THE

OBJECTIVES:

 

 It is to develop the elderly of Africa, Uganda financially.

 

Secondly, it is to assist the needy and disabled.

 

Third, it is to humanely visit the sick and stressed.

 

Fourth it is to create financial projects for the needy to generate income for the elderly and young.

 

This organization has carried out such activities as:

Cake and bread baking.

 

Members have been involved in rural building construction and road making and repairs.

 

Members have been involved in decoration on functions.

 

Members have been involved in all means of assistance in burial ceremonies in the communities.

 

 

Ugandan workers are less educated and poorly paid:
 

Publish Date: 22 September, 2014

 

By Samuel Sanya

 

 

MOST working Ugandans are only educated up to secondary level, work for 10 years, six days a week and earn at least shillings 403/- per hour according to a wages survey.

 

In the wage indicator survey, released recently, 1,306 Ugandans from all administrative regions were interviewed by the Federation of Uganda Employers (FUE) in conjunction with Dutch and Tanzanian researchers.

 

Conservative estimates place Uganda’s working population at 17 million. The average working week of respondents is almost 60 hours and they work six days per week.

 

Slightly over half (51%) work evenings, seven of 10 workers report working on Saturdays, while four of 10 work on Sundays.

 

Nearly half of the workers in the sample were managers. Only two of 10 workers had a permanent contract, three of 10 were on fixed term contract while four of 10 workers said they are entitled to social security.

 

Despite the low numbers entitled to pensions, respondents indicated having four dependants on average. The analysis showed that 77% of the workers were paid on or above the poverty line of sh403 per hour or $1.25 (about sh3,000) per day.

 

Five percent of workers had no formal education, 14% studied to primary education 48% had secondary education certificates, 16% had a college education and 17% a university degree. Only 62% of informal workers are paid above the poverty line compared to 97% of the most formal workers.

 

Workers in trade, transport and hospitality are most at risk of poverty with 30% paid less than a dollar a day. Public servants are best paid. At least 92% earned above the poverty line.

 

Labour State minister Rukutana Mwesigwa recently revealed that Cabinet is considering creation of a wage board and a minimum wage.

 

The Government last set a minimum wage of sh6,000 in 1984. In 1975, the Minimum Wage Advisory Council recommended a sh75,000 minimum monthly wage. It remains on paper.

Why are the poor citizens of Uganda receiving money that is accounted for as a national pension for the elderly of this country?

 

By Joseph Kato

 

Posted  Tuesday, July 5   2016

 

The Senior Citizens Grant in Uganda is given to the elderly aged 65 and above to help them live decent livelihoods; however, in some districts, it is the young, energetic poor that are being given the money.

Over 110,000 persons aged 65 and above in 141 sub-counties, towns and 6,028 villages in 15 districts are beneficiaries of the Senior Citizens Grant (SCG) that was started in 2010. SCG is one of the essential modules of the Social Assistance Grant for Empowerment (SAGE), financed by government and development partners such as DFID and Irish Aid.

SCG is aimed at enhancing access to basic needs such as food security, better nutrition, health care and improving housing among others which is legal onus of the state to provide wellbeing and upkeep for the elderly.

David Lambert Tumwesigye, advocacy advisor at Expanding Social Protection (ESP) at the Ministry Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) calls upon the new MPs to join the Uganda Parliamentary Forum on Social Protection (UPFSP) so that they can advocate care for the elderly.

What do MPs say?

Agnes Taka, Bugiri Woman MP, appreciates the services that have been offered to the elderly through SAGE. However, she calls upon the government to be open and involve grassroots leaders when selecting beneficiaries saying it will help to avoid issues of segregation.

“We need to know what criterion is followed when choosing SAGE beneficiaries. It is perturbing to learn about activities being done in your constituency from locals. Leaders need to be involved,” argues Taka.

She wonders why majority of the 15 districts where SAGE has been enrolled and the next 20 districts targeted to benefit from the programme are not from poverty stricken areas.

She asks her colleagues to push the government hard so that there can be transparency in the enrollment.

Rtd Lt Cyrus Amodoi, MP Tonoma County, Katakwi district, marvels at why the programme in some districts has been shifted from the elderly to the poorest people.

“What I have seen is that there is political interference in some parts where SAGE has been enrolled. In some places they target the poorest people instead of senior citizens,” says Amodoi.

In response to MPs queries, Drake Rukundo, Policy and Monitoring and Evaluation, UPFSP, says they have on ground people who gather information for the befitting citizens. He encourages the MPs to advocate countrywide enrollment for the elderly.

Rukundo says they want government to commit resources as a priority towards social protection to help the elderly live decent livelihoods because they are the bridge between the past and the future.

He applauds the 9th Parliament for being instrumental in ensuring the survival of the SAGE programme and extending it from 15 districts to additional 40 districts in the next five years.

In the FY 2015/16 Budget process, Parliament made a resolution where the SAGE programme was to be rolled out to the whole country covering 100 oldest persons in every sub-county.

Tumwesigye says the 10th parliament and the government did their work and it remains critical that all districts get covered for fairness and equitable development. The new MPs are expected to enlist to become members so that advocacy on social protection is boosted.

The forum undertakes to provide information and create spaces for engagement on issues touching social protection.

The cabinet passed the social protection policy which proposes a myriad of progressive interventions that if implemented will significantly contribute to the journey from third world to middle income status as envisaged in the Vision 2040.

However, even with the current roll-out plan, only a total of 55 districts will be reached leaving out 57 districts. To maximise pressure on government, the Forum has conducted regional consultative meetings that bring together Members of Parliament, District Chairpersons, District Community Development Officers and the civil society.

Reports from the Ministry

Reports from the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development indicate that the senior citizens grant is increasing productive investment where 32 per cent of the beneficiaries use the money to buy livestock or engage in petty trading while 27 per cent of the beneficiaries invest their money in hiring additional labour to work in their gardens.

“At least 16 per cent of the beneficiaries save their month’s payment purposely to cover emergencies, 17 per cent use the gratuities to support productive investments, cultivation (15 per cent and meeting the educational needs of children and/or grandchildren taking 14 per cent,” reads the report on expanding social protection programme for senior citizens grant.

According to the report, majority of the senior citizens grant beneficiaries spend the large part of their transfers on food leading to increased frequency, quantity and quality of meals eaten by beneficiary households.

The report further shows that SCG beneficiaries especially women consistently report improved participation in community affairs, sense of self-esteem and empowerment. Older people report feeling less discriminated against in their communities and more valued by their families on account of their ability to make social contributions to community-based social support mechanisms which are based on reciprocity like contributing to funerals and weddings.

About SAGE

SAGE is a financial support programme for people aged 65 years and above. Currently, the programme is covering 15 districts. A total of 40 more districts have been lined up to benefit from SAGE by 2020.

In the 2015/16 budget, over Shs30b was expected for the national rollout where 100 persons per sub-county were to benefit but government committed Shs9 billion only.

jkato@ug.

nationmedia.com

 

Muha-kanizi on spot over Shillings 90b farmers' cash:

By Yasiin Mugerwa

Posted 29 September, 2014

 

 

The Secretary to the Treasury, Mr Keith Muhakanizi who kept calling himself “ born again Christian” was today pushed on the wall and forced to apologise for the “inefficiencies” in the running of a Shs 90 billion facility meant for helping the poor farmers access cheap credit.

The Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee noted “gross inefficiencies, conflict of interest and lack of supervision of the funds” on the part of Bank of Uganda and Ministry of Finance. Because of lack of supervision, PAC Chairperson Ms Alice Alaso said, the money has gone to the well-off farmers at the expense of the poor farmers and written off more than Shs499 million in bad debts.

On December 3 2009, the Governor Bank of Uganda Prof Emmanuel Mutebile wrote to Ministry of Finance, saying that Bank of Uganda could not monitor the implementation and evaluation of the facility, citing conflict of interest however to date, Mr Muhakanizi had not taken action. The ST apologised for “inefficiency” saying “he is also human”.

The committee expressed concerns about the possible risk to the funds and ordered Muhakanizi to streamline the monitoring of the scheme within one month. Officials from BoU told the committee that they signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ministry of Finance and clearly STATED that monitoring of the agriculture 

credit facility will not be their mandate.

Mr Muhakanizi returns to PAC next week.

 

But The suffering goes on without any social welfare in this poor African country:

 

Nakasango nga asindika kitawe bagende okusabiriza ssente.

 

Taata Omusoga ava e Iganga ate nga mulema oluusi antuma okumugulira bamalaaya wano mu Kampala:

 

By Lawrence Kitatta

 

Added 21st September 2016

 

Nakasango anyumya bw’ati:

Nzuukuka ku makya ng’obudde tebunnakya ne tutegula ebikunta oluvannyuma taata bw’aba yeetewuulizzaako mu kaveera nkakwata ne nkasuula mu kipipa kya Kcca ekiri e busukkakkubo. kyokka oluguudo ndusala mmagamaga emmotoka zireme kunkoona.

Bwe tuba twasuze n’amazzi tunaabako mu maaso era tunywako oluusi ne njolekera Kiswa gye nsoma mu P1.

Taata eyandibadde ampa ssente za bodaboda okuntwala ku ssomero ate nze mba nnina okumusindika ku kagaali nga tuva e Lugogo we tusula ku mulyango gwa GTZ.

Olumu ku ssomero anzigyayo ssaawa 4:00 ne tugenda ku kkubo gye tusabiriza. Olumu nsoma naye olulala nnemererwa.

Olusoma oluwedde nakola ebibuuzo era okuva olwo saaddayo kusoma. Buli lunaku tuzunga ekibuga kumpi okukimalako ne mpulira nga n’obugere bunfuuyirira.

Kasango ng’azingako akaveera akakola nga bulangiti e Lugogo okumpi ne siteegi ya New Vision, we basula ate Nakasango nga yeetereza batandike olugendo lw’okubuna ekibuga nga basabiriza.

 

Naye taata bw’atuuka ku kaserengeto olwo ng’anteeka mu maaso ng’akagaali kayiringita. Taata yangamba nti maama wange ye Nasim Namulondo abeera Iganga era gye yanzigya okundeeta e Kampala okutandika okusabiriza ku luguudo.

Enkuba bw’etonnya mu budde obw’ekiro olwo ne tuyimirira ku lubalaza we tusula olumu n’okutukuba etukuba naddala ng’erimu kibuyaga.

Obudde buli lwe buziba mba mu kweraliikirira. Taata oyo talina nsonyi antuma okumuyitira bamalaaya ekiro!

Omanyi bwe tuba twebase nsula ku ludda kw’assa ebigere wabula olumu ngenda okusisimuka nga mpulira anninnya mu maaso, ngenda okulaba nga mukazi.

Olumu mpulira n’amaloboozi ekiro naye nga sirina kyakukola. Bw’aleeta bamalaaya nga sinneebaka olwo nsituka busitusi ne ntuula ku kkubo mu kayumba ka siteegi ya New Vision okutuusa lwe bamaliriza naye ate olumu nneekanga nsuze awo. Olumu antuma e Nakawa ngule sooda.

Wano nga beetegeka okugenda.

 

TAATA YANZIBA AWAKA

Bwe yali yaakandeeta okunzigya mu kyalo ng’annyambaza nnyo engoye z’abalenzi nga tayagala bamulaba kumanya nti ndi muwala naye kati nange nnyambala ngoye z’abawala.

Nzijukira nali mbeera ne maama wange ne jjajja, twali tuzannya ne baganda bange be twabeeranga nabo awaka, abakulu tebaaliwo kw’olwo taata yajja awaka n’anzibawo n’antwala ewa jjajja omulala.

Ono kirabika ye maama we amuzaala wabula nga naye saamwetegereza bulungi era simumanyi. Taata bwe yawulira nti gye yanzigya baali batandise okunnoonya kwe kunzigyayo n’andeeta e Kampala.

Kye nzijukira twatuuka kiro era ekkubo eryatuleeta sirimanyi naye angamba nti ewaffe Iganga we wali ekyalo kyaffe.

Wabula okuva lwe natandika okubeera ne taata embeera tebeerangako nnyangu kuba ennaku ezisinga tusiibirira capati n’amazzi emmere tugirya lumu na lumu ate tugirya Kataza Bugoloobi kuba we wali eya layisi gy’asobola okugula.

Eno ku 1500/- tufuna ebijanjaalo n’akawunga ate ennyama ya 3,000/- naye ennyama emirundi gye nnaakagiryako mbala mibale ate essowaani tugigabana.

 

Wano munsi ya Uganda, emitendera gy’okulima omuddo gw’okuliisa ebisolo, gisomeseddwa abalimi:

 

7 September, 2921
By Herbert Musoke
Journalist @Bukedde

 

Mu musomo ogwategekeddwa kkampuni ya Vision group etwala ne Bukedde e Kyanja, abalunzi baasomeseddwa engeri y’okulima omuddo guno ennyangu n’osobola okufuna mu bulunzi.

 

 
 
Abalimi nga basomesebwa nokubalaga ensimba yomuddo ogukola emmere ye bisolo ebirya omuddo.
 

Dr. Emma Naluyima omulunzi w’embizzi e Bwerenga-Ntebe agamba nti waliwo engeri ennyangu omulunzi gy’asobola okusimba n’okulimamu omuddo guno ogukulira mu naku mukaaga zokka kyokka nga gufumbekedde abiriisa.

  1. Okusooka olina okufuna ensigo ennungi ddala. Wano ensigo omuli kasooli (nayironi), omuwemba gwa bulijjo n’ekika kya Bale, obulo, eng’ano n’ensigo endala. Wabula omuwemba gwa Bale naddala oguva e South Afrika gwe gusinka ekiriisa era nga singa obeera ogenda kuliisa nte ekamibwa gwe wandibadde osimba. Ensigo ennungi erina okuba ng’emazeewo emyezi esatu bukya ekungulwa ate nga terudeewo kuwomba era nga nkalu bulungi.
  2. Bw’obeera nga tolina kyuma kikozesebwa, kakasa nti olina ekifo nga kino kisobola okuba ekiyumba wakati mu nnimiro oba ekisenge nga kirina ebbugumu lya 18-22 digulizi nga singa zibeera wansi ennyo tegujja kumera era tewalina kuba nga watuuka omusana.
  3. Ng’omaze okufuna ensigo ennungi ddala, gironde okuggyamu ebicaafu n’amayinja.
  4. Nnyika ensigo eno mu mazzi amayonjo obulungi era ng’osobola okugisuzaamu n’oluvannyuma n’okujjamu.

 

  1. Ddamu ojooze mu mazzi agatabuddwaamu jiiki (akasaanikira ka jiiki kamu mu liita z’amazzi ssatu) era nga buli kkiro y’ensigo emu egenda mu liita ssatu. Wano tugenderera okudda obuwuka bw’obukuku kuba bukulira mu mbeera zeezimu n’omuddo guno mwe gukulira.
  2. Wano ssa ku tule ng’ennungi zirina kuba za pulasitiika oba Aluminum. Ggwe atalina tule nkole na byuuma, osobola okusala ekidomola nga nazo bw’omaliriza okuzooza obulungi ne ssabuuni, olina okuzinnyumunguza ne jiiki okutta obuwuka buno.
  3. Buli kkiro y’ensigo egenda ku tula ya bugazi bwa 65Cm X 35Cm era ng’olina okukubamu obutuli era tozituuza ku ttaka ate ziseewo nga zirimu engeri y’akaserengeto okusobozesa amazzi okuyitamu.
  4. Ensigo ziseeko nga zeenkana wonna olwo obikkeko ng’osobola okukozesa empapula ng’ezamawulire okuyambako okumera amangu.
  5. Mu nnaku ssatu ezisooka, fukirirako amazzi wakati w’emirundi 4-6 olunaku ng’okozesa ebbomba kuba tekwetaagako mazzi mangi.
  6. Oluvannyuma lw’ennaku ssatu, bikkulako by’obadde obikkako olwo okendeeze n’emirundi gy’ofukirira okutuuka ku 4 oba esatu olunaku.
  7. Oluvannyima lw’ennaku mukaaga omuddo omulungi gulina okuba nga gumeze era nga buli kiro ekiwa kiro z’omuddo mukaaga.

 

 

 

 

 

Some Groups of Farmers in Uganda have welcomed the proposed Coffee bill with some more amendments:

August 9, 2019

Written by Ernest Jjingo

A farmer drying his coffee harvest in Uganda

The proposed National Coffee Bill 2018 has ignited a great deal of debate from various stakeholders in the sector.

The National Union of Coffee Agribusiness and Farm Enterprises (NUCAFE), which is the umbrella that brings together coffee farmers countrywide, has also chipped in with three key proposals of streamlining regulation and development, reduction in taxes and call for government to improve research, writes ERNEST JJINGO.

Coffee farmers under their NUCAFE, have welcomed the proposed National Coffee Bill 2018. On August 1, the organization submitted its proposals about the bill to the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture after carrying out countrywide consultations with member coffee farmers from coffee-growing regions in the country.

Former finance minister Gerald Ssendaula, who is the NUCAFE chairman, told The Observer that they welcome the introduction of the bill by the government to govern the crop because the quality of coffee needs to be improved.

Among the proposals NUCAFE submitted to parliament is the formation of the Uganda Coffee Regulatory Authority to regulate the growing and production of coffee in the country.

At the moment, Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) is playing both roles of regulation as well as that of development agency, something that creates a conflict of interest and compromised the effective performance of the entity.

“The existing law recognizes UCDA as a developing body; so, let the new law concentrate on regulating. There must be a regulatory body through which the government can work and provide extension services,” Ssendaula said.

He added that every year, government uses a lot of money to give out seedlings, many of which end up to be of poor quality with a low survival rate and, therefore, there should be an authority to oversee the activities of the developing agency and regulate the entire coffee chain.

Joseph Nkandu, the NUCAFE executive director, added that they want to emphasize the importance of an institutional framework without conflict of interest thereby calling for the separation of roles by forming another entity to do the regulatory role because a single entity cannot regulate a whole value chain and at the same time be the developer.

NUCAFE also opposes the bill’s proposal to increase the tax government imposes on coffee exported. This tax, commonly known as cess, ranges from one per cent to two per cent depending on the quantity. NUCAFE says exporters load the tax onto the farmers, who end up getting less money than they would otherwise be getting without cess levy. Therefore, increasing it will discourage farmers from producing and adding value to coffee.

Ssendaula said they have proposed that cess becomes part of the annual national budget done in such a way of not exceeding 1 per cent so that it helps to take care of the fluctuating global coffee prices, especially when they become too low as it is currently.

The coffee farmers further appealed to the committee to not consider the introduction of the auction method as a way of selling coffee. They want the current system of selling directly to any buyer around the world retained.

They said that auctions have a tendency of encouraging buyer cartels to keep the price offers low thus reducing farmers’ incomes as experienced in the neighboring countries of Kenya and Tanzania whose coffee production share has been decreasing over the years as a result of selling through auctions.

They, therefore, proposed the maintenance of the current selling system but instead asked to be supported to collectively market, develop their skills in export trade and build their capital base to participate in exporting their coffee.

Ssendaula further addressed the controversial sections of the bill requiring all coffee farmers to be registered, saying that as coffee farmers under NUCAFE, they support the registration of farmers at all levels because there is nowhere in the bill that registration requires a license as it is being claimed by some individuals.

“Registration is a must so that we have traceability which will make it easy to lobby people to buy our coffee. The people who need licenses are those who want to trade in coffee, but not the farmers,” Ssendaula said.

He also called upon the government to intensify research relating to coffee because lack of effective research has cost the country money as realized in 1993 when the country was attacked by coffee wilt disease.

It took nearly eight years to find alternative varieties and on this background, NUCAFE believes there is need for heavy investment in research such that new varieties of coffee are readily available whenever need arises.

jjingoernest1@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

In Uganda, I want to grow mushrooms:

mushrooms growing

Mushrooms Growing 

8 April, 2018
By the Monitor newspaper, Uganda

I would like to grow mushrooms but the problem is that I do not know a thing about it.
Would you kindly advise on what I need to know about them? Samuel Sekasi

Dear Samuel
Mushrooms grow in almost every part of our country provided there is shelter, reliable water supply and stable temperature in the range of 15 to 30 degrees.
However, there are different steps you should follow if you are to start a mushroom farm.

Step 1:
You need some land to plant your mushroom crop. For example an eight of an acre is enough to set up a large farm that can produce as much as two tonnes of mushrooms after every two months (using shelf-frame method).

Step 2:
Build a simple house once you have secured a good piece of land, this can be a simple mud-house and a few wooden shelves to utilise the available vertical space.
The shelves can be done by a local carpenter. It is possible to use the locally available materials to save construction costs. However, the house should be well aerated to allow proper circulation of air.

Step 3:
Look for the substrate. This is basically the substance on which mushrooms grow. It can be forest soil, wheat straw, bean straw, millet straw or even rice straw. Make sure this is sterilised as the slightest bacterial infection can ruin your entire farm. You will need about 20 bales of wheat straw and a bale costs Shs7,000.

Step 4:
Invest in nylon bags, you will need small bags to prepare the seedlings and also big bags for the final planting. Small bags such as the ones shopkeepers use to package two kilogrammes of sugar normally cost about Shs5,000 for 200 pieces. Bigger bags can cost as much as Shs400 per piece and you will require about 1,000 of them in an eighth of an acre farm.

Step 5:
Invest in good hygiene, as this is important in a mushroom farm. You will therefore need to buy things such as hand gloves, methylated spirit and cotton wool. A box full of gloves costs less than Shs35,000, same for methylated spirit and cotton wool. Other additional supplies that may be needed include drinking straws (Shs35,000)and a knapsack sprayer (Shs40,000).

Step 6:
Finally get the seeds, you will require some mushroom seedlings (also known as spawns). The most popular spawns are called button spawns. You can buy these from trusted suppliers. A kilogramme of button spawns costs Shs35,000. Five kilogrammes are enough to get you started. Other varieties of mushrooms you can plant include shiitake and oyster.

Answered by Dr Samuel Nsubuga, a mushroom agronomist.