans, 8 Tanzanias, 5 Eritreans, 1 Burundian and 1 South Sudanese) were handed over to their respective countries of origin after testing positive for the virus.
In his Heroes' Day speech on Tuesday, President Museveni warned of tough times ahead if Ugandans are not keen on adhering to the given guidelines to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
He said having done his best in guiding the country, Ugandans should not blame him in case of any deaths.
Mr Museveni's remarks come in the wake of a rise in the virus spread, which has now reached community level.
