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.

 

There is no official national register of pensioners in the country of Uganda:

10 June, 2016

 

By Nelson Wesonga, Kampala

 

Government says it does not have records of pensioners due to “lack of data and personal files.”

According to the ministry of Public Service, many pensioners do not show up for verification thus leading to delays in payment of their monthly dues and the once off gratuity.

The State minister for Public Service, Mr David Karubanga told MPs during plenary that the ministry will, carry out a census and biometric validation of pensioners starting February 20.

“The ministry of Public Service does not have a national register of pensioners,” Mr Karubanga said yesterday.

“Despite the decentralisation of pension management, a number of votes [ministries] have not verified the records on the payroll.”

A day earlier, Aruu Member of Parliament, Odonga Otto had told the August House that many pensioners have not been paid for several months.

Many were, therefore, depending on their relatives – who already have other financial responsibilities – to pay their bills or to buy basics.

Those without relatives are borrowing items from shopkeepers.

Shopkeepers though can only lend them for a few months expecting to be paid once they get their gratuity.

Following Mr Odonga’s remarks, the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga said the government was treating the senior citizens disrespectfully.

On Wednesday, Mr Karubanga also said the Public Service ministry had for the last four years not carried out verification of pensioners “due to funding shortage and lack of clear addresses" [of the pensioners].

The verification of the pensioners will be done between February 20 and March 24 at the district headquarters by Face Technologies.

According to Mr Karubanga, Face Technologies will do the work, which the ministry failed.

However, it is still not clear how much the ministry will pay the company.

Face Technologies is the company that processes driving permits for motorists.

Workers Members of Parliament Margaret Rwabushaija and the Erute Member of Parliament Jonathan Odur said the government should tell Ugandans when it would pay the pensioners all their arrears.

Mr Karubanga said payments are the responsibility of the Finance ministry.

All that Public Service does is to furnish the Finance ministry with the particulars of the claimants.

 

 

OBUSILAMU MU AFRICA NGA BWEKIRI MU MECCA, SAUDI ARABIA

Posted on 6th December, 2015

The African Union is trying to remember older people’s rights in its self-determination:

By Joyce Namutebi

Added 28th January 2016 

 

State Minister for the Elderly and Disabled, Sulaiman Madada, says that older persons in Uganda are not discriminated against.

 

Older persons from Uganda and other African countries have complained that they are discriminated against and denied their human rights.

 

This is according to an organisation called HelpAge International, which is urging African heads of state to adopt a protocol on older people’s rights, at the 26th Summit of the African Union meeting in Ethiopia this week.

 

“Older people across Africa can face harmful, negative ageist attitudes and behaviour,” a press release issued by the organisation said.

 

The release said that when asked how they were discriminated against, an older person from Cameroon said, “The doctor avoids touching me when consulting me.”

 

A man from Uganda was quoted as having said: “I am considered a spent force with nothing left to contribute to society, that I have had my turn and should give way to the youth.”

 

Quoting Article 32 of the Constitution on affirmative action, State Minister for the Elderly and Disabled, Sulaiman Madada, however, clarified that older persons in Uganda are not discriminated against.

 

He said that in 2009, a national policy on older persons was developed to ensure that the issues affecting them are addressed.

 

Madada also cited the enactment, in 2013, of the National Council for Older Person Act which created colleges for election of older persons on councils, and the Social Assistance Grants for Empowerment (SAGE) programme.

 

An older person from South Africa said: “South Africa is no different to most other nations, in that older persons often are discriminated against or experience inequality in society.”

 

Older women and men, the release said, are also denied their human rights across different aspects of their lives. They are subjected to different types of violence and abuse, denied access to health care and an adequate standard of living and treated with disrespect because of their older age.

 

In a study conducted by HelpAge International in Mozambique in 2012, the release noted that 74 per cent of older people surveyed said they had experienced at least one form of violence and abuse since the age of 50, 22% said their health needs had been neglected, 30%  said they had been refused work while 27% said they had been refused a loan. 51% said that other people looked down at them and or treated them in a humiliating, shameful or degrading way.

 

The Regional Director at HelpAge International Dr Prafula Mishra said, “Adoption of this Protocol provides the opportunity for African heads of state to demonstrate their commitment to every African’s human rights, at every stage of their life. It is a fitting way to mark the beginning of 2016: African Year of Human Rights.”

 

“This protocol provides a framework for governments to end ageism and discrimination against older people in Africa,” Head of Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns, HelpAge International, East, West and Central Africa, Jamillah Mwanjisi said.

 

  “Adopting the Protocol would be a significant step by governments and provide them with a framework to help them meet their human rights obligations towards people in older age. It also provides us with an advocacy tool which we can use to challenge the ageist attitudes and behaviour that occur at every level of society, from the individual up to large institutions,” he added.

 

The protocol reaffirms the rights of older people in Africa and outlines what governments must do to protect them.

 

It covers a wide range of rights including prohibition of all forms of discrimination against older people; access to justice and equal protection before the law; social protection, the right to make decisions and protection from abuse and harmful traditional practices.

 

 HelpAge International, based in London, helps older people claim their rights, challenge discrimination and overcome poverty, so that they can lead dignified, secure, active and healthy lives.

Islamic idealogy in Africa as it should be in Mecca, Saudi Arabia for the African moslem black woman:

Aug 19, 2015
Muslim women properly dressed in the sight of Muslim men

Women in Saudi Arabia are registering to vote for the first time in history, more than four years after King Abdullah granted equal voting rights.

They will be allowed to vote in municipal elections due to take place in December and can also stand as candidates.

"[Voting is] a dream for us," Jamal Al-Saadi, the first woman to register in Medina told the Saudi Gazette. "[It] will enable Saudi women to have a say in the process of decision-making."

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Human rights campaigners have welcomed the move, but warn there is still a long way to go in the fight for gender equality in the conservative Muslim nation.

Saudi Arabia has an abysmal human rights record, particularly with regards to protecting women. Although in recent years the rights of women have been incrementally extended, their actions are still severely restricted.

"This long overdue move is welcome but it's only a tiny fraction of what needs to be addressed over gender inequality in Saudi Arabia," Amnesty International's Karen Middleton told The Independent.

"Let's not forget that Saudi Arabian women won't actually be able to drive themselves to the voting booths as they're still completely banned from driving," she says.

In a country where a woman cannot even open a bank account without her husband's permission, here are several other things women in the Muslim kingdom are still unable to do:

Go anywhere without a chaperone

Saudi women need to be accompanied by a male guardian known as a 'mahram' whenever they leave the house. The guardian is often a male relative and will accompany women on all of their errands, including shopping trips and visits to the doctor.

Such practices are rooted in "conservative traditions and religious views that hold giving freedom of movement to women would make them vulnerable to sins," according to The Guardian.

In one extreme case, a teenager reported that she had been gang-raped, but because she was not with a mahram when it occurred, she was punished by the court. The victim was given more lashes than one of her alleged rapists received, the Washington Postreports.

The Saudi Arabian government recently announced that it was considering lifting restrictions on women that would allow them to travel without the approval of their relatives, but human rights groups warn the move is likely to be vetoed by senior clerics.

Drive a car

There is no official law that bans women from driving but deeply held religious beliefs prohibit it, with Saudi clerics arguing that female drivers "undermine social values".

In 2011, a group of Saudi women organised the "Women2Drive" campaign that encouraged women to disregard the laws and post images and videos of themselves driving on social media to raise awareness of the issue in an attempt to force change. It was not a major success.

Saudi journalist Talal Alharbi says women should be allowed to drive but only to take their children to school or a family member to hospital. "Women should accept simple things", he writes for Arab News. "This is a wise thing women could do at this stage. Being stubborn won't support their cause."

Wear clothes or make-up that "show off their beauty"

The dress code for women is governed by a strict interpretation of Islamic law and is enforced to varying degrees across the country. The majority of women are forced to wear an abaya – a long black cloak – and a head scarf. The face does not necessarily need to be covered, "much to the chagrin of some hardliners," says The Economist. But this does not stop the religious police from harassing women for exposing too much flesh or wearing too much makeup.

The dress code was extended to all female television presenters earlier this year. The king's advisory body, the Shoura Council, ruled that the women should wear "modest" clothes that do not "show off their beauty", according to Arab News.

Interact with men

Women are required to limit the amount of time spent with men they are not related to. The majority of public buildings including offices, banks and universities have separate entrances for men and women, the Daily Telegraph reports. Public transportation, parks, beaches and amusement parks are also segregated in most parts of the country. Unlawful mixing will lead to criminal charges being brought against both parties, but women typically face harsher punishment.

Go for a swim

Reuters correspondent Arlene Getz describes her experience of trying to use the gym and pool at an upmarket Riyadh hotel: "As a woman, I wasn't even allowed to look at them ('there are men in swimsuits there,' a hotel staffer told me with horror) — let alone use them."

Compete freely in sports

Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia proposed hosting an Olympic Games without women. "Our society can be very conservative," said Prince Fahad bin Jalawi al-Saud, a consultant to the Saudi Olympic Committee. "It has a hard time accepting that women can compete in sports."

When Saudi Arabia sent its female athletes to the London games for the first time, hard-line clerics denounced the women as "prostitutes". While they were allowed to compete, they had to be accompanied by a male guardian and wear a "Sharia-compliant" sports kit that covered their hair.

Try on clothes when shopping

"The mere thought of a disrobed woman behind a dressing-room door is apparently too much for men to handle," says Vanity Fair writer Maureen Dowd in 'A Girl's Guide to Saudi Arabia'.

Other more unusual restrictions include:

  • Entering a cemetery
  • Reading an uncensored fashion magazine
  • Buying a Barbie

However, explains Dowd, everything in Saudi Arabia "operates on a sliding scale, depending on who you are, whom you know, whom you ask, whom you're with, and where you are".

But things are slowly beginning to modernise in a country that has historically had some of the most repressive attitudes towards women.  "Women in Saudi Arabia are highly educated and qualified," says Rothna Begum from Human Right Watch. "They don’t want to be left in the dark."

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