THE GOVERNMENT OF UGANDA DOES NOT WANT TO PROVIDE SOLAR ENERGY TAX BREAK BECAUSE IT IS COMMITTED TO HYDRO ELECTRICITY

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.

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

In a summer marked by global heatwaves, wildfires and drought, scientists have warned that things could get considerably worse under a future scenario dubbed “hothouse Earth”.

Even if greenhouse gas emissions are reduced, there is a chance human-induced global warming could trigger other processes which will lead to uncontrollable warming, the team at the Stockholm Resilience Centre said.

As Amazon rainforest is destroyed, Arctic permafrost thaws and Antarctic sea ice melts, these natural feedback mechanisms that currently help store Earth’s carbon will instead begin emitting it, scientists at the Swedish institute warned.

Entrepeñas - a reservoir located on the Tagus River in the Alcarria Baja region of Guadalajara, Spain

Entrepeñas - a reservoir located on the Tagus River in the Alcarria Baja region of Guadalajara, Spain

While it is unclear how likely this scenario is, experts agree that were it to happen the runaway warming after this tipping point would be an existential threat to humanity.

“These tipping elements can potentially act like a row of dominoes,” said Professor Johan Rockstrom, Executive Director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre. “Once one is pushed over, it pushes Earth towards another. It may be very difficult or impossible to stop the whole row of dominoes from tumbling over.”

The prospect of such a situation has been laid out by Professor Rockstrom and his colleagues in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

“We address tipping elements in the planetary machinery that might, once a certain stress level has been passed, one by one change fundamentally, rapidly, and perhaps irreversibly,” explained Professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

“This cascade of events may tip the entire Earth system into a new mode of operation.”

Melting ice hangs over a river of glacier water at the foot of the Hornkees glacier on August 26, 2016 near Ginzling, Austria.

Melting ice hangs over a river of glacier water at the foot of the Hornkees glacier on August 26, 2016 near Ginzling, Austria.

Global average temperatures are currently 1C above pre-industrial levels and under the Paris climate agreement world governments have agreed to keep total warming below 2C.

In the worst-case scenario, the researchers predict the Earth’s climate would stabilise at around 4-5C higher – hotter than any point for 1.2 million years – and with sea level increase of up to 60m.

“Places on Earth will become uninhabitable if ‘hothouse Earth’ becomes the reality,” Professor Rockstrom said.

These Terrifying Photos of Weather-Related Chaos Show Earth’s Climate Crisis First Hand

Other scientists acknowledged the situation laid out in the new PNAS paper as uncertain, as it is somewhat speculative and not covered by most existing climate change predictions, but they nonetheless admitted it was plausible.

“In the context of the summer of 2018, this is definitely not a case of crying wolf, raising a false alarm: the wolves are now in sight,” said Dr Phil Williamson, a climate researcher at the University of East Anglia who was not involved in the work.

Pointing out that evidence from geology shows Earth’s climate system is “inherently nervy”, he said human processes to the mix could well exacerbate this.

However, they noted their runaway threshold may well be within the Paris target, they suggested 2C as a point beyond which the risk of hothouse Earth could increase sharply.

As for whether staying below this target and maintaining a “stabilised Earth” is possible, climate scientists Professor Chris Rapley of University College London, who was also not involved in the study, did not have much hope.

He said in the face of “right wing populism” and climate change denial, drastically tackling the problem in the ways described seemed highly unlikely.

“The future habitability of the planet thus appears to rest on chance,” he said. “That the sensitivity of the climate system to greenhouse gas emissions and other human disruptions is fortuitously very low – or that some other global scale social calamity dramatically reduces human emissions before any runaway planetary threshold is breached. The latter offers cold comfort.”

In Summary

Rural transformation: Solar power is crucial in driving economic transformation, especially in rural areas. In Hamukungu and Kayanzi landing sites in Queen Elizabeth National Park, many locals are using solar for lighting, and running fridges and salons, writes GILLIAN NANTUME

6 August, 2018

By GILLIAN NANTUME

A long and bumpy drive on the Kasese-Bushenyi highway will suddenly land one into the quaint but neat community of mud-brick houses that make up Hamukungu Landing Site on the shores of Lake George, Kasese District.
The landing site is mostly abandoned now because of the army operation to curb illegal fishing. The only visible economic activities are a number of bars.

There are a few permanent buildings, and since the landing site is located deep inside Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP), the lack of electricity poles is quite conspicuous.

It was only in June 2018 that the residents of Hamukungu got to see electric power. But then, the lights are only at Hamukungu Health Centre II. At night, the rest of the village lies in total darkness.

Since it was built by the community in 1984, taken over by the government in 1990, and renovated by Medicin San Frontiers (MSF) in 2017, the health centre had no electricity until World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) recently installed four solar panels to the buildings.

Bringing a health centre back to life
And what a world of difference solar energy has brought! For the first time, proper laboratory tests are being carried out, patients are treated at night, and the maternal ward will soon be operational.

Ms Joy Kisembo, the nursing assistant, recalls that before the solar panels were installed, the facility would close before sunset.
“No medical personnel would risk an attack by wild animals to come and treat a patient at night. But now, we have security lights all around.”

The health centre also carries out routine immunisations because the refrigerator in which the vaccines are stored is permanently switched on. “Previously, we were using gas cylinders to power the refrigerator,” Ms Kisembo says, adding, “To replenish the empty cylinders, we would travel 30kms to Kasese Town. Some of the vaccines in the refrigerator would go bad.”
The health facility receives Shs500,000 as primary health care funds from the government every quarter, 10 per cent of which is used for equipment maintenance and repair.

To make ends meet, the community used to levy one tilapia off every boat. The fish was sold and the money kept by the local council treasurer to fund the needs of the health centre and police post. Out of this levy, the community was able to build mud-huts next to the health centre, which serve as staff quarters.

The excitement of solar energy is quite contagious. Jockus Muhindo, the laboratory technician, says all the redundant equipment in his care such as the centrifuge and microscope, are now working. However, the facility is yet to find the money to install iron doors, so the equipment is kept at the police post 200 metres away.

“The centrifuge machine separates plasma from blood and we need it for liver function tests and serum CRAG testing when monitoring clients on anti-retroviral treatment (ART). Since the beginning of the month we have been able to transfer three blood samples to Kagando (Mission Hospital). Previously, we used to transport unseparated blood samples some of which got spoilt on the way.”

Spoilt blood samples meant Muhindo had to summon the patient for drawing another blood sample. This procedure was traumatic and a wastage of resources to the patient and facility, respectively. The facility is now planning to acquire a PIMA machine that analyses CD4 count of clients on anti-retroviral treatment (ART) who number about 300. In the community of 1,000 people, the HIV prevalence is high due to a myth on the landing site, according to Muhindo, that ‘a woman only belongs to a man when she is physically with him.’

Even before the facility opens its maternity ward, medical workers are already giving antenatal care to mothers. The community is also fundraising to buy mattresses for the delivery room beds.

Agnes Natukunda, a 22-year-old mother of one, is impatient for the facility to have an operational labour ward.
“I gave birth to my first child at home. Now, I am seven months pregnant and I have visited the health centre twice for antenatal care. There are challenges to delivering at home so to avoid getting complications, I plan to give birth in Kagando or Rugazi (Rubirizi District).”

Kagando is 30km away and the journey on boda boda costs Shs10,000, while Rugazi is 50kms away and a taxi charges Shs15,000.
Natukunda’s neighbour, 26, Joy Itungo, is also heavily pregnant with her third child. She plans to give birth in Kasese Town, 30kms away.

Using solar to conserve wildlife
Hamukungu came into the limelight early this year when 11 lions were killed in QENP, not more than 500 metres away from the landing site. At that time, residents used to go into the national park to harvest firewood for cooking food and lighting their homes.

Since the death of the lions, Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) banned them from going near the animals. As a result, the residents buy firewood and charcoal from a truck that comes to Kasese Town once a week.

David Duli, WWF’s country director, says it is important to look at the drivers affecting wildlife, and these include markets, finances, populations and energy.
“Energy, a developing industry, brings out development in terms of industrialisation and domestic use. Energy has a large bearing on the environment, which is filled with wild animals and biodiversity. So you cannot conserve wildlife and forget about people and their needs,” he says.

Renewable energy such as solar, does not destroy the environment. Every time the villagers look at the development that solar has brought to them, through a company that is working on wildlife conservation, they will learn to value the animals around them.

Mini-grids are the future for rural electrification
About 20kms away from Hamukungu, on the other side of QENP, is Kayanzi Landing Site. In the middle of the trading centre is a solar mini-grid fitted with 20 solar panels, each 250W.
The impact of the mini-grid on development is almost tangible, because four years after its construction as a pilot, Kayanzi mini-grid connects 65 households, Kayanzi Primary School, a resort hotel and local video halls to solar energy.

Every household pays between Shs20,000 and 50,000 as down payment for the connection, while they make monthly payments of between Shs7,000 to Shs20,000 depending on their usage. The village has 320 households.

Unlike Hamukungu, Kayanzi is congested with many houses next to each other. According to Duli, a mini-grid system is good for such a settlement instead of an individual system for every house.
“In a mini-grid, only one centralised unit is installed to distribute power to more than 200 homes. It can power equipment such as fridges and TVs, and this being a fishing village, this is good for development because the fishermen can store their fish in fridges, and salons and juice makers can operate.”

The mini-grid is managed and operated by one man, Sadik Baluku.
He says before installation, the community was sensitised on the benefits of solar energy by the district resource officer. “The solar system is made in Germany and the batteries have a lifespan of 10 years. There is also reliability of sufficient light even without sunshine.”

The grid is now owned by the community, the local government and the Ministry of Energy, with the support of Rural Electrification Agency (REA). However, not all households in Kayanzi are connected, with the main complaint being that installing solar energy is expensive.

Duli agrees that the price is a big challenge and discussions are ongoing to make it more affordable. “The mini-grid has a large capacity but the problem is with the tariffs. The system is highly automated and if you do not pay, you are disconnected.”

Another reason for the few clients is that being a fishing village, when there is a lull in the fishing season, the fishermen migrate to another landing site. In that season, the landlords do not renew their connection to the grid until other tenants come in.

Solar to improve academic performance
Kitabu Primary School in Kyerumba Sub-county on the western part of QENP, is easy to miss. Located in a valley, at the foot of a steep hill, 22kms out of Kasese Town, the school has 630 pupils and 12 teachers.

The student population is made up of children whose parents are subsistence farmers or poachers in the national park. When they fail to raise the school fees of Shs5,000, the parents offer the school chicken and goats in exchange.

Until recently, most of the female students dropped out in Primary Six to get married. Some boys also drop out to start businesses, such as selling and buying beans. However, the head teacher, Laurence Muhindo Mubatsi, says with the installation of a solar system at the school, some of those who would have dropped out will be compelled to continue with their education.

“We have 37 pupils in Primary Seven now and 36 of them joined the boarding section we introduced a few weeks ago, after we got solar energy. Collective revision of study notes in the night and early morning is now possible, and we are hoping for our first batch of students in Division One.”

The solar system lights the Primary Six class, and two others which were converted into a dormitory for boys and girls. The cost of installation was Shs7m and every child had to pay Shs3,000 to meet part of the down payment. Members of the community also supported the school.

The solar system is also used as a learning aid. Previously, when students were taught about electricity they could not grasp the meaning and uses of electric light and energy.
“We hope to purchase a laptop, printer, and photocopier so that we do not have to travel to Kasese Town to set and print our exams,” Mubatsi says, adding, “Besides, pupils will learn how to use a computer when they see one.”

On a brighter note, teachers who used to escape to Kasese Town to charge their phones can now charge them at school and this has increased the amount of time they spend with the pupils.

Reducing inequality within and among nations has always been a global goal if sustainable development is to be achieved, and one way to do this is to make available renewable sources of energy to the least developed areas. Sustainable development goal (SDG) 7 talks about ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

Off-grid electrification will go a long way in helping the country to meet its electricity access targets in rural areas, such as Kasese, where previously, the district had a 10 per cent coverage of electricity.

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

By Yasiin Mugerwa

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

In the United Kingdom, one better watch out for cold-calling racketeers, who are selling carbon credits:

The regulator has also warned:

Our planet Earth is at risk of entering ‘hothouse’ state from which there is no return, scientists warn:

In Uganda, Solar energy is reviving villages very near the Queen Elizabeth National Park so that wild life can live in harmony with the human residents:

In Summary

Bukadde magezi ffena tukulakulane association:

Visitor Counter: