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Is Africa continent Uganda scientists Uganda’s banks brace lebrating

splitting into two? find new viruses for tough year gain? Ce

Issue No. 515 April 06 - 12 2018 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8
Years

DFCU profits expose

BoU 'sweetheart deals'
Taxpayer stands
to lose Shs300bn

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Independent Publications Limited, Plot 82/84, Kanjokya Street, P. O. Box 3304, Kampala, Uganda
Tel: +256-312-637-391/ 2/ 3/ 4 | Fax: +256-312-637-396 | E-mail: editorial@independent.co.ug,
advertising@independent.co.ug, circulation@independent.co.ug Website: www.independent.co.ug
INBOX

DFCU profits expose

BoU `sweetheart deals’
Issue No. 515 April 06 - 12 2018

Taxpayer stands to lose

Shs300bn

The Week The Last Word Analysis Business Arts &

Culture
4|Man who tried Uganda’s 14|Abusive 24|Uganda’s
to attack Bishop relationships: banks brace
Luwalira is of sound
new Why it’s so hard for tough year
35|Mukasa’s
women and
mind, Police villain: for women to gain?:
cocks:
Why the ‘just leave Stanbic records
Metaphors
sharp drop
4|Museveni country in profits as
of Buganda
or images of
proposes tax and the DFCU’s NPL
exploitation?
on WhatsApp, nearly doubles
Facebook
President 16|New viruses
is fighting found:
But researchers 37|Caught in
4|Government is the wrong warn Uganda jam on a steep
recruiting priests 25|Umeme’s
enemy on not ready net profit drop
hill!
to spy on us,
Lwanga electricity to handle threefold to Shs
tariffs next health 35bn:
4| Kamya, emergency Company
Nambooze clash managers say recent
over metropolitan concession talk not
area proposals threat to its future

STRATEGY & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Andrew M. Mwenda
MANAGING EDITOR: Joseph Were
INVESTIGATIONS EDITOR: Haggai Matsiko
BUSINESS EDITOR: Isaac Khisa
PHOTOGRAPHER: Jimmy Siya
WRITERS:Ronald Musoke, Flavia Nassaka, Ian Katusiime,
Agnes Nantaba, Agather Atuhaire, Julius Businge.
DESIGN/LAYOUT: Sarah Ngororano, Harriet Jamwa.

PUBLISHER: Independent Publications Limited, Plot 82/84, Kanjokya Street, P. O. Box 3304, Kampala, Uganda
Tel: +256-312-637-391/ 2/ 3/ 4 | Fax: +256-312-637-396 E-mail: editor@independent.co.ug | advertising@independent.co.ug
circulation@independent.co.ug | Website: www.independent.co.ug

2 April 06 - 12 2018
 Offline

President, Museveni (M)

posing for a photograph
with members of
UMEME Board led by the
Board Chairman Patrick
Bitature (2nd L) Gerald
Ssendawula (2nd R)
Chief Financial Officer,
Selestiono Babungi (L)
and the Chief Operations “In Malaysia and Singapore, it is only
officer, Florence death or when someone is taken ill,
Nsubuga (R) shortly that would compel a judge to adjourn
after their meeting at
State House Entebbe on a case.”Chief Justice Bart Katureebe telling
March 27. The president judges that only death and sickness should
discussed on issues delay court cases
about the increasing
power tariffs levied by
the power distributor.

Catholics of
Our Lady of
Africa Mbuya
Catholic Parish
demonstrating.
The Way of
the Cross to
mark Good “I turn to you your grace the Archbishop
Friday on March
30.   INDEPENDENT/
who has endured so many hurts from
JIMMY SIYA me. I am truly sorry, especially for
doubting your fatherly love. Please
forgive me.” Father Anthony Musaala’s
apology to Archbishop Cyprian Lwanga as he
returned to the Catholic Church

Phoebe Nakabazzi, (L)

marketing manager Dstv
with Albert Nga, Gotv
marketing manager
during the official launch
of DStv and Gotv airing
of the 2018 FIFA world
cup. All the 64 matches
will be available on both
“Court clearly stated that I be detained
platforms.   INDEPENDENT/ at Railway Police detention facility but
JIMMY SIYA without any explanation I was taken to
Nalufenya police station where I spent
several days.”Muhammad Kirumira, former
Buyende District Police Commander on the
distress he has suffered since his trial in the
Police tribunal

3 22
Candidates shortlisted
for National Forestry
Authority top job
Shs525billion
Al-Shabaab Money gov’t has set
militants that were aside for enhancement of
killed by UPDF in salaries for public servants
Somalia on April 1 for 2018/2019 FY
April 06 - 12 2018 3
week
Museveni proposes
tax on WhatsApp,
Facebook
President Museveni has
directed the Ministry of Finance
to introduce taxes on social
media platforms – WhatsApp
and Facebook as a way of rais-
ing revenue. In a letter to the
Finance Minister, the President
expressed concern at what he
referred to as lack of seriousness
by the Ministry and Uganda
Revenue Authority at identifying
new tax sources.
“Olugambo (gossip) on
social media (opinions, preju-
dices, insults, friendly chats) and
advertisements by Google and I
do not know who else must pay
tax because we need resources
to cope with the consequences of
their lugambo”, he noted in the
letter arguing that government
misses a lot of money in form
of taxes when it fails to tax non
educational communications on
the internet, citing Facebook and
Whatsapp as some of the social
media platforms from which
government can get money.
According to him, if a fee of
Shs100 per day is charged on a
SIM card that uses these social
media platforms, there is poten-
tial of collecting up to Shs400bil-
lion in revenue every year.
4 April 06 - 12 2018
Man who tried to attack Bishop Luwalira is of sound mind, Police
Herbert Kaddu, the stick witchcraft. On his part, Bishop Luwalira
wielding man who tried to In his statement, Kaddu said the man looked possessed
attack Bishop Kityo Luwalira denied wanting to attack the and couldn’t be stopped but
during Easter prayers at bishpop but said he had inher- promised that he was to cause
Namirembe cathedral was ited backcloth and a stick which a meeting with security opera-
examined on April.02 and had become a problem to him tives to identify the lapses that
found to be of sound mind. and therefore wanted the bish- made the man dressed in back-
“The family had claimed
he has mental illness but tests
op to pray for him. Kaddu who
arrived at the church driving a
cloth and holding a big stick
could gain access to the church.
have revealed he is okay”, said
Patrick Onyango the Kampala
super custom car beat security
and gained entry into the cathe-
However, police is charging
Kaddu with among others dis-
metropolitan police spokes- dral holding a big stick but was turbing the peace of a religious
person adding that a search at intercepted after he jumped assembly.
his home had found items of towards the holy altar.
Petitioner wants judge off age limit case
over having children with minister, AG
In a Mar. 28 letter, Male
Mabirizi Kiwanuka, one of
the petitioners in the age limit
cases wrote to the lady justice
Elizabeth Musoke of the Consti-
tutional Court requesting that
she excuses herself from the
age limit case hearings slated
for April 8 in Mbale. This came
after the Deputy Chief Justice
Alphonse Owinyi-Dollo named
a panel of five Constitutional
Court justices including Eliza-
beth Musoke to preside over
hearing of the age-limit peti-
tions.
“You sired a child with Hon Mwesigwa Rukutana
Mwesigwa Rukutana, the cur-
support”, he wrote adding that judicial officers.
rent Deputy Attorney General
when the justice decides to Mabirizi is one of the five
and is heading the respondent’s
preside over the petition, she petitioners including Dr. Abed
legal team. You sired two chil-
will be receiving submissions Bwanika, six opposition MPs,
dren with Hon. Hilary Onek
from the father of her children Uganda Law Society and a
who is the current Minister of
and that at the same time she concerned citizen from west-
General Duties, Prime Min-
will be hearing a case in which ern Uganda called Prosper
ister’s office, who voted yes
another father of her children is Busingye. Their petitions were
in favor of the constitutional
highly interested saying this is merged into one and will be
amendment bill No.2 of 2017
something against the ethics of heard in Mbale.
which cabinet had agreed to
*terms and conditions apply

Government is recruiting priests to spy on us, Lwanga
During prayers on Good
Friday at Lubaga Cathedral in
Kampala, the Archbishop of the
Archdiocese of Kampala Cyprian
Kizito Lwanga appealed to Presi-
dent Museveni to beware of indi-
viduals and agencies that give
him false information. Lwanga
who said that there are claims
that he wants to overthrow gov-
ernment added that he received
an anonymous call warning him
to be careful or he might end
up like the late Janan Luwum,
the Archbishop of the church
of Uganda who is believed to
have been killed by government
operatives.
Revealing that security agen-
cies such as the Internal Security
organization (ISO), Chieftaincy
of Military Intelligence (CMI)
and the police are behind the
deal, Lwanga said he had reli-
able information that the state is
planting spies in the church who
are paid a lot of money to give
the president information about
what the clergy are up to.
“I was told that the spies
Week
have reported that I want to
overthrow Government…..You
people in ISO, CMI, Police, stop
telling the president lies, Mr
president your mind is being
poisoned and you are acting on
that.”
However, responding to
this, spokesperson of the
army Brig. Richard Kale-
mire said the clergy’s
claims are unfounded
and that no one
is spying on the
church.

Kamya, Nambooze clash over

South Africa’s Winnie Mandela dies at 81
On April.02, Wife to
former South African
president Nelson
Mandela, Winnie
Madikizela Mandela
died at the age of 81 in
Johannesburg in South
Africa. According to a
statement by the family,
the anti-apartheid
activist died at the
Netcare Milpark hospital
after a long illness that
kept her in and out
of hospital since the
beginning of the year.
Madikizela-Mandela
who was known as
the “Mother of the
Nation” because of her
struggle against white
minority rule in South
Africa was a member of
parliament at the time
of her death but she is
mostly remembered for
keeping the memory of
her imprisoned husband
alive during the 27 years
he was imprisoned at the
Robben Island prison.
She was married to
Nelson Mandela for 38
years but divorced in
1996 just two years after
the husband became the
first black president of
the country. They had
two daughters together.
However, the freedom
fighter was sunk in
controversy over
the years as she was
convicted of fraud in
2003 and kidnap in 1991.
Madikizela was also
accused of involving in
human rights abuses
during the apartheid era.
metropolitan area proposals
Minister for Kampala Beti Namisango
and Mukono Municipality MP Betty
Nambooze accused each other of
dishonesty and ignorance during a
televised talk show on the proposal
to expand Kampala to a metropolitan
authority. It all started with Nambooze
saying the move is unpopular and
stakeholders were not consulted saying
it’s a just a political move for President
Museveni to regain support of the city
that he has long lost. She said, already
the Kampala City Council Authority
Act provides for the establishment of
the Metropolitan Physical Planning
Authority, whose board Kamya is
mandated to appoint but she hasn’t done.
In her response, Kamya says the new
metropolitan area plan unlike what
is provided for in the act is not about
boundaries but about shared services and
coordination of affairs and that later it
will be rolled out throughout the country
as one of the recommendations made by
the World Bank in its recent report.
The proposed metropolitan area that
cabinet has tasked Kamya to popularise
comprises Kampala, Mukono, Wakiso and
Mpigi districts.
Betty Nambooze Beti Kamya

April 06 - 12 2018 5
Week

Shs530billion set
aside for salary
enhancements,
Kasaija
While tabling the Shs30
trillion budget for FY2018/19
last week, Finance Minister
Matia Kasaija revealed that
Shs530billion has been set
aside to cater for salary
enhancements for some
public servants including
medical workers, university
lecturers, low ranking police
officers and political lead-
ers in local governments.
President Museveni posing for aphoto with the religious leaders and Area leaders after cutting the type for the The Minister said the salary
proposed st. janan luwum memorial church at Christ the King Parish Centenary Church in Kitgum where he increments in the said cat-
donated 560 iron sheets, and also laid a foundation stone then pledged Shs.120 million for roofing the church. egories will be undertaken
in a phased manner.
Eight UPDF soldiers die in Somalia attack This move by govern-
ment comes after the coun-
Eight soldiers of the Uganda People Defense a spirited fight for the attackers had six vehicles try suffering numerous
Forces (UPDF) died in a clash with the Al- loaded with explosives. sit down strikes by public
shabab insurgents on April 01 at an African “It is gratifying that the bold but adventur- servants last year including
Union military camp outside Mogadishu. Local ous strategy of al-Shabaab failed. With constant judicial officials, lecturers
sources said a massive blast was heard in the vigilance, victory is assured. I congratulate our and medical workers who
Bulomarer district, around 150 kilometres (93 soldiers for the good work they did,” he said. only suspended their strike
miles) south of Mogadishu, and fighting broke However, earlier the UPDF spokesperson in December but prom-
out after dozens of heavily armed Shabaab had announced that four soldiers had died in ised to resume it if their
militants stormed the base. the attack and six injured. Also, the Al-shabaab demands are not fulfilled.
In a tweet, President Museveni said during in a statement claimed they had killed 59 Now, with the Shs530 bil-
the fight, the soldiers managed to kill 36 al-Sha- Ugandan soldiers. lion in the budget, the total
baab attackers and praised them for putting up expenditure on salaries and
wages for this year is Shs4.1
trillion. But even with these
increments, the National
Association of Trade Unions
recently rejected the salary
increment proposals calling
for a complete overhaul of
the whole salary structure.

6 April 06 - 12 2018
Humour Did you know?
Two chicks can hatch
out of double-yolk egg

An egg is a layered
Medical workers, Science teachers and Prosecutors are the biggest marvel of yolk inside a
beneficiaries of the new enhanced salary structure for public servants. membrane, inside albu-
men inside more mem-
branes and all topped off
with a shell. As wonder-
ful (and complicated) as
eggs are, it’s no surprise
that they can come out
a little odd from time to
time. One of the most
striking variations is the
rare fertilised double-
yolk – and yes, this can
result in two chicks being
born from the same egg.
Oddities like double-
yolkers occur when
Minister Mary Karooro Okurut has urged people to hold something disrupts the
leaders accountable for effective service delivery. usual egg-making pro-
cess. Double yolk eggs
are extra-large eggs cre-
ated when two yolks are
ovulated within a couple
of hours of each other,
like twins, so they end
up travelling through the
oviduct together. They’re
most common when
chickens start laying,
before their system set-
tles into a steady groove.
If both the ovum in the
yolk are fertilised, they
can both become viable
Former Buyende district Police boss Muhammad Kirumira has
threatened to sue the office of the IGP over his trail. (if a bit squashy) chicks.

April 06 - 12 2018 7

Inbox
Letters are
welcome !
The Editor welcomes short and
concise letters from our esteemed
readers on topical issues. Please
send them to:
The Editor, The Independent
Publications Ltd,
P.O Box 3304,
Plot 82/84 Kanjokya St,
Kamwokya.
Kampala,Uganda.
Email: editor@independent.co.ug
Umeme: Facts
Vs emotion
Refer to: “On Museveni’s
Umeme missive” (The Indepen-
dent March 30). I would like you
to discuss the electricity supply
industry from the deep knowl-
edge not from the emotion. For
example, the electricity sector has
a regulator, who sets the tariffs
and conducts studies that deter-
mine the loss levels in the sector.
Umeme is not a super perfect play-
er in the sector as evidenced with
the poor customer care of its staff,
but Ugandans are playing in the
hands of lobbyists. If you examine
President Yoweri Museveni’s let-
ter, it’s a mere download from
Facebook debate with lobbyists
that ended up on the State House
headed paper and the President’s
signature. Many of the provisions
in the Umeme concession that
some people find obnoxious were
informed by our nation’s high-risk
profile at the time. This is similar
to the Bujagali Dam problem we
are currently facing. Uganda and
Seychelles are probably the only
Countries on the African continent
running a cost reflective electricity
tariff, Uganda having eliminated
direct subsidies in 2012. Uganda is
also part of the Energy Regulators
Association of East Africa. Tariffs
of these countries are bench-
marked against each other on a
quarterly basis, besides, the tariff
drivers and inputs differ from
country to country.
Julius
8 April 06 - 12 2018
News analysis Health Business
Africa’s ambitious Music lessons improve Uganda’s economy on lebratin
trade treaty academic performance slow recovery path Ce g
Issue No. 514 March 30 - April 05 2018
Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8
Years
Mutebile Vs Kasekende
Details of Museveni meeting
Blow-by-blow account of
fight wrecking central Bank
Follow us on Twitter @
http://twitter.com/#!/ugandatalks
Follow us on Facebook @
www.facebook.com/TheIndependentMagazineUganda
www.independent.co.ug
Kick out Umeme, bring in UEB!
Refer to: “On Museveni’s  Museveni gains more and that-be. It is an open secret
Umeme missive” (The Indepen-
dent March 30). Without going
loses more when the power
tariffs skyrocket because
that the loser is never the
government, the investor or
into Mwenda’s statistics and his Mwenda is never held to the go-between. It is always
glorification of Umeme’s per- account, cursed or even the consumer. So the others
formance, I can vouch for the mentioned. Museveni can cannot bite the hand that
following: even go sleepless for the feeds them.
 President Yoweri Museveni said issue.  And honestly, is it impos-
has more and better ana-  All investors have local sible to resurrect UEB?
lysts (and informers) than contact people who lobby Rwasubutare
Mwenda. for them with the powers-
Museveni right on kicking out Umeme
Refer to: “On Museveni’s
Umeme missive” (The Indepen-
removed from its eggs. As a
private entity, UMEME aims at
can gain by not doing anything?
Remember that dividends are
dent March 30). In a long time,
this is one of Mwenda’s first to
maximising profits. However,
and in this particular instance,
payable after the realisation of
profits. So, by declaring “losses”
publicly criticise President Yow- its profits were guaranteed. The UMEME does not meet any
eri Museveni. I should applaud inclusion of the 20% return on “PAYOUTS” to its other share-
Mwenda but I don’t. Mwenda investment (ROI) clause in the holders namely; the Uganda
has cultivated a culture of UMEME contract meant that government. Museveni’s argu-
just going against “general by the stroke of a pen and at ment; that “if the investors
thought”. Museveni’s outcry zero rate of work, UMEME was are claiming to have invested
whether genuine or not, should guaranteed a profit of Shs20 $500m in the distribution infra-
be a welcome gesture to the for every 100 “invested.” In structure, why aren’t the losses
general public. The UMEME essence UMEME is taking away declining?” is legitimate.
deal was a bad deal for the free money. What then will be
government right from its the motivation for UMEME to Rajab Kakyama
inception. It was an “omelette” operate under full capacity if it
BoU needs new thinking Museveni right on
Refer to: “Mutebile Vs Kasekende: crime preventers
Details of Museveni meeting, Blow-by-
blow account of fight wrecking central
Bank” (The Independent March 30). My On March 28, President Yoweri Museveni
concerns about the Central bank are over used a meeting with crime preventers at
its management of monetary policy. Lugogo to declare National Crime Preventers
Uganda’s currency is very week, ranked Forum a reserve force under the Uganda
amongst the bottom 10 in Africa. For People’s Defence Force (UPDF). Opposition
over a decade, interest rates have been members are saying that it is a bad move
and continue to be at double-digit. That that will cost this government because of the
has significantly curtailed investment bad activities some crime preventers have
in capital-intensive businesses which engaged in. Some crime preventers are crime
is central to job creation and long-term promoters, use excessive force, and engage in
economic growth. Economics has moved robbery and corruption. Although they have
on since the days Mutebile was at Havard been under Uganda Police Force and former
or wherever it is he studied. His solutions IGP Kale Kayihura tried to transform them
to steering monetary policy are obsolete into a community policing system, there have
and are in part contributing to high youth been loopholes. When Museveni puts them
unemployment. Uganda needs to rein- under UPDF as a reserved force, they will
vent the economy. It will require new fully transform into professional peace keep-
thinking at the helm of the Central Bank. ers and security operatives.
Henry Baisi David Serumaga
serumagadavid916@gmail.com

Uganda’s new villain
By Andrew M. Mwenda
Why the country and the President is fighting
the wrong enemy on electricity tariffs
A
large cross section of Ugandan
elites is angry, very angry. They
think the price (tariff) at which
they buy electricity is too high.
Characteristic of human nature, they have
been looking for a villain to blame for
this. Increasingly, the villain has become
Umeme, the private utility licensed to
distribute electricity. Last year, in the eyes
of President Yoweri Museveni, the villain
was Bujagali Electricity Limited (BEL),
the largest hydro electricity generator in
Uganda. So the villain is a moving target,
showing how the debate on electricity tariffs
is a toxic combination of high emotion and
little knowledge.
The villain in the electricity tariff is not a
person (Museveni’s critics would want to
blame him, he likes to blame civil servants
who negotiated the licenses). Neither is
it a company (Umeme or BEL who have
recently become the punching bags). It is
our government policy on pricing electricity
consumption. Our government, based on
advice by World Bank and IMF, decided
that it does not have enough money to
invest in generation and distribution of
electricity. It sought private investors into
the sector.
Now private investors were reluctant to
invest in Uganda’s electricity sector because
our country’s risk profile was high. They
did not trust that if they did, they would
recoup their money. These fears were not
unfounded but delving into them will
divert us. So, for today, let us say they
demanded government guarantees them a
fixed Return on Investment (ROI), bears the
foreign exchange risk and bulk-purchases
all the electricity (for those investing in gen-
eration) and bulk-supply all of it (for those
in distribution).
In a normal market, an investor identifies
an opportunity, raises capital and takes
the necessary risk to turn it into a profit-
able investment. If she produces a product
consumers do not like or produces more
than what the market can take, she suffers
the consequences of her decision. With elec-
tricity, given the amount of money involved
and the unwillingness of private capital
holders to take the risk, government guar-
antees them a market and a fixed ROI.
For example, for those who produce elec-
tricity, government signs a Power Purchase
Agreement guaranteeing to buy all the
The Last Word
installed electricity capacity at a fixed price
over say, 30 years. If water levels in Lake
Victoria fall and the dam at Bujagali pro-
duces only 100MW government guaranteed
to pay BEL for the entire 250MW installed
capacity. This is the infamous “hydraulic
clause” we fought ferociously in the late
1990s and succeeded at foiling AES Nile
Power from developing Bujagali dam. It
delayed the investment for 10 years with
heavy costs in blackouts that still haunt my
conscience. Now I appreciate the necessity
of certain provisions that sound obnoxious
to the uninitiated.
If wires collapse and all the electricity
cannot be transmitted and/or distributed,
government still pays BEL for a full 250MW.
If consumers demand less electricity than
the 250MW that BEL generates, government
guarantees to pay them for 250MW. To an
ordinary mind these guarantees sound an
unfair bargain. But they are the unavoid-
able and necessary cost a poor country with
a high-risk profile pays to attract private
investors into its electricity sector.
Private investment also comes with other
costs. First, it borrows expensively com-
pared to government; the high interest on
their loans is transferred to the consumer
through the tariff. For example, most of the
private generation facilities are just coming
on board. The investors are still servicing
these high interest loans and are also doing
accelerated depreciation hence the high
tariff.
Secondly, private investors demand a high
ROI in countries with a high-risk profile. In
our case, it is 20% for Umeme and 19% for
BEL. Third, investors raise capital in dollars
but electricity in Uganda is sold in shillings.
So the foreign exchange risk for the depre-
ciation of the shilling is borne by the con-
sumer through the tariff. All these costs are
a result of government policy, not private
companies that generate and/or distribute
power.
This path of using private investment to
generate and distribute electricity has paid
off for Uganda. It has lowered the country’s
risk profile and attracted private capital into
our generation and distribution market.
However, it has also led to a high tariff that
stifles investment in manufacturing and
inflicts horrible untold harm on the environ-
ment as people cut trees to burn charcoal
for cooking. The blunder is to threaten such
Opinion
investors the way Museveni recently did
with Umeme. It raises the country’s risk
profile making it, once again, expensive to
attract private capital from debt and equity
markets.
How does Uganda price electricity
without increasing her risk profile? Govern-
ment has already returned to building and
operating dams beginning with Isimba and
Karuma. Yet we need massive investment
in transmission and distribution to evacuate
and supply the 800MW of electricity
coming on the grid at the end of this year.
That requires investment of $800 million
in transmission and another $1.5 billion in
distribution. Does government have this
money? Recently the central bank was com-
plaining that our debt is about to reach the
proverbial 50% of GDP.
There is a second risk: if Karuma and
Isimba power is not consumed (because
we haven’t invested in distribution or
don’t have buyers) government pays. So
the choice in getting cheaper electricity is
between a government subsidy or a high
tariff or a combination of both. Government
will be driven by politics to prefer subsidies
to a high tariff. But either way the final cost
is borne by the taxpayer/consumer.
The real challenge for Uganda is one of
policy attitude towards electricity. Our gov-
ernment can look at electricity as a service
like any other such as air travel, telecom-
munications, data, etc. and price it using
market mechanisms. Here it would let the
tariff reflect the cost of investment and a risk
adjusted rate of return. This decision will
kill manufacturing and inflict damage on
the environment, as people will be cutting
trees to burn charcoal for cooking.
However, government can look at elec-
tricity as a public good or service like roads;
recognising it has powerful implications on
manufacturing growth and environmental
sustainability. Thus it can use taxes and bor-
rowed funds to build dams, transmission
and distribution lines and connect everyone
to the grid. There would be no direct
financial ROI. Government would bear the
interest and depreciation costs, so the tariff
would only reflect operational costs of run-
ning the system. Ethiopia is doing this and
China did it. As the South Africans would
say, we can also “did it”
amwenda@independent.co.ug
April 06 - 12 2018 9
cover story

DFCU profits expose

BoU 'sweetheart deals'
Taxpayer stands to lose Shs300bn
By Haggai Matsiko

When Juma Kisaame; the Managing Director of DFCU Bank, looks at its latest financial
results, he might have reason to smile and to worry. The bank’s latest financial results
have excited shareholders but are also attracting major scrutiny since the bank gobbled
one of Uganda’s top banks; Crane Bank Ltd, in a controversial acquisition.
Now, it appears, the acquired Crane Bank assets are contributing the lion’s share of
DFCU’s profits and its headache.

(L-R) Governor Tumusiime Mutebile,

Deputy Governor Louis Kasekende,
Justine Bagyenda,
DFCU's Juma Kisaame
10 April 06 - 12 2018
I
ndeed, as DFCU announced
hundreds of billions in profits,
Parliament’s Committee on
Statutory Authorities and
Enterprises (COSASE) for the
second time directed the Auditor
General to conduct a forensic audit into
the agreement entered between DFCU
and Bank of Uganda (BoU) over the sale
of Crane Bank assets.
Amongst the things the AG has been
asked to audit are the funds the central
bank injected into Crane Bank before
selling it to DFCU.
These fresh calls for investigation
follow another report by the AG, which
indicated that the central bank’s capital
injection into Crane Bank eroded BoU’s
capital and left it Shs37 billion below the
statutory minimum capital requirement
as at June 30, 2017; six months after DFCU
acquired Crane Bank.
From October 2016 to June 2017, the AG
notes, BoU injected Shs.473bn into Crane
Bank as intervention costs.
In January 2017, BoU sold specific
assets and liabilities of at Shs 200 billion
to DFCU.
The AG noted that BoU performed
an impairment assessment of the
intervention costs injected in Crane Bank
and concluded that the amount due from
DFCU Bank was not impaired.
The AG wrote that BoU’s capital was
eroded, however, because of its provision
for impairment of a mind boggling
Shs197billion, whose recoverability was
uncertain.
In financial terms, such a provision for
impairment as BoU undertook regarding
money from Crane Bank Ltd means that
it is permanently lost. In other words, the
taxpayer stands to lose this money.
“I considered this issue to be a key
audit matter as noncompliance with
the minimum capital requirement may
result in inadequate capital which
poses a business risk to the Bank and its
operations,” the AG wrote.
The uncertainty is because the money
is a subject of the on-going court battles in
which both the central bank and former
Crane Bank proprietor Sudhir Ruparelia
have sued each over the closure and
eventual sale of what until 2016, Uganda’s
fourth largest bank before it was sold to
DFCU.
DFCU profits rise
Within just months of taking over the
assets of Crane Bank last year, DFCU
reported a profit of Shs115 billion
up from a paltry Shs23 billion the
previous year.
A year later, in its latest financial
results approved by the central
bank on March 27, DFCU has
announced a net profit of Shs127 billion.
The bank’s income has also doubled
over the period to Shs517.3 billion from
Shs257.3 billion the previous year. The
previous year, the bank’s income grew
from Shs222.9 billion to Shs 257.3 billion.
Apart from income, assets have jumped
from Shs1.8 trillion in 2016 to Shs3 trillion
in 2017, and property and equipment
from Shs67.1 billion to Shs142.6 billion.
DFCU’s financials have attracted a lot
of attention because they come hardly a
month after an erstwhile tightly guarded
agreement it entered into with the central
bank to acquire Crane Bank leaked as
part of a major fall-out of principals at the
central bank.
The agreement, which The Independent
has obtained, had remained under the
lock and key of Justine Bagyenda, the
''I considered this
issue to be a key
audit matter as
noncompliance
with the
minimum capital
requirement
may result in
inadequate capital
which poses a
business risk to
the Bank and its
operations,” the
AG wrote.
former Executive Banking Supervision.
Not even the former shareholders of
Crane Bank had been able to access it.
But it leaked once BoU Governor
Tumusiime Mutebile, fell out with her
and fired her early February, sparking
off a major battle at the central bank that
has sucked in the Inspector General of
Government— who is looking to block
Bagyenda’s firing alongside the transfer of
some 54 staff at the bank. The agreement
leaked together with other documents
that have shone a spotlight, among others,
on the nature of the deal BoU entered
with DFCU.
Following the leakage, many are
questioning how the central bank could
have sold a bank valued at Shs. 1.3trillion
at a paltry Shs 200 billion.
cover story
Matters are not helped by the fact
that DFCU did not pay cash for the
bank. Rather, it entered an agreement
that would see it pay over ten quarterly
installments over a period of two and a
half years interest free, according to the
Auditor General’s recent audit of BoU.
As security, DFCU used treasury bonds
it had bought from BoU.
Going by this, given that DFCU made
a profit of Shs 127 billion in just a year of
acquiring the bank, observers say, it might
as well have paid that and remained with
a balance of Shs63 billion.
Sweet heart deals
Sudhir’s lawyers have described
the deal between DFCU and BoU as
a “sweetheart” deal. An investor who
in December met President Yoweri
Museveni with intentions to acquire the
bank told The Independent on condition
of anonymity that the bank they were
looking to acquire for over Shs400 billion,
DFCU acquired for “zero”.
The Independent has learnt that
about eight sets of investors flew into
Kampala looking to buy Crane Bank or
at least some of its assets. One of these
groups was a consortium of international
investors, which had a major Srilankan
retail bank as part of it.
Representatives of this group even
met President Museveni to get him to
intervene so as to get Bank of Uganda
(BoU) to pay attention to their offer. At the
time, President Museveni appeared keen
to let BoU officials deal with issues of
Crane Bank independently.
Apart from this group, there was a
company from Boston, another from
Portugal and another company called
Atlas Mara linked to former Barclays
boss Bob Diamond and tycoon Ashish
Thakkar.
Sources close to Sudhir say another
set of investors were interested in just
the Non-Performing Assets of the bank,
which amounted to Shs700 billion.
For these investors, the attraction was
the collateral, insiders say. Although
people had defaulted on their loan
obligations, the collateral attached to
these loans is always more than double
the value of the loans. The collateral on
some of these loans included the most
valuable properties in Kampala like
businesswoman Amina Mohmmad’s
Oasis Mall, tycoon Patrick Bitature’s top
hotels like and apartments, among many
others. Amina and Bitature held some of
the top six non-performing loans at Crane
Bank.
Even Sudhir’s lawyers had investors
from the U.S. who were looking to do due
diligence on the Crane Bank and buy it.
Insiders say, BoU and the lawyers acting
for it, frustrated all these investors by
April 06 - 12 2018 11
cover story
denying them access to do due diligence
on the bank. Finally, when they accepted,
BoU officials offered a short window of a
few days, for those interested to bid.
These revelations come as questions
emerge and scrutiny intensifies about
the nature of the deal BoU entered with
DFCU. Questions are being asked as to
why BoU officials locked out all these
potential investors and did not open
up the transaction for fair competition;
especially now that it has emerged that
BoU has already registered losses over the
same.
Apart from affecting the operations of
the central bank, the saga has also dented
its reputation. The Crane Bank takeover
has been described by some observers as
the “biggest asset grab by government”.
Amongst the grabbed assets, Sudhir’s
lawyers list Crane Bank branches, which
legally belonged to Sudhir’s Meera
Investments Limited and had been leased
to Crane Bank and were valued at Shs100
billion.
However, BoU whittled down the value
to a paltry Shs10 billion. Yet when DFCU
acquired them, it automatically valued
them at Shs47 billion - making a clean
profit of Shs 37 billion by the stroke of a
pen.
Sudhir’s lawyers base on these
revelations to conclude that the terms of
12 April 06 - 12 2018
the agreement were agreed fraudulently
and secretly in documents outside the
main sale agreement.
“The net result of these fraudulent side
deals was that DFCU got a bank with 1.3
trillion of Assets for a net payment of just
200 billion (payable under side deals over
a period of about 3 years),” reads a memo
prepared by Sudhir’s lawyers, “all of this
was to the detriment of the shareholders
and other legitimate creditors and for the
benefit of DFCU and the BOU officials
and their transaction advisors.”
The lawyers add that those who
structured the sale transaction appear to
have been compromised and working for
both parties secretly.
“They (lawyers) represented BOU and
connived with some BOU officials to
give DFCU a sweetheart deal and then
they immediately crossed over and went
to work for DFCU to collect money and
fees on the same assets they had just
transferred to DFCU.”
Immediately after concluding the
sale of Crane Bank to DFCU as Bank
of Uganda lawyers, Sudhir’s lawyers
claim, both MMAKS Advocates and
AF MPANGA (BOWMANS) switched
sides to work for DFCU to collect loans
and earn fees from the same Crane Bank
loans they claimed were written off and
uncollectable. To this day, the two law
firms, Sudhir’s lawyers say, continue to
work for DFCU to collect Crane Bank
money.
While Mpanga’sBowmans conducted
a review on the non-performing portfolio
for DFCU, court documents indicate that
MMAKS is handling some 49 cases on
former Crane Bank assets on behalf of
DFCU.
Sudhir’s lawyers claim that Bagyenda
gave DFCU permission to secretly
account for these bad loans on a secret
basis outside the official books of DFCU
Bank.
Sudhir’s lawyers claim the money
DFCU is collecting from these loans
belong to him and other former
shareholders of Crane Bank.
It is on the basis of these revelations
that the BoU, DFCU deal continues to star
controversy.
How Crane Bank was `killed’
To make their point, critics of the
central bank point to a series of actions
that officials at BoU made that “killed”
Crane Bank.
On July 27, 2016, Bagyenda wrote to
the Board of Directors of Crane Bank. Her
letter followed a meeting between BoU
officials and Crane Bank representatives
at which issues of Crane Bank’s capital
inadequacy were discussed. Following

that meeting, Crane Bank wrote informing
BoU that it had increased its core capital
from negative Shs16.10 billion to Shs62
billion.
To meet the required capital
requirements, however, Bagyenda insisted
that the Bank directors needed to inject an
additional Shs. 87.4 billion. This was on
July 27, 2016.
Sudhir requested BoU to exercise its
mandate as the lender of last resort and
advance him that money.
But BoU refused. Sudhir offered to
secure the loan from BoU with any of his
properties of their choice. Instead, BoU
imposed further restrictions on the bank’s
ability to do business. Crane Bank was
stopped from doing all things that a bank
does to make money. It was blocked from
issuing letters of credit, bank guarantees,
and other instruments from which it
could have raised cash.
As a result, Crane started losing about
Shs600 million a month. And because
the bank could no longer issue these
instruments, businesspeople started
moving their money to other banks who
could issue them with these instruments.
In effect, BoU’s intervention had made
a bad cash flow problem turn into a worse
liquidity crisis for Crane Bank. This was
followed by a run on the bank by anxious
customers.
Even at this point, The Independent
has learned, many international investors
were still attracted because the bank was
still an attractive investment.
Only a couple of years ago, it had been
one of the top five most profitable banks
in Uganda and was still the fourth largest
bank by assets - up to Shs1.8 trillion in
2015.
And because it had posted losses the
previous year, Crane Bank had a tax credit
of $40 million - meaning if an investor
bought it, they would not pay taxes worth
up to $40 million even if it made profits.
Instead of courting these investors, the
Central Bank opened a bidding process
of a week, which included the 2016
Christmas holidays. One of the investors
The Independent spoke to said at the time,
it wasn’t possible to coordinate boards
of bodies in Europe and Asia that were
interested in the bank.
The investors failed to bid and BoU
proceeded to sell the Bank to DFCU.
But it did not even sell the bank as a
business as had been proposed by some of
those involved. Instead, DFCU offered to
buy only some of the good loans at Shs200
billion, which it would pay over a period
of two and a half years.
Then the Central Bank commissioned
it to collect from the bad loans and take a
commission.
Sudhir was kept out of all this although
at the time of takeover his share capital
Sudhir Ruparelia
in Crane Bank was Shs320 billion. BoU
cancelled the funds to zero because, it
claimed, the bank had bad loans of over
Shs700 billion.
To cover these bad loans, BoU initially
asked Sudhir to pay US$60 million. They
later increased the figure to $90 million.
In all this, BoU was forced to inject
Shs470 billion, which is about four-times
the US$30 million Sudhir was initially
asking for.
According to sources, the cost of
running Crane Bank under BoU jumped
to Shs125 billion in three months from the
Shs96 billion Sudhir spent to run it for the
whole year 2015.
Central bank Governor, Tumusiime
Mutebile, his deputy Louis Kasekende
and former Executive Director Banking
Supervision, Justine Bagyenda, who were
party to the negotiations and meetings
surrounding the take over and eventual
sale of Crane Bank, are on the spot.
The Independent has written to all the
three requesting interviews over the same.
By press time, it was only Kasekende who
had responded. In brief, he declined to
comment.
If these three officials refuse to account
to the public for their actions, The
Independent understands that nobody
else at BoU can comment.
They need to respond specifically
to revelations early this year by an
investigation by the U.S. Federal Bureau
of Investigations (FBI) that have not
helped matters.
It revealed that an official referred to
as the Vice President of Bank of Uganda,
who is suspected to be Bank of Uganda
Deputy Governor Louise Kasekende, had
told the wife of Foreign Minister Sam
Kutesa that a local bank was up for sale
– this was on October 13—a week before
BoU took over Crane Bank.
cover story
Crane Bank demise time line
2014—Crane Bank posts profit of Shs
50.6bn
2015—Crane Bank posts loss of Shs
3.1bn—NPAs shoot to Shs 142.3bn
from Shs 19.3bn a year earlier.
2016 June—NPAs stand at 14.5 per
cent. Other banks are in bad shape
too but can call on international
backers. Crane Bank defaulters are
chocking, ask for a bail out of Shs.
1.8 trillion.
2016 July 1—BoU slaps restrictions
on Crane Bank blocking it from
carrying out usual business after
months of reassuring the public
2016 July 11—BoU team meets with
Crane Bank officials to discuss way
forward
2016 July 22—Crane Bank informs
BoU it has injected over Shs.70bn into
the bank, requests BoU for a loan
amongst other recaptalisation plans
2016 July 27—BoU’s Bagyenda
declines Crane Bank’s plans, says BoU
would not wave restrictions
2016 October 20—BoU takes over
Crane Bank
2017 January 24—Hands over Crane
Bank to DFCU, says Crane Bank
liabilities exceeded its assets, was
insolvent
2017 August 17—DFCU declares profit
of Shs.115 bn compared to 23 the
previous year
2018 February—Mutebile fires
Bagyenda, reshuffles staff, BoU—
DFCU agreement leaks
2018 February—Bagyenda petitions
IGG, IGG blocks staff reshuffle
2018 March—President Museveni
meets BoU officials, asks officials
to solve issues amicably, settle with
Sudhir out of court
2018 March 29—DFCU declares profit
of Shs. 127bn
2018 April—Parliament’s COSASE
asks Auditor General to investigate
BoU over funds injected into Crane
Bank and sale to DFCU
April 06 - 12 2018 13
rwanda
Rwandan President Paul Kagame (L) meets with US President Donald Trump.
Rwanda’s chagua
war with America
By Independent Team & Agencies
I
n February 2016, the heads of state of
the five east African countries; Uganda,
Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Burundi
agreed at a summit to ban the importa-
tion of second-hand clothes into their coun-
tries by 2019.
The move is embedded in the EAC
Vision 2050 and Industrialisation Policy to
enhance a manufacturing sector that cur-
rently contributes 8.7% to the regional Gross
Domestic Product to 25% by 2032.
The EAC member states knew there
would be consequence’s because their deci-
sion violated America’s African Growth and
Opportunity Act (AGOA) programme’s
conditions which include the eliminating of
barriers in Africa to U.S. trade and invest-
ment.
With just months to the set deadline, only
Rwanda appears determined to implement
the ban. The others, including Tanzania,
Uganda, and Kenya which had earlier sig-
naled intent to implement the commitment
have backed off in the face of threats of
beggar-my-neighbour policies from Presi-
dent Donald Trump of the USA, which is
the largest exporter of send-hand clothes to
the East African region.
The region has a huge trade deficit with
the U.S. as its exports totaled $43 million
worth of goods and services (2016) and
imports US$281 million worth of goods and
services. Rwanda estimates that it can create
up to 25,655 jobs, increase its exports, and
decrease imports,
It has been tightening the noose on sec-
14 April 06 - 12 2018
ond-hand clothing imports gradually since
the 2016 pronouncement. For example, just
a year after the heads of state agreement,
Rwanda announced drastic increases in
the tax on used clothing in its 2017 budget.
Import duty on a kilogram of shoes shot up
by 100% from US$2.2 to US$5.0 and cloth-
ing from US$0.2 to US$2.5.
Over time, the government also
embarked on activity efforts to establish a
home-based textile industry. It has encour-
aged partnerships between the Rwandan
government and Chinese textiles and
garments manufactures to make and sell
new apparel locally in Rwanda and export
whenever there is an opportunity. But as the
deadline for the ban nears, apprehension is
mounting about what the clothing markets
in Rwanda will look like when it kicks in.
Second-hand clothing in Rwanda, also
known as chagua, is ubiquitous in Rwanda.
Almost everyone wears a used clothing
item every day. Second-hand clothing stalls
are the dominant feature in most markets.
For those, unable to go to the market, they
are found in every corner shop and hawkers
easily provide them along the streets. Some
estimates claim Rwandans spend more than
$100 million a year importing clothing, both
second hand and new. Another statistic,
by NPR radio of America says Rwanda
imports about $18 million worth of used
clothes a year.
One of the main attractions of second-
hand clothing is that it is fairly cheap
compared to either imported new clothes
or locally tailored apparels. However, even
some people who could afford new prefer
used clothing because of its variety and
availability of popular designer labels from
the west.
Agaciro at stake
But President Paul Kagame and his gov-
ernment have been making very powerful
pitches against use of second-hand clothing.
Gerald Mukubu, of Rwanda’s Private
Sector Federation, which is part of the textile
initiative, made a statement to Quartz mag-
azine in 2016 that has been widely quoted.
Mukubu said Rwanda’s insistence on
producing its own clothes instead of relying
on hand-me downs from the west is “about
being capable and self-reliant”.
“We want to be independent,” he report-
edly said “Wearing clothing that was
owned by another person, is this dignity?
Can this make you proud?”
Kagame and his government are very
focused on the dignity of Rwandans. They
place a lot of emphasis on “agaciro” which
is the Rwandan word for dignity.
In an interview with The Telegraph news-
paper of London, Kagame explained why
dignity is important to him, where it comes
from, and why he appears determined to
defend his dignity and that of his people at
whatever cost.
Kagame said: “You will always hear me
talking about the importance of dignity,”
Kagame said, “It is really the key to people’s
lives, and obviously for me it relates back
to the refugee camp, the lining up for food
every day, the rationing. When we started
primary school, we used to study under a
tree. We used to write on our thighs with
 rwanda
a piece of dry, hard grass, and the teacher
would come over and look at your thigh,
and write his mark with another piece of
dry grass. You develop some sense of ques-
tioning, some sense of justice, saying, `Why
do I live like this? Why should anybody live
like this?’ There was also a hardening that
is still there in the way I approach many
things. You can’t shock me, because what
can be worse than what I have seen and
lived through?”
And so as the 2019 deadline approaches,
many observers recall how, in early 2017,
the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
threatened to kick Rwanda, Tanzania and
Uganda off eligibility to benefit from the
AGOA market arrangement which allows
listed countries to export products to the
U.S. tax and quota free.
Second-hand cloth markets are everywhere
Kagame ready to confront
About threats from the U.S., Kagame
has said: “We have to confront situations as
they come, bearing in mind the difficulties
that you’d have to face and manage. But
that’s the only way we can be able to move
forward.
“We have to grow our economies. We
have to grow and establish our industries,”
the president said.
This after U.S President Donald Trump
in March threatened to cut Rwanda’s trade
benefits in 60 days if it bans or raises tariffs
on used clothes imports. Already, Tanzania,
Uganda, and Kenya have succumbed to the
threats issued over the past two years.
Trump notified Congress of the suspen-
sion of duty-free treatment for all AGOA-
eligible apparel products from Rwanda in
60 days, according to Deputy U.S. Trade New cloths at Chinese factory in Kigali
Representative, C.J. Mahoney. He empha-
sised that Trump’s order is for a suspension States’ concerns. We have and will continue Rwanda has signaled that it is open to
not a termination. to work with Rwanda to resolve this situ- talks with the U.S. government to find a
“The President believes suspension of ation … The President’s determinations mutually agreeable solution over used
these benefits, instead of termination of underscore his commitment to enforcing clothes and shoes.
Rwanda’s status as an AGOA beneficiary, our trade laws and ensuring fairness in our “Rwanda has already exercised flexibility
would allow for continued engagement trade relationships,” he said. by providing written proposals to accom-
with the aim of restoring market access and In February, the head of economic and modate both sides,” Rwanda’s Minster of
thereby bringing Rwanda into compliance regional affairs at the Africa Bureau of the Trade and Industry, Vincent Munyeshyaka,
with the AGOA eligibility requirements,” US State Department issued the three coun- said, “We look forward to a response to the
Mahony said in a statement in late March. tries a one-week ultimatum to reverse the proposals as well as a productive dialogue
Mahony explained that Trump is not ban or face trade sanctions. with the United States on these important
suspending AGOA benefits for Tanzania trade and development matters. Rwanda
and Uganda because each has taken steps America fears job losses remains committed to finding a mutually
toward eliminating prohibitive tariff rates Trump’s intensified threats follow a peti- agreeable resolution to the outstanding
on imports of used clothing and footwear tion by the Secondary Materials and Recy- issues.”
and committed not to phase in a ban of cled Textiles Association (SMART) which He reiterated that developing the local
these products. Kenya withdrew its deci- complained that the ban “imposed signifi- textile industry remains a priority for the
sion to ban used clothes imports after earlier cant hardship” on the U.S. used-clothing country and is behind the planned phase-
threats by the United States to review trade industry and violated AGOA rules. out of second hand clothes import.
benefits which Kenya was a major benefi- SMART argues that Rwanda must either “Developing manufacturing capacity
ciary. be stopped or punished severely so as to in apparel and other industries is a high
Mahoney said the U.S. will continue to warn other African countries from rejecting priority for Rwanda’s economic develop-
monitor whether they “implement these America’s second hand clothes and shoes. ment. The announced intention to suspend
commitments and demonstrate compliance SMART fears that up to 40,000 U.S. jobs; AGOA eligibility for apparel exports from
with all of AGOA’s eligibility requirements. in collecting, processing and distributing Rwanda is unfortunate, but the mainte-
“I commend Tanzania and Uganda for used clothing and footwear would be jeop- nance of eligibility for other sectors is wel-
taking corrective steps to address the United ardised. come,” he said

April 06 - 12 2018 15
feature
The Avon Foundation’s campaign about domestic violence included this sign articulating a
common misperception about abused women. The Avon Foundation for Women, CC BY
Abusive relationships
Why it’s so hard for women to ‘just leave’
By Daniel G. Saunders
I
“And so I stayed.”
n a widely read blog post, Jennifer
Willoughby wrote this phrase after
each of the many reasons she gave
for enduring what she described as
her abusive marriage to former White
House aide Rob Porter.
Willoughby’s reasons are consistent
with those that hundreds of abused
women report to researchers. These are
women often caught in a web made from
isolating, confidence-crushing abuse
and by realistic fears of greater harm
should they leave. They also can feel
caught when they meet indifference from
others or, worse, insults that add to their
16 April 06 - 12 2018
injuries.
I am a social work scholar whose
research focuses on the problems of
dating and domestic violence. My
colleague Deborah Anderson and I, as
well as other researchers, have published
reviews of many studies of the barriers
women face in leaving abusers. We
found the barriers cluster in several
areas.
Not surprisingly, lack of material
resources, such as not having a job or
having limited income, is a strong factor.
Lack of support – and even blame – from
family, friends and professionals can add
to the sense of helplessness caused by the
abuse.
Then there is often the constant fear,
based in reality, that abuse and stalking
will continue or escalate after leaving.
The risk of homicide, for example,
increases for a period of time after a
woman leaves her abusive partner.
Hidden obstacles
The psychological reasons women stay
are naturally less visible, making it hard
for many to understand and sympathise
with victims.
Willoughby described the first stage
women typically go through when she
said she thought something must be
wrong with her. Her response? “And so I
worked on myself and stayed.”
She then described other reasons: “If
he was a monster all the time, perhaps
it would have been easier to leave. But
he could be kind and sensitive. And so I

stayed.
“He cried and
apologised. And so I stayed.
“He offered to get help
and even went to a few
counseling sessions and
therapy groups. And so I
stayed.
“He belittled my
intelligence and destroyed
my confidence. And so I
stayed. I felt ashamed and
trapped.”
Willoughby illustrates
themes commonly found
in our review: abusers
switching from extreme
kindness to being a
monster; the victim feeling
compassion when the
abuser apologises; the
victim holding on to hope
the abuser will change; and
the abuser destroying the
confidence of the victim.
Porter’s other ex-wife,
Colbie Holderness, described
the last theme this way: “…
his degrading tirades for
years chipped away at my
independence and sense of
self-worth. I walked away
from that relationship a shell
of the person I was when I
went into it…I had to take
an extended leave from
graduate school because I
was depressed and unable to
complete the work.”
Leaving is often a complex
process with several stages:
minimising the abuse and
trying to help the abuser;
coming to see the relationship
as abusive and losing hope
the relationship will get
better; and, finally, focusing
on one’s own needs for safety
and sanity and fighting to
overcome external obstacles.
High status adds obstacles
Are the obstacles to
leaving different for women
married to highly respected,
prominent men – the star
quarterback, the well-regarded
army captain, the beloved
minister?
Research is sparse on this
topic. The closest are a review
of case studies and a survey of
those married to police officers.
Both show that, in addition
to the obstacles described
earlier, these partners are often
reluctant to report the abuse
for two reasons.
feature
L VIOLENCE S VIOLENCE
S ICA EX NON
Y UA USING
NON-THREATENING
PH
INTIMIDATION
L NEGOTIATION BEHAVIOR
USING COERCION Making her
AND THREATS AND FAIRNESS Talking and acting so
afraid by using
Making and/or carrying out
threats to do something
looks,actions,gestures
Smashing things
Seeking mutually
satisfying resolutions
that she feels safe
and comfortable
to hurt her. Destroying her
Threatening to leave her, property to conflict expressing
to commit Abusing pets herself RESPECT
Accepting change
USING
ECONOMIC
suicide to report her
to welfare.
Making her charges.
Displaying
weapons USING EMOTIONAL
ABUSE ECONOMIC
Being willing to
comprise|
and doing
things Listening to her
ABUSE Putting her down PARTNERSHIP non-judgmentally
Making her do illegal things
Making her feel bad about herself
Calling her names Making money decisions Being emotionally
Preventing her from getting or
keeping a job Making her think she's crazy together affirming and
Making her ask for money Playing mind games Making sure both partners understanding
Giving her an allowance Humiliating her benefit from financial
Making her feel guilty arrangements Valuing opinions
Taking her money
Not letting her know about or POWER EQUALITY
have access to family income
AND USING ISOLATION
SHARED RESPONSIBILITY TRUST AND SUPPORT
Supporting her goals in life
CONTROL
USING MALE PRIVILEGE
Treating her a servant
Making all the big
Controlling what she does who
she sees and talks to. What she
Mutually agreeing
on a fair distribution
Respecting her right to her
own feeling,friends,activities
needs, where she goes of work
decisions Limiting her outside involvement and opinions
Acting like the ''master Using jealousy to justify actins Making family
HONESTY AND
of the castle'' USING MINIMIZING DENYING decisions together RESPONSIBLE ACCOUNTABILITY
Being the one to CHILDREN AND BLAMING PARENTING
define men's and Accepting responsibility
Making her feel Making light of the Sharing
women's roles for self
guilty about the abuse and not taking
parental
children her concerns about Acknowledging past use
Using the children it seriously responsibilities
to relay messages Saying the abuse
of violence
Being a positive
Using visitation to didn't happen Admitting being wrong
harass her Shifting
non-violet role
Communicating openly and
Threatening to take responsibility for model for the
truthfully
the children away abusive behavior children
Saying she caused it
First is the fear of ruining her husband: “He just must be police officers, judges, nurses
their partner’s career. so wonderful to live with, as and physicians – victim-
When Willoughby went he’s extremely charming and blaming and a reluctance to
for help, she said she was smart.” believe women’s reports of
counseled “to consider victimisation were closely tied
carefully how what I said might Disbelief and blame to sexist views.
affect his career,” adding with Responses by the public and Fortunately, professional
resignation, “And so I kept my professionals can make it more training is available on how
mouth shut and stayed.” difficult for victims to leave. to respond to domestic abuse,
The second reason for For example, in one study from programs for clergy to
staying silent is fear of not the public viewed an assault judges to law enforcement.
being believed. against an intimate partner And to fight gender bias,
“Everyone loved him,” as less serious than an assault the some governments are
Willoughby said. “People against a stranger, even when applying new strategies, such
commented all the time the same level of force was as exercises that increase
how lucky I was. Strangers used. awareness of unintended bias.
complimented him to me every And while public acceptance Ultimately, we need to
time we went out.” Apparently, of domestic abuse has prevent domestic abuse to
as a result, “Friends and clergy decreased over time, blaming keep it from happening in
didn’t believe me. And so I victims for their abuse still the first place. Involving boys
stayed.” exists and is tied to sexist and men is one promising
Similarly, Holderness said views, such as the belief that approach, such as helping
that “an abusive nature is discrimination against women high school coaches model
certainly not something most is no longer a problem and respectful behavior for their
colleagues are able to spot in a men and women have equal athletes and encouraging
professional setting, especially opportunities. fathers to be more nurturing
if they are blinded by a stellar Even professionals are not with their children.
resume and background.” immune from such attitudes. In In the meantime, it takes
Holderness added that clergy various settings, such as health little or no training for
did not “fully address the abuse care, marital therapy and family professionals, or anyone else
taking place.” court, professionals often fail for that matter, to validate
Instead, she said, “It wasn’t to ask about abuse. Or, if they victims’ experiences and thus
until I spoke to a professional hear of the abuse, they blame help them build the inner
counselor that I was met with victims for triggering it or don’t strength to leave.
understanding.” believe them. We can do this by
Accounts from Porter’s Professionals often insist repeating what Jennifer
ex-wives echo those of on corroboration from official Willoughby said recently to
Charlotte Fedders, who reports without giving any victims: “Please know: It is
described her abusive marriage credence to victim reports. Yet real. You are not crazy. You
to the chief enforcement officer fear and shame hold victims are not alone. I believe you.”
of the Securities and Exchange back. Less than half of domestic Daniel G. Saunders
Commission in her 1987 book abuse survivors make reports is Professor Emeritus of
“Shattered Dreams.” to the police or health care Social Work, University of
Fedders recently noted the workers. Michigan
parallels with Willoughby and In our studies examining
Holderness. People said about attitudes – including those of
April 06 - 12 2018 17
news analysis

18 April 06 - 12 2018

Africa splitting into two
What the Kenya earth collapse means for Uganda
By Independent Team & Agencies
W
estern Uganda’s border
will one day be one
endless ocean shore with
beaches similar to those at
Mombasa and other coastal regions.
This is one of the remarkable
predictions being discussed since
a large crack, stretching several
kilometres, made a sudden appearance
recently in the Rift Valley Province of
south-western Kenya.
The tear, which continues to grow,
caused part of the Nairobi-Narok
highway to collapse and was
accompanied by seismic activity in
the area.
It is a dramatic development
and is being used to amplify what
scientists have been explaining for
some time; that – in future- the
African continent is likely to split
into two creating a new continent
and a new ocean.
According to one report,
geologist Dereje Ayalew and
colleagues from Addis Ababa
University are already declaring
that an ocean basin is already
beginning to form in the region.
In 2005, the geologist and his team
described how the earth split open
in the desert plains of central
Ethiopia, an increasingly common
occurrence in the country.
Another scientist, Dr. James
Hammond from the Department of
Earth Science and Engineering at the
Imperial College London, is reported
to have said the process of separation
is in its “final part”.
Hammond has been studying this
precise action in the Afar Depression
(located in the northern extreme of
the East Africa rift in Eritrea, Djibouti,
and Ethiopia) - which he says is “the
only place in the world on land where
we can study the final part of this
process.”
In this Triangle, hundreds of
crevices are reported as splitting
the desert floor and the ground has
slumped by as much as 100 metres.
Hammond says that if we use the
current geography of Africa, the huge
new ocean and a continent that will
be created when Africa splits would
include all of Somalia and half of
Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania.
But do not worry; Hammond says
the slip is not happening any time
soon. In fact, he says, it will happen in
“in a few million years time”.
Note, however, that these scientists
do not mention Uganda.
Part of the reason is that Uganda lies
dead flat between two arms of the East
African rift valley – and no scientists is
bold enough to predict precisely what
will happen when the earth moves.
Rifts are the initial stage of
a continental break-up and, if
successful, can lead to the formation of
a new ocean basin.
An example of a place on Earth
where this has happened is the South
Atlantic Ocean which resulted from
the breakup of South America and
Africa around 138 million years ago.
Ever noticed how their coastlines
match like pieces of the same puzzle?
It’s happening now!
The East African Rift system is an
example of where this is currently
happening.
The East African Rift Valley
stretches over 3,000 km from the
Gulf of Aden in the north towards
Zimbabwe in the south, splitting the
African plate into two unequal parts:
the Somali and Nubian plates.
news analysis
Only recently have scientists begun
to precisely figure out why these two
massive chunks of land are separating
by a few millimetres every year. The
split is said to be occurring because of
a “superplume”, a giant section of the
earth’s mantle that carries heat from
near the core up to the crust.
As the rift continues, it will
eventually cause the eastern part of
Africa to split away from the rest
creating a new “Somali plate” and sea
in the process. The Nubian plate will
carry most of the continent, while the
smaller Somali plate carries the Horn
of Africa.
Scientists say the separation is
happening at a faster rate than
expected. According to them, the
average speed with which the
continents change latitude has
doubled over the last two billion
years.
Activity along the eastern branch
of the rift valley, running along
Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania,
became evident when the large
crack suddenly appeared in south-
western Kenya.
In the most promising
projection, the new ocean will
stretch from the Eritrea, Djibouti
area, through parts of southern
Ethiopia and northern Kenya,
down to western Uganda, the
DR Congo, Tanzania, Malawi,
Zimbabwe and finally through
the eastern states of South Africa.
In other words, if Uganda remains
connected to Kenya and part of the
Somalia plate; then western Uganda
will become an ocean coastline – in a
few million years.
If on the other hand, the new ocean
covers the western rift valley through
Lake Albert, then the story will be
different and possibly not so good.
Lucia Perez Diaz, a postdoctoral
researcher at Fault Dynamics Research
Group, at the University of London
writes in The Conversation, that
there’s mounting evidence the African
continent is splitting in two.
Scientists explain that the Earth’s
crust is divided into different sections
called tectonic plates. Tectonic plates
are the huge rocky slabs made up of
the Earth’s crust and upper mantle.
April 06 - 12 2018 19
news analysis

The tear, which continues to grow, caused part of the Nairobi-Narok highway to collapse and was accompanied by seismic activity in the area.

These massive sheets are continually

being pushed around by movements
in the mantle (one of the three main
layers of Earth, consisting of hot,
dense, semisolid rock) which is
shifting millimetre by millimetre,
re-shaping the Earth’s surface over
millions of years.
According to Diaz, the earth is an
ever-changing planet, even though in
some respects change might be almost
unnoticeable to us. Plate tectonics is a
good example of this.
She says, however, every now and
again something dramatic happens –
such as the earth split in Kenya - and
leads to renewed questions about the and the upper part of the mantle other at varying speeds, “gliding”
African continent splitting in two. (lithosphere), which is broken up into over a viscous asthenosphere.
a number of tectonic plates, is not Exactly what mechanism or
Understanding earth movements static, but comprises moving tectonic mechanisms are behind their
She describes how the earth’s crust plates. These move relative to each movement is still debated, but are

20 April 06 - 12 2018

likely to include convection currents
within the asthenosphere and the
forces generated at the boundaries
between plates.
These forces do not simply move
the plates around, they can also cause
plates to rupture, forming a rift and
potentially leading to the creation of
new plate boundaries, she says.
When the lithosphere is subject to
a horizontal extensional force it will
stretch, becoming thinner. Eventually,
it will rupture, leading to the
formation of a rift valley.
This process is accompanied by
surface manifestations along the rift
valley in the form of volcanism and
seismic activity.
The East African Rift is described
as an active type of rift, in which the
source of these stresses lies in the
circulation of the underlying mantle.
Beneath this rift, the rise of a
large mantle plume is doming the
lithosphere upwards, causing it to
weaken as a result of the increase in
temperature, undergo stretching and
breaking by faulting.
Evidence for the existence of this
hotter-than-normal mantle plume has
been found in geophysical data and
is often referred to as the “African
Superswell”.
This superplume is not only a
widely-accepted source of the pull-
apart forces that are resulting in the
formation of the rift valley but has also
been used to explain the anomalously
high topography of the Southern and
Eastern African Plateaus.
Breaking up isn’t easy
Rifts exhibit a very distinctive
topography, characterised by a
news analysis
series of fault-bounded depressions
surrounded by higher terrain. In the
East African system, a series of aligned
rift valleys separated from each other
by large bounding faults can be clearly
seen from space.
Not all of these fractures formed
at the same time, but followed a
sequence starting in the Afar region in
northern Ethiopia at around 30 million
years ago and propagating southwards
towards Zimbabwe at a mean rate of
between 2.5-5 cm a year.
Although most of the time rifting
is unnoticeable to us, the formation
of new faults, fissures and cracks or
renewed movement along old faults
as the Nubian and Somali plates
continue moving apart can result in
earthquakes.
However, in East Africa most of
this seismicity is spread over a wide
zone across the rift valley and is of
relatively small magnitude. Volcanism
running alongside is a further
surface manifestation of the ongoing
process of continental break up and
the proximity of the hot molten
asthenosphere to the surface.
Diaz writes that the East African
Rift is unique in that it allows us to
observe different stages of rifting
along its length. To the south, where
the rift is young, extension rates are
low and faulting occurs over a wide
area. Volcanism and seismicity are
limited.
Towards the Afar region, however,
the entire rift valley floor is covered
with volcanic rocks.
This suggests that, in this area,
the lithosphere has thinned almost
to the point of complete break up.
When this happens, a new ocean will
begin forming by the solidification
of magma in the space created by the
broken-up plates.
Eventually, over a period of tens of
millions of years, seafloor spreading
will progress along the entire length of
the rift.
The ocean will flood in and, as a
result, the African continent will become
smaller and there will be a large island
in the Indian Ocean composed of parts
of Ethiopia and Somalia, including the
Horn of Africa.
Dramatic events, such as sudden
motorway-splitting faults or large
catastrophic earthquakes may give
continental rifting a sense of urgency but,
most of the time, it goes about splitting
Africa without anybody even noticing.
April 06 - 12 2018 21
Uganda’s banks brace
for tough year gain?
Stanbic records sharp drop in profits
as DFCU’s NPL nearly doubles
U
By Isaac Khisa
ganda’s banking industry
appears to be heading to-
wards tougher times again,
according to the industry
executives. This is owed to
slow private sector credit
growth, volatile trading security market
and the continuous decline in interest rates
amidst talk of recovery of the economy.
“2018 is going to be a tough year, there’s
no doubt. If you look at the yield curve …
it is in the unchartered territory,” Stanbic
Bank’s Chief Executive, Patrick Mweheire,
told journalists as he announced his bank’s
financial performance at the Sheraton Kam-
pala Hotel on March 28.
“Banks in this country have never had
a Central Bank Rate of 9% (as it is at the
moment). It is a good thing for the econo-
my (as interest rates will drop) but it is very
hard for banks to make money.”
Mweheire said 2018 is also likely to be a
challenging one and that banks will have
to do something else to make money and
grow their profits.
This comes at a time Bank of Uganda has
22 April 06 - 12 2018
already warned that commercial banks are
likely to tighten requirements for securing
loans as they move towards implementing
stricter provisioning standards required
under the International Financial Reporting
Standard 9 (IFRS9) that came into force in
January, this year.
Stanbic Bank, which recorded a third of
the industry’s profitability saw its net profit
grow by merely 5% to Shs200bn last year,
up from Shs191bn in 2016 and Shs 170bn
in 2015.
Executives at Stanbic said profits
declined mainly because of slow private
sector credit uptake, decline in yield returns
on government securities as well as the con-
tinuous decline in interest rates.
Similarly, the bank’s net interest income
fell by 6% to Shs353bn, down from Shs
376bn in 2016 and Shs 311bn in 2015 due to
a reduction in interest rates.
However, the bank’s non-interest income
grew with the same margin to Shs 283bn,
up from Shs 267bn and 221bn during the
same period under review.
Interestingly, the bank announced an
increase in dividend payout to sharehold-
ers to Shs90bn compared with Shs 60bn in
2016 and Shs 40bn in 2015, a move seen to
impress its shareholders.
Meanwhile, DFCU Bank saw its net
profit nearly triple to Shs127bn as at the end
of last year, up from Shs46.27bn in 2016 and
Shs 37bn in 2015 amidst increase in Non-
Performing Loans.
The superb performance was mainly
driven by acquisition of Crane Bank last
year, growth in interest on loans and
advances, fees and commissions and loan
recoveries. The bank’s NPL’s, however,
nearly doubled from Shs58.38bn in 2016 to
Shs96.68bn last year.
Data from the central bank shows that
the CBR fell to 9.5% as at the end of last
year and to 9% in February this year – the
lowest since 2011 when Inflation Targeting
Lite (ITL) was introduced to tame inflation
that had jumped to 30%, the highest since
1993 – down from 12% in December 2016.
Yields on government securities – treasury
bills and bonds – also fell from an average
of 15% to 9% during the same period under
review.
As a consequence, interest rates declined
from an average of 22.7% in December 2016
to 20.3% in December last year, with Stan-
 page 7

Banking Sector Performance Bouncing Back from the 2016 dip

business
Uganda’s banking industry performance in the last four years
FY YoY FY YoY FY YoY FY
Banking Sector Performance (BOU Reporting) Comments
2014 (14-15) 2015 (15-16) 2016* (16-17)* 2017

Deposits (Tr) 13.2 12% 14.8 9.5% 16.2 12% 18.2 LCY = 17.8% YoY, FCY = 3.1%
Fundamentals :
Strong deposit growth Gross Loans & Advances (Tr) 9.4 15% 10.8 6% 11.5 1.5% 11.7 

 





(12% YoY) with lower L&A
growth (2% YoY) and Government Securities (Tr) 4.5 -9% 4.1 26% 5.1 9% 5.6 GOU reducing appetite by half
GOU appetite (10%)
created Excess liquidity in BOU Securities & Repos (Tr) 0.2 -100% 0.0 >100% 0.8 >100% 2.5 1.7tr in low yield instruments
the Industry
Customer L/D ratio (%) 71.3% 1.7% 73.1% -2.3% 70.8% -6.7% 64.1% Highly liquid  last record in 2010

Game changers : Cost of deposits (%) 3.3% -0.1% 3.4% 0.4% 3.0% 0.2% 2.8% Interbank drop from 12.6% to 9.3%
Asset quality and overall
CTI played a strong role NPL ratio (%) 4.1% -1.2% 5.3% -5.2% 10.5% 4.9% 5.6% 551bn drop driven by Constr. & RE
in turning around the
sector Cost to Income ratio (CTI) 76.3% 7.0% 69.3% -15.6% 84.9% 10.7% 74.2% Lower provisions & Interest Exp.

PAT (billions) 485 12% 541 -44% 302 >100% 673 10% YoY excluding Crane in 2016

Normalised position : No. of loss making banks 6 0% 6 -17% 7 14% 6 page

Back to the 2015 position 3

nges in the Macro Environment

Industry KPIs reverting to
ROA (%) 2.6% 0.0% 2.6% -1.3% 1.3% 1.4% 2.7% Marginally above the 2015 position
the 2015 position or
better. ROE (%) 16.1% -0.1% 16.0% -7.7% 8.3% 7.7% 16.0% Back to the 2015 position

Total Capital adequacy ratio 22.2% -1.2% 21.0% -1.2% 19.8% 3.6% 23.4% Retained earnings up by 30.1%

hange rate (UGX)

Bank of Uganda

* Includes Crane Bank : Excluding Crane Bank, Market PAT was ~611bn in 2016 Source: Bank of Uganda

& Inflation (%) Interest rates (%)

bic Bank charging the lowest interest rate in Trend of CBR and yield returns on securities for the financial year 2017
the market at 17% per annum.
7.3%
15.9%

15.2%

But even as the interest rates reduced, the

8.0%
14.0%

13.9%

13.8%

13.6%

13.6%
private sector credit uptake grew by merely
6.4% 7.0%

two percentage points to 5.9% as individu-

3 639

11.7%

11.1%
als and companies involved in the produc- 14.1%

10.6%
5.3%
6.0%

tion of goods and services as well as indi-

3 623

9.4%

9.3%
10.5%

9.0%
viduals shied away from taking up loans. 5.0%

5.0%The private sector executives The Inde-

pendent has talked to attribute this to low
3.3%
3 638

4.0%

4.2%
demand for products and services following 8.4%
3 624

12.0%

12.0%

the political turmoil in South Sudan and the

11.5%

11.5%

11.0%

11.0%

3.0%
10.0%

10.0%

10.0%
10.0%
3 606

eastern Democratic Republic of Congo— 3.0%

3 602

9.5%

9.5%

9.5%
3 600
3 591

two of Uganda’s major export destinations.

2.0%

Overall industry performance

1.0%

Overall, the banking industry recorded 0.0%

a 10% growth in net profit to Shs 673bn

Oct-17
Jul-17
May-17

Jun-17

Aug-17

Sep-17

Nov-17

Dec-17

Jul-17

Oct-17
Dec-16

Jan-17

Feb-17

Mar-17

Apr-17

May-17

Jun-17

Aug-17

Sep-17

Nov-17

Dec-17
for the year ended last December, up from
Shs 611bn in 2016 excluding Crane Bank
and Shs 541bn in 2015, according to Bank
of Uganda.
Headline Uganda currently
Inflation Core boasts of 25
Inflation CBR 30d T-Bill 1 yr Tbill
commercial banks.
The industry’s deposits grew by 12% to Bank of Uganda
der 1%. Shs 18.2 trillion last year, up from Shs16.2
CBR
Moving 250bps YoY
wer compared to Dec-16.
trillion and Inflation
Shs 14.2 trillion forthe same
during
30D T-bill
Moving 570bps YoY
the rangeperiod underheavily
of 4-5% review. dependent on
90D she
with new products,” T-bill
“They
said, Moving 690bps
need YoY Policy Statement on Feb 13 that
to Monetary
This is the
ices and rainfall same trendnormal).
(Assumed with loans and be more creative,

CBR coming
wasupreduced
with products therelow
to a record are indications of a revival in private
of 9% in Feb-18.
advances that increased to Shs 11.7 trillion like those targeting students, ladies, small investment activity reflected in the recovery
last year, up from Shs11.5 trillion in 2016 and savings groups, among others.” Source: Bank
of foreign direct investment, of Uganda
which grew by
Shs10.8 trillion in 2015. The Non –Perform- Mweheire said the banking sector now 18.5 % in 2017 compared to the decline of
ing Loans fell to 4.9% from 10.5% and 5.3% needs to leverage technology, data, custom- 30.5% recorded in 2016. Mutebile pointed
during the same period under review. er centricity, diversity, and optimizing acces- out the improvement in shilling credit exten-
sibility to their services to stir their profit sion recorded at 10.8% in December 2017
Going forward growth. He reiterated that Stanbic Bank is compared to 7.9% in December 2016; and
Suzan Khaiza, a financial advisor work- finalizing a plan to become a Bank Holding increased imports of raw materials and capi-
ing with the Kampala Serena Hotel told The Company (BHC), a step that would enable it tal goods, which grew by 17.4% compared
Independent in an interview that the current venture into other niches such as real estate to a decline of 21.1% in the period under
economic conditions show the need for and brokerage and grow its profits. The review.
banks to be more innovative and come up bank has already made an application and He said economic growth for FY2017/18
with new products that suit different catego- awaits the central bank’s approval. is projected to be in the range of 5.0-5.5%,
ries of customers. On the upside, Bank of Uganda Governor, signalling a positive payoff for the current
“Our banks seem to have relaxed coming Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile, said in his stimulatory monetary policy.

April 06 - 12 2018 23
business
By Julius Businge

U
ganda’s power distributor,
Umeme Limited, has recorded a
surprise performance in the year
ended December 2017, with the
net profit dropping threefold to Shs 35bn
compared with the previous year.
The less than expected performance
was attributed to the disclosures made
in the half-year results of last year where
the company reported an impairment
provision in the amount of Shs 115.2 bn as
a result of the changes made in its license
by the industry regulator – Electricity
Regulatory Authority – regarding
Amendment 5 that denied the company of
extra income from the sale of extra units of
electricity sold beyond the set target. The
amount started accumulating since 2012.
The company also experienced an Umeme MD, Selestino Babungi (L) breaking down company’s 2017 financial results in Kampala on
increase in financing costs from Shs69bn March 29. Looking on are other company officials.

Umeme’s profit drop

in 2016 to Shs97bn last year driven
by increased borrowings and related
interest rates. Currently, the company’s
outstanding long term debt as at the end of

threefold to Shs 35bn

last year stood at US$ 181 million.
On a positive note, its total assets
marginally grew from Shs 2.2 trillion to
Shs 2.3trillion and so was the revenue
collection from 98.4% to 100.2%,
respectively, during the same period under
review.
Similarly, energy losses reduced from
19% to 17.2% while energy sales increased
from 2, 567 (GWh) to 2, 760 and customer
numbers went up from 951, 000 to over 1.1
million.
Also, ccustomers on pre-paid metering
increased to 75.3% of the total customer
base compared to 65.0% at end of
December 2016 while pre-paid revenue
as a proportion of total revenue stood at
21.1%, up from 16.3% at end of December
2016.
As a result, the company has approved
Shs 12bn (Shs 7.6 per share) as dividend
payable to shareholders in July this year.
This proposed dividend, however, is
lower than Shs 18.8 that was paid out for
each share for the year in the previous
year.
The results came amidst President
Yoweri Museveni’s authored letter
addressed to the Energy Minister Irene
Muloni dated March 21 expressing his
dissatisfaction about the company’s
performance in relation to tariffs.
According the letter, the President said
the company was cheating power users – a
vice that began with fraud of inflating the
magnitude of technical and commercial
losses – which he blamed on some officials
in the Ministry of Energy.
“I am now directing you to furnish me
with the explanation on all these matters,”
Museveni wrote. In the same letter, he
stressed that there should be no question of
Company managers say recent
concession talk not threat to its future
renewing Umeme’s concession.
The harsh directive from the big man
prompted company officials including its
Chairperson of the Board Patrick Bitature
and the Managing Director, Selestino
Babungi, to hold a special meeting with
the President to iron out issues regarding
tariffs and its entire operations.
While details from the meeting remain
scanty, observers say it was a good step
forward for courting the President to
reverse his directive especially on not
renewing the company’s contract that is set
to expire in seven years.
Meanwhile, amidst this good and bad
news, the company’s counters on the
Uganda and Nairobi Securities Exchange
remain muted with the share price
settling at Shs 410 per share on the USE
and Kshs 12.2 on the NSE since March 21
when different events about the company
unfolded.
Key to note is that many shareholders
are selling significant number of shares
but few are interested in buying – this was
in particular observed on the USE in the
period leading up to Easter season holiday.
Big is big
Joseph Kibuuka, the second in command
and head of investment banking at a
brokerage firm, Crested Capital, told The
Independent on April 03, that basing on
the company’s experience in the sector and
investment infrastructure in addition to its
strong balance sheet, the company remains
strong and one to side with on matters
electricity distribution.
“With or without the concession Umeme
remains a strong company other factors
like political remaining constant,” Kibuuka
said, adding “The future of the company is
not in the hands of the President.”
On the company’s future trading,
Kibuuka said investors are yet to decide
on the next course of action in line with
current news regarding its concession and
financial performance for the year 2017 -
that were released ahead of Easter season
celebrations.
Going forward
Marie Nassiwa, the company’s chief
financial officer and Selestino Babungi
(MD) told reporters in Kampala on March
29 the company is committed to continue
employing the appropriate technology
to bring down energy losses, sustain
a rigorous safety regime and invest in
strengthening the network to improve the
quality and reliability of supply. Babungi
said they were engaging government on
having the company’s contract extended.

24 April 06 - 12 2018

Seven experts to scrutinize
Isimba Dam works
UEGCL says the project is set for launch in August
By Julius Businge
O
n Monday, April 02, another step
towards having a high-tech, well
built 183MW Isimba hydro power
plant was demonstrated by its
main overseer– Uganda Electricity Genera-
tion Company Limited (UEGCL).
The Dam Safety Independent Panel of
Experts – six foreign and one Ugandan –
drove from Jinja in one van to the site, locat-
ed in Kayunga district to observe the quality
of work and offer expert advice on how to
deal with possible gaps that would cut short
the lifespan of the important power plant.
The one-week visit was the sixth mission
that began on April 01-07. But it was the first
time all the seven experts were visiting the
site at ago for critical analysis on the work
being done.
This visit is a mechanism instituted by
government, following the April 2016 Min-
isterial Policy Directive in respect of the con-
struction of 183 MW Isimba Hydropower
Project and its Bujagali Interconnection
Project.
The team’s core purpose is to indepen-
dently evaluate the quality of construction
works, review basic and detailed designs
and construction methodologies, and assess
the risks associated with construction and
operation phases of the project, to ensure
that international standards of design, risk
evaluation and impact assessment are met.
UEGCL officials said that in accordance
with international practice, the expert’s site
visits are conducted biannually.
The visit came at a time UEGCL and the
main contractor, China International Water
and Electric Corporation (CWE) were opti-
mistic that the official project launch date
would remain August this year.
“Recognizing that Isimba power plant is
in its final year of construction, government
has been prompted to attach overriding
significance to the sixth visit of the experts,”
Eng. Harrison Mutikanga, the Chief Execu-
tive Officer for UEGCL said .
The experts include, the Chairperson
Charles C. Hutton from the USA, Prof.
Kaare Hoeg from Norway, Dr. Jean Pierre
Tournier from Canada, John Gummer from
Australia, John Russel and Ljiljana Spasic-
Gril from the UK and Prof. Jackson Mwakali
from Uganda.
Mutikanga said the composition of this
Experts, UEGCL and other site Engineers sharing a moment inside the powerhouse on April
02.  Independent/Julius Businge.
team ensures coverage of the full range of
the project construction components and
technical aspects.
He said Charles Hutton and Prof.
Mwakali are handling the civil and
structural issues of the powerhouse and
related works, Prof. Kaare Hoegand and Dr.
Tournier are reviewing embankment dam
and geotechnical aspects, John Gummer is
tackling the hydro mechanical equipment
issues, John Russel is looking at all electro-
mechanical elements while LjiljanaSpasic-
Grill is focusing on risk assessment of the
dam safety during construction and opera-
tion phases.
Mutikanga said the team would interact
with government officials represented by
UEGCL, the contractor’s representatives
and the Owner’s Engineer (OE). Their site
work would broadly involve field inspec-
tions, independent site investigations,
design review meetings and desk studies
which are guided by a clear set of design
criteria based on international standards,
guidelines and global best industry practice.
Meanwhile, Mutikanga said the imple-
mentation of team’s recommendations from
the previous visits has immensely contrib-
uted to the quality assurance and control
measures required to build a fit for purpose
facility.
The Easter Monday visit was considered
to be timely as construction of the embank-
business
ment dams and electromechanical installa-
tions were at critical stages, with progress
already registered in dam foundation treat-
ment and turbine generator installations
for two out of four generating units. Prepa-
rations were also underway to start dam
material placement on the right embank-
ment of the dam.
It was also timely following the new
appointment of the site engineer supervi-
sors in January this year, technically called
Owner’s Engineer(OE) – Artelia EAU &
Environment (from France) in association
with KKATT Consult Limited (a Ugandan
firm).
The new OE is mandated with providing
professional services, personnel and techni-
cal resources appropriate for the supervi-
sion of the engineering, procurement and
construction works done by the contractor
(CWE).
Earlier in September – 2017 - Energy
Infratech PVT Limited (EIPL) – the firm
hired to supervise the project as the OE had
its contract expired but was not renewed by
UEGCL after sleeping on the job.
The preliminary findings and recommen-
dations from the sixth visit would be pre-
sented at the end of the site visit, for action
by the respective project parties.
The US$ 450 million project is currently
approaching 75% completion, according to
the UEGCL and the experts
April 06 - 12 2018 25
business
csr
MTN Foundation donates to Summit View Army Primary school
MTN Uganda CEO, Wim Vanhelleputte () with KCCA, army officials and
pupils of Summit View Army Primary School, Kololo.
O
n March 29, MTN
Foundation handed
over scholastic mate-
rials including books,
pens and bags as well as un-
veiled a one-year feeding pro-
transport
Now Uber takes on SafeBoda
U
ber, the US-based
mobile app-based taxi
service, has taken on
SafeBoda with the
rollout of a new platform that
will connect passengers and lo-
cal motorcycle riders, popularly
known as Boda-Bodas, for a
travel.
Aaron Tindiseega, the Coun-
try Manager for Uber in Ugan-
da, said the introduction of the
platform dubbed, UberBODA,
was as a result of high demand
for quick transport means in
Kampala.
ict
MTN to focus on data and Mobile Money
M
TN Uganda
plans to use
the next
10 years
to focus on expanding its
data network and mobile
money services, accord-
ing to its CEO, Wim Van-
helleputte.
Vanhelleputte, who
spoke shortly after
a public hearing on
renewal of its operating
license at the Uganda
Communications Com-
26 April 06 - 12 2018
This was in fulfilment of
a pledge made during the
recently held MTN Global
Leadership Gathering (GLG), a
summit.
“The objective of the GLG
donation is to empower the
pupils and teachers of Summit
View Primary School through
the provision of materials that
will aid and enable access to
quality education,” said Wim
Vanhelleputte, the CEO MTN
Uganda.
He said the school will also
have a steady supply food,
courtesy of the MTN, in the
next one-year.
gram for Summit View Army
Samuel Serunkuuma, the
Primary School, Kololo.
Deputy Executive Director
The school has a population
at the Kampala Capital City
of 500, with pupils coming from
Authority, acknowledged
the slum areas of Kamwokya,
MTN’s continuous support of
Makerere and Bwaise.
the education sector.
“We have been engaging with
the relevant regulators and we
are proud to be launching a
product that is fully compliant
with Ugandan laws and we look
forward to working with the
government to further formalise
the Boda-Boda industry,” he
said.
The firm, which operates in
more than 60 countries and 444
cities- including all major cities
in the US, entered the Ugandan
market in 2016 with the launch
of their hailing app specifically
for taxis.
mission headquarters pany wants to be a
on March 29, said the key partner with the
company currently government in devel-
covers only 50% of the opment of the new
population and expects economy that will drive
to go up to 99%. on mobile money and
“The next item to financial inclusion.
focus on is to take our MTN, which has
mobile money services been in operation in
to the next level; this the country for nearly
will promote a digital two decades, has 11.2
economy through a million subscribers,
cashless society,” he more than half of the
said. country’s mobile sub-
He said the com- scribers.
retail
Coca-Cola launches
new World Cup promo
O
ver 200,000 customers
are expected to win
cash worth Shs108
million and other
prizes in the ongoing 12- weeks
promotion as part of this year’s
World Cup taking place in Rus-
sia. Dubbed ‘Samba Ne Coca-
Cola’, Coca-Cola has partnered
with World Cup official broad-
caster Multichoice and Global
partner HiSense to bring the
World Cup closer to consumers
all across Uganda.
As part of the promotion,
32-inch Television sets, Multi-
choice Dishes and Decoders,
soccer balls, brand new t-shirts,
packs of soda, cash prizes
of Shs 4 million every week
and Shs10million every two
weeks will be up for grabs by
people simply purchasing 300ml
returnable glass bottles (RGB)
or 500ml PET of Coca-Cola,
Fanta, Sprite, Novida, Krest
and Stoney. The participating
products will be identifiable by a
white crown.
Miriam Limo, the Coca-Cola
Brand Manager for Uganda
encouraged Ugandans to take
part in the promotion. “This
year, we have received over-
whelming support from our
consumers through the con-
sumption of our products and
participation in our campaigns
and promotions. We therefore
felt it prudent to instantly
reward them with exciting
prizes and large cash sums for
simply continuing to consume
our products,” Limo said.
 business
Tanzania – Uganda share
oil opportunities
By Julius Businge wealth, jobs and supporting

W
ith the first oil
expected towards
the end of 2020 in
Uganda, players
are already exploring more
ways of reaping from the sec-
tor.
The latest avenue was a two-
day local content workshop
organized by the Association
of Uganda Oil and Gas Service
Providers (AUGOS) in collabo-
ration with the Association of
Tanzania Oil and Gas Service
The First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni (M) with
Providers (ATOGS) held in
Huawei officials flagging off ten Ugandan ICT Students to undergo a two-weeks
Kampala from March 28-29.
hands on ICT training in China under Huawei’s ‘Seeds for the Future’ Program
Held under the theme
on March 29. The “Seeds for the Future” is Huawei's global Corporate Social
‘unlocking local content oppor-
Responsibility (CSR) flagship program that selects top college students in ICT
tunities in the oil and gas sec-
related courses for a technological study trip to China.   INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA
tor’, the dialogue attracted over
300 participants and organiz-
ers. “I have all the confidence
that we are now moving to
the promised land if we con-
tinue with this dialogue,” said
Charles Kwesiga, the AUGOS
chairman who also doubles
as the Executive Director at
Uganda Industrial Research
Institute.
Kwesiga said the two associ-
ations are searching partners to
embrace appropriate technolo-
gies, financing and skills with
the ultimate goal of creating
industrialization.
Sefue Ombeni, the chairman
of ATOGS said the dialogue
was one way of bringing play-
ers from the two countries
as partners in order to share
opportunities.
He said they are working
closely with Ugandan counter-
parts in forming partnerships
for capital mobilsation and
skills acquisition.
Meanwhile, Ernest Rubon-
do, the executive director of
the Petroleum Authority of
Uganda said the associations
should eye opportunities relat-
ed to human resource where,
in the medium to long term
20% of the workers required
would be experts or profes-
sionals and up to 70% - techni-
cians.
He also revealed that the
national supplier Database that
had 1,285 companies by end of
last year, was already connect-
ing companies to partners in
search for sector opportunities
across the globe.
Over US$15bn is expected
to be sunk in the oil and gas
sector in the next three years
with key funding projects
being the refinery, the pipeline
among others.

Eskom Uganda Managing Director Thozama Gangi, (M) joins the Eskom
technical staff to celebrate the commissioning of Unit 3 that adds 18MW
onto the National grid.   INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA
Weekly share price movement (March .20)
Security March 20 March 12 Movement
BATU 30000 30000 00
BOBU 120 120 00
CENT 1,679 1,626 3.2
DFCU 711 710 00
EABL 9,099 8,639 5.3
EBL 1,841 1,726 6.7
JHL 19,138 18,544 3.2
KA 411 469 12.4
KCB 1,841 1,762 4.5
NIC 17 16 00
NMG 3,683 3,687 0.1
NVL 510 510 00
SBU 29 29 00
Tina Wamala, the communications manager for MultiChoice Uganda, handing UCHM 95 95 00
over donations to the staff of Angels Centre for children with disabilities in
UCL 29 29 00
Nansana Wakiso district on March 28. Supplies included maize floor, soft
drinks, mattresses, sugar and more.   INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA UMEME 410 405 1.2
ALSI -- -- --

April 06 - 12 2018 27
comment
By Denise Anthony & Luke Stark
Don’t quit Facebook
But don’t trust it either because it has technical know-
how to give you more control but has chosen not to
I
s it time to give up on social media?
Many people are thinking about that in
the wake of revelations regarding Cam-
bridge Analytica’s questionable use of
personal data from over 50 million Facebook
users to support the Trump campaign. Not
to mention the troubles with data theft,
trolling, harassment, the proliferation of fake
news, conspiracy theories and Russian bots.
The real societal problem might be Face-
book’s business model. Along with other
social media platforms, it makes money by
nudging users to provide their data (without
understanding the potential consequences),
and then using that data in ways well
beyond what people may expect.
As researchers who study social media and
the impact of new technologies on society
in both the past and the present, we share
these concerns. However, we’re not ready to
give up on the idea of social media just yet.
A main reason is that, like all forms of once
“new” media (including everything from the
telegraph to the internet), social media has
become an essential conduit for interacting
with other people. We don’t think it’s reason-
able for users to be told their only hope of
avoiding exploitation is to isolate themselves.
And for many vulnerable people, including
members of impoverished, marginalized or
activist communities, leaving Facebook is
simply not possible anyway.
As individuals, and society as a whole,
come to better understand the role social
media plays in life and politics, they’re won-
dering: Is it possible – or worthwhile – to
trust Facebook?
Designing for attention
Of course, social media platforms don’t
exist without their users. Facebook has
grown from its origins serving only college
students by exploiting the network effect:
If all your friends are socializing on the site,
it’s tempting to join yourself. Over time this
network effect has made Facebook not only
more valuable, but also harder to leave.
However, now that Facebook and its ilk are
under fire, it’s possible that those network
effects might unravel the other way: Face-
book’s number of active users continued to
rise in 2017, but in the final three months of
the year, its growth showed signs of slowing.
If all your friends are leaving Facebook, you
might go with them.
The design of social media platforms like
Facebook – and many other common apps,
such as Uber – is intentionally engrossing.
28 April 06 - 12 2018
Some scholars go so far as to call it “addic-
tive,” but we’re uncomfortable using the
term so broadly in this context. Nevertheless,
digital designers manipulate users’ behavior
with a wide array of interface elements
and interaction strategies, such as nudges
and cultivating routines and habits, to keep
users’ attention. Attention is at the center of
the social media business model because it’s
worth money: Media theorist Jonathan Beller
has observed that “human attention is pro-
ductive of value.”
Playing tricks on users
To attract users, keep them engaged and
ensure they want to come back, companies
manipulate the details of visual interfaces
and user interaction. For example, the ride-
sharing app Uber shows customers phantom
cars to trick them into thinking drivers are
nearby. The company uses similar psycho-
logical tricks when sending drivers text mes-
sages encouraging them to stay active.
This manipulation is particularly effective
when app developers set default options
for users that serve the company’s needs.
For example, some privacy policies make
users opt out of sharing their personal data,
while others allow users to opt in. This
initial choice affects not only what informa-
tion users end up disclosing, but also their
overall trust in the online platform. Some
of the measures announced by Facebook
CEO Mark Zuckerberg in the wake of the
Cambridge Analytica revelations – including
tools showing users which third parties have
access to their personal data – could further
complicate the design of the site and dis-
courage users even more.
Frameworks of trust
Was users’ trust in Facebook misplaced in
the first place? Unfortunately, we think so.
Social media companies have never been
transparent about what they’re up to with
users’ data. Without full information about
what happens to their personal data once
it’s gathered, we recommend people default
to not trusting companies until they’re con-
vinced they should. Yet neither regulations
nor third-party institutions currently exist
to ensure that social media companies are
trustworthy.
This is not the first time new technologies
created social change that disrupted estab-
lished mechanisms of trust. For example,
in the industrial revolution, new forms of
organization like factories, and major demo-
graphic shifts from migration, increased
contact among strangers and across cultures.
That altered established relationships and
forced people to do business with unknown
merchants.
People could no longer rely on interper-
sonal trust. Instead, new institutions arose:
Regulatory agencies like the Interstate Com-
merce Commission, trade associations like
the American Railway Association, and
other third parties like the American Medical
Association’s Council on Medical Education
established systematic rules for transactions,
standards for product quality and profes-
sional training. They also offered account-
ability if something went wrong.
A new need for protection
There are not yet similar standards and
accountability requirements for 21st-century
technologies like social media. In the U.S.,
the Federal Trade Commission is one of the
few regulatory bodies working to hold dig-
ital platforms to account for business prac-
tices that are deceptive or potentially unfair.
The FTC is now investigating Facebook over
the Cambridge Analytica situation.
There is plenty of demand for more super-
vision of social media platforms. Several
existing proposals could regulate and sup-
port trust online.
Other countries have rules, such as the
EU’s General Data Protection Regulation
and Canada’s Personal Information Protec-
tion and Electronic Documents Act. How-
ever, in the U.S., technology companies like
Facebook have actively blocked and resisted
these efforts while policymakers and other
tech gurus have convinced people they’re
not necessary.
Facebook has the technical know-how to
give users more control over their private
data, but has chosen not to – and that’s not
surprising. No laws or other institutional
rules require it, or provide necessary over-
sight to ensure that it does. Until a major
social media platform like Facebook is
required to reliably and transparently dem-
onstrate that it is protecting the interests of
its users – as distinct from its advertising
customers – the calls to break the company
up and start afresh are only going to grow.
Denise Anthony is professor of Sociology,
Dartmouth College and Luke Stark is
postdoctoral fellow in Sociology, Dartmouth
College.
Source: the conversation

By Richard N. Haass
Liberal world order, R.I.P
The danger of an emerging international system
in a world that is neither liberal nor orderly
A
fter a run of nearly one thousand
years, quipped the French phi-
losopher and writer Voltaire, the
fading Holy Roman Empire was
neither holy nor Roman nor an empire.
Today, some two and a half centuries later,
the problem, to paraphrase Voltaire, is that
the fading liberal world order is neither lib-
eral nor worldwide nor orderly.
The United States, working closely with
the United Kingdom and others, established
the liberal world order in the wake of World
War II. The goal was to ensure that the con-
ditions that had led to two world wars in 30
years would never again arise.
To that end, the democratic countries set
out to create an international system that
was liberal in the sense that it was to be
based on the rule of law and respect for
countries’ sovereignty and territorial integ-
rity. Human rights were to be protected. All
this was to be applied to the entire planet;
at the same time, participation was open to
all and voluntary. Institutions were built
to promote peace (the United Nations),
economic development (the World Bank)
and trade and investment (the Interna-
tional Monetary Fund and what years later
became the World Trade Organisation).
All this and more was backed by the eco-
nomic and military might of the U.S., a net-
work of alliances across Europe and Asia,
and nuclear weapons, which served to deter
aggression. The liberal world order was
thus based not just on ideals embraced by
democracies, but also on hard power. None
of this was lost on the decidedly illiberal
Soviet Union, which had a fundamentally
different notion of what constituted order in
Europe and around the world.
The liberal world order appeared to be
more robust than ever with the end of the
Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet
Union. But today, a quarter-century later,
its future is in doubt. Indeed, its three com-
ponents – liberalism, universality, and the
preservation of order itself – are being chal-
lenged as never before in its 70-year history.
Liberalism is in retreat. Democracies are
feeling the effects of growing populism.
Parties of the political extremes have gained
ground in Europe. The vote in the United
Kingdom in favour of leaving the EU
attested to the loss of elite influence. Even
the U.S. is experiencing unprecedented
attacks from its own president on the
country’s media, courts, and law-enforce-
ment institutions. Authoritarian systems,
including China, Russia, and Turkey, have
become even more top-heavy. Countries
such as Hungary and Poland seem uninter-
ested in the fate of their young democracies.
It is increasingly difficult to speak of the
world as if it were whole. We are seeing
the emergence of regional orders – or, most
pronounced in the Middle East, disorders –
each with its own characteristics. Attempts
to build global frameworks are failing.
Protectionism is on the rise; the latest round
of global trade talks never came to fruition.
There are few rules governing the use of
cyberspace.
At the same time, great power rivalry is
returning. Russia violated the most basic
norm of international relations when it used
armed force to change borders in Europe,
and it violated U.S. sovereignty through
its efforts to influence the 2016 election.
North Korea has flouted the strong inter-
national consensus against the proliferation
of nuclear weapons. The world has stood
by as humanitarian nightmares play out in
Syria and Yemen, doing little at the UN or
elsewhere in response to the Syrian govern-
ment’s use of chemical weapons. Venezuela
is a failing state. One in every hundred
people in the world today is either a refugee
Even the U.S. is
experiencing
unprecedented
attacks from its
own president
on the country’s
media, courts,
and law-
enforcement
institutions
COMMENT
or internally displaced.
There are several reasons why all this
is happening, and why now. The rise of
populism is in part a response to stagnating
incomes and job loss, owing mostly to
new technologies but widely attributed to
imports and immigrants. Nationalism is a
tool increasingly used by leaders to bolster
their authority, especially amid difficult
economic and political conditions. And
global institutions have failed to adapt to
new power balances and technologies.
But the weakening of the liberal world
order is due, more than anything else, to
the changed attitude of the U.S. Under
President Donald Trump, the U.S. decided
against joining the Trans-Pacific Partner-
ship and to withdraw from the Paris climate
agreement. It has threatened to leave the
North American Free Trade Agreement
and the Iran nuclear deal. It has unilater-
ally introduced steel and aluminum tariffs,
relying on a justification (national security)
that others could use, in the process placing
the world at risk of a trade war. It has raised
questions about its commitment to NATO
and other alliance relationships. And it
rarely speaks about democracy or human
rights. “America First” and the liberal world
order seem incompatible.
My point is not to single out the U.S. for
criticism. Today’s other major powers,
including the EU, Russia, China, India, and
Japan, could be criticised for what they are
doing, not doing, or both. But the U.S. is not
just another country. It was the principal
architect of the liberal world order and its
principal backer. It was also a principal
beneficiary.
America’s decision to abandon the
role it has played for more than seven
decades thus marks a turning point. The
liberal world order cannot survive on
its own, because others lack either the
interest or the means to sustain it. The
result will be a world that is less free, less
prosperous, and less peaceful, for Ameri-
cans and others alike.
Richard N. Haass is President of the
Council on Foreign Relations and the
author of A World in Disarray.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018.|
April 06 - 12 2018 29
COMMENT
By Enock Nyorekwa Twinoburyo
Poverty on the rise
Uganda had more poor people in 2017 than in 1991
indicating a rise in income and food poverty
O
n Feb.19, the Uganda Bureau
of Statistics (UBOS) issued a
second and revised version of
the Uganda National Household
Survey (UNHS) 2016/17. The major revision
from the first UNHS 2016/17 published in
September 2017 was the 6 percent point dif-
ference (reduction) in the poverty rate.
In the latest UNHS 2016/17, poverty is
estimated that 21.4 percent of Ugandans,
meaning that nearly 8 million persons are
poor while the September 2017 results indi-
cated that poverty was 27.7 percent trans-
lating into 10 million poor Ugandans. There
is no valid explanation provided for such
a large error variation in poverty statistics
and yet many other indicator results did
not change in the two versions of the survey
results. This coupled with other inconsis-
tences in the UNHS statistics further cause
one to question their validity.
According to the 2016/17 UNHS, 2.9 per-
cent of the Ugandan population owned
vehicles. This translates into 1.1 million
Ugandans owning cars, a number which
is 30 percent over and above the actual
number of privately owned cars. The total
number of cars between the UAA 001A
vehicle registrations plate (number plate)
series and the current UBD 001B series,
is less than 700,000. And not all privately
owned cars are owned by individuals. Even
considering motor cycles under the vehicle
category, it still arguable that the 15,636
households sampled in the survey may
have been from a relatively higher income
bracket thus discounting some of param-
eters like poverty.
The survey poverty statistics illustrate an
increase in the number of poor people from
the 6.6 million in 2012/13 when poverty rate
was 19.7 percent and 7.5 million poor (24.5
percent) in 2009/10 but lower than the 9.3
million poor people (56.4 percent) in 1991.
However, the September survey results had
indicated more poor people in 2016/17 than
in 1991.
The general increase in poverty over the
last decade implies that the NDPII 2020
target of poverty rate reduction from 19.7
percent in 2015 to 14.2 percent by 2020
will not be met. Additionally, the average
consumption expenditure per adult equiva-
lent of Shs96,600 is only slightly above the
30 April 06 - 12 2018
national poverty line, which implies an ele-
vated risk of a number of Ugandans falling
back into poverty. This is corroborated by
Poverty Assessment Report 2016 that indi-
cated that for every three citizens lifted out
of poverty between 2005 and 2009, two fell
back in poverty. Important to note is that
the Ugandan Poverty line (USD 1 per day)
was last set in 1993 and remains substan-
tially low to capture the changes in prices
and consumption patterns.
The increase in number of poor people
also means that the rate at which poverty
is being reduced is lower than the rate
of population growth. Uganda like the
African continent is yet to undergo demo-
graphic transition in terms of low fertility
and dependency. Uganda’s population
growth remains at 3.03percent per annum
compared to the 2020 target of 2.9 percent.
Juxtaposing the income pyramid and popu-
lation, suggests that the poor bear more chil-
dren and few babies are born as you move
up the income pyramid. An average poor
household is larger than national average of
4.7. This tends to perpetuate the culture of
The increase in
number of poor
people also
means that the
rate at which
poverty is
being reduced
is lower than
the rate of
population
growth
poverty at risk of it becoming chronic and
transient poverty.
The biggest share of Uganda’s popula-
tion is rural based (76percent) and as such
estimated to account for 89percent of the
poverty. The incidence of poverty remains
higher in rural areas than in urban areas
and not surprising that most poor people
are predominantly still farmers. The inci-
dence of poverty was highest in the Eastern
region (36 percent) replacing the Northern
region which had consistently lagged
behind all the other regions in the previous
surveys.
Uganda’s high population growth has
implications for most macro-economic
indicators and social transformation. Agri-
culture sector growth has been outpaced
by the population growth in recent years at
the risk of sustained food insecurity. Food
insecurity across all regions in Uganda has
been on the increase over the last couple
of years. According to the National Food
Security Assessment in January 2017, 10.9
million Ugandans were experiencing an
Acute Food Insecurity situation, of which
1.6 million are in a crisis situation (unable to
meet basic dietary needs without engaging
in unsustainable strategies to access food
and income, including any reliance on
humanitarian assistance). The findings are
consistent with the UNHS 2016/17 results
that show 37 percent of households in
Ugandans were food poor with the highest
cases recorded in Karamoja (70 percent)
and Bukedi sub-regions (58 percent) while
Ankole (14 percent) had the fewest.
Poverty is a structural problem and
will require structural reforms on
the basic factors of production (land,
Labour, entrepreneurship, capital). Land
mapping, registration and titling remains
an imminent reform. Land conflicts are
believed to account for a sizeable reduction
in agricultural output. An efficient reform
approach on the “4 Is” (Individuals,
Institutions, Infrastructure and Integration
in that order) remains warranted. There
is also need to focus more on per-person
metrics and reforms.
Dr Enock Nyorekwa Twinoburyo is an
economist

By Gordon Brown
New global youth movement
Using digital tools, it exposes gaps between the
promise of opportunity and reality of unequal chances
T
he recent March for Our Lives in the
United States inspired millions not
just across America, but also around
the world. Until the nationwide
demonstrations on March 24, most people
thought that little new could be added to
the conversation about the seemingly end-
less rounds of gun killings.
Yet the brave and moving way in which,
out of their anguish and pain, young people
told the world that decisions on gun laws
and safe schools are too important to be
left to adults who had let them down has
reshaped the political landscape, perhaps
permanently and fundamentally.
It’s not just in America that a youth-led
revolution is coming alive. Around the
world, young people are becoming a power
in their own right. Millions of young people
are now engaged in what has become the
civil-rights struggle of our time – the fight
for every child’s right to go to school, and to
do so in safety.
In India, the Global March Against Child
Labor has mobilised hundreds of thousands
of young people, who have walked millions
of miles demanding an end to child labor
and the right to go to school.
Likewise, in Bangladesh, starting in the
remote Nilphamari district, thousands
of girls have driven forward the “wed-
ding busters” movement to create “child
marriage-free zones.” Inspired by the Girls
Not Brides movement, and at the risk of
beatings and sometimes murder, school-
girls have united to defy their own parents
to prevent forced marriages that would
cut short their childhood and deprive
them of an education. And, in Nigeria,
the group Youth Advocates for Change
marched through the capital Abuja in 2015
demanding safe schools and proper police
and army protection against the terrorist
extremists of Boko Haram (whose name
means “Western education is a sin”).
The picture is clear: we are in the midst
of a fight for freedom that has gone global.
It includes girls in India demonstrating
against police inaction over sexual assaults;
Pakistani schoolchildren marching through
Lahore after the latest Taliban attack on
schools; young people on the streets of
Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé, supporting
refugees; and Yemeni students demon-
strating against a war that has destroyed
hundreds of schools and left two million
children with no education.
The global youth uprising has intensified
this year. In January, 40 million children and
adults in India protested against child mar-
riage by forming a human chain stretching
more than 8,000 miles, woven through vil-
lage after village in Bihar state. In February,
Peruvian students were fired upon in Lima
as they demonstrated against what they
called the “Youth Slave Law,” which would
employ students as unpaid interns. And
thousands of students have taken to the
streets in Honduras and India to oppose the
rising cost of higher education.
These new movements reflect our cur-
rent digital age, in which young people
can increasingly connect with one another
in their own countries and across borders.
In doing so, they are exposing the gap
between the promise of opportunity and the
grim reality of unequal chances – especially
for girls, who comprise the majority of the
260 million children worldwide who are not
in school, and the majority of the 400 mil-
lion children who finish their education by
the age of 11 or 12. Indeed, half the worlds’
children – some 800 million – finish school
without any of the qualifications needed for
the workforce of tomorrow. Many are con-
demned years before they reach the official
school-leaving age to child labor, child mar-
riage, or even to child trafficking.
Young people’s new message of defi-
ance and hope for real change echoes the
compelling plea for environmental action
by a 12-year-old girl, Severn Cullis-Suzuki,
at the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit. It
was Cullis-Suzuki who brought a low-key
conference to its feet – and started to bring
a skeptical world to its senses – when she
said that the environment was too impor-
tant a matter to be entrusted to adults. The
older generation, having failed to deliver a
sustainable environment, could not be per-
mitted to ruin the chances and opportuni-
ties of the next generation.
And an even more powerful message is
coming from young people today: that their
COMMENT
right to education is too important to be
entrusted to the adults who have failed to
deliver.
Almost a century ago, Eglantyne Jebb,
who founded Save the Children, said that
the only language everybody could under-
stand was the cry of a child. But the cries of
children have all too often been swept aside,
and even the most progressive among us
have acted as if children are silent observers,
to be seen but not heard, passive objects
of our actions. If the enduring image from
a century ago is one of helpless children
waiting to be protected and pitied, then the
image remembered by the next generation
will be radically different. As young people
connect, communicate, and assert their
rights, their cries are less likely to be tearful
pleas for charity than defiant marches
demanding justice.
In the next few days, young people in Pak-
istan, where seven million school-age chil-
dren are denied the chance to attend school,
will launch a petition demanding the right
to education. Their plea will be backed at
the G20 Argentina Summit this November,
when 700 Global Youth Ambassadors from
90 countries, mobilized through the Their-
world charity, call on world leaders to sup-
port a new International Finance Facility for
Education – a multi-billion fund dedicated
to enabling all children to go to school.
It is an important moment – both inspiring
and chastening for those of us who were
children of a 1960s cultural revolution that
failed to fulfill its promise, and now find
ourselves overtaken by new movements
with far more global potential for good. The
torch is not being passed to a new genera-
tion; this new generation has had to seize it.
They deserve our support.
Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister
and Chancellor of the Exchequer of the
United Kingdom, is United Nations
Special Envoy for Global Education and
Chair of the International Commission on
Financing Global Education Opportunity.
He chairs the Advisory Board of the Cata-
lyst Foundation.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018.
April 06 - 12 2018 31
By Flavia Nassaka
The government response
to the 2017 Marburg virus
outbreak in Kween District,
eastern Uganda cost
Shs5.2billion. Most of that
money came from donors.

T
hat was one of the revelations
made by the Permanent
Secretary of the Ministry of
Health, Dr. Diana Atwine,
during a researchers’
workshop held in Kampala in
a late March under the theme, ‘Enhancing
national response to health emergencies
through research and information Health workers carry body of an Ebola patient. Researchers say such emergencies like hemorrhagic
sharing’. fever outbreaks are on the rise
The lack of government funding for

New viruses found

emergency disease outbreaks was cited as
one of the signs that Uganda is not well
prepared to keep its people safe from the
next pandemic. Many experts called out
the government to increase the level of
emergency response preparedness.
Dr. Harriet Nabudere, the Deputy
Director General at the Uganda National
Health Research Organisation (UNHRO)
says policy and government support
geared towards handling public health
emergencies need to match the kinds of
outbreaks that come up.
“They are a reality that we have to deal
with,” she said.
It all started when Dr. Julius Lutwama
who heads the Arbovirology, Emerging
and Re-emerging Diseases division at
Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI)
told the meeting that his team keeps
picking up new viruses whenever they go
out to research.
Sosuga virus, Bukakata virus and
Mburo virus; these are some of the
viruses that Lutwama and his team have
recently found. When he revealed this to
the researchers, a mélange of questions
followed.
Lutwama explained that because they
are cataloging threats and are speedily
discovering new viruses, even when
outbreaks happen they can be easily
identified which in turn helps to decrease
intensity and length of such outbreaks.
Between 2010 and 2017, scientists from
the American Centres for Disease Control
(CDC) and UVRI identified 16 outbreaks
of viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) in an
average of 2.5 days down from the two-
week average detection time over the
But researchers warn Uganda not ready
to handle next health emergency
previous 10 years.
While Lutwama said the constant
discovery of new viruses by his team
should not cause any panic because
Uganda has mastered the art of managing
health emergencies, many experts warned
that the country is not ready to keep its
people safe from the next pandemic.
They pointed out the Crimean Congo
Hemorrhagic fever outbreak which
caused confusion when the Ministry
denied an outbreak in Nakaseke District,
central Uganda, in January even as three
people were showing symptoms of
pains, high fever, neck stiffness, bleeding,
vomiting and another dying as a result.
Other reports showed that by January,
nine people had died of the infection by
the tick borne virus when the first case
was suspected in august last year.
Experts are warning that more
dangerous viruses to humans could
emerge or known ones could change
as people move more easily from one
place to another; which is partly why
dangerous outbreaks are on a rise in
Uganda.
While some of the outbreaks go
unnoticed, others like Marburg that
broke out in October last year caused
panic and experts now warn that since
such pathogens have potential to cause
enormous harm, healthcare managers
should be handed with the right tools to
fight them off.
Crimean Congo fever, for example, is
known to occasionally show up in human
beings among communities within the
cattle corridor. But when it broke out last
year, the cattle corridor was already being
ravaged by rift valley fever; an equally
tough infection.
Dr. Ekwaro Obuku, a researcher who
doubles as the president for the Uganda
Medical Association, says Uganda
needs to set aside budgets to cater for
emergencies.
Permanent Secretary Atwiine agreed
but cautioned that the reality is that
emergency response efforts occur in
situations of limited budgets. She said,
knowing this, her ministry has developed
a robust system of surveillance and case
management to ensure that responding
to outbreaks does not become too costly.
She explained that any delay in detecting
an outbreak means more expenditure
in managing large numbers of people
affected.
Uganda has been commended for

32 April 06 - 12 2018

handling of the outbreak of bird flu. The
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) ranks bird flu as one
of the diseases with potential to cause
a pandemic that goes global. Although
it mostly affects birds, the disease had
started jumping into humans.
But Obuku says even if the bird flu
outbreak was tough, Uganda detects
outbreaks early and has an effective task
force; the outbreak would not have had
much impact anyway. Apparently the
H5N8 strain detected in Entebbe and
Masaka is believed to be a less disease
causing sub type for humans. When
it broke out in Uganda last year, other
countries like China were battling a
tougher strain H7N9.
“We are on track as far as managing
emergencies is concerned. Even as there
was panic with the outbreak of bird flu,
the risks for Uganda were not as much
anticipated,” said Ekwaro.
Obuku warns that even if the country
has started taking the threat of pandemics
more seriously, not enough is being done
to prepare leaving the country scarily
exposed. For instance he says there is no
set aside budget to cater for emergencies.
He cites an example from October last
year when a deadly Marburg hemorrhagic
fever broke out, it was after the disease
happened that the government started
looking for emergency response financing.
Obuku says surveillance alone might
not help as more and more people are
becoming vulnerable to infection today
with the pressures that come with
population increase.
“The health system infrastructure
has become porous. We have dynamic
populations coming from fragile areas.
People come in with circulating organisms.
The boundaries between animal and
human settlements are not respected. The
organisms which were quarantined by
natural barriers of forests are broken and
then we will see Marburg, Crimean Congo
and others,” says Obuku.
He adds that while modern medicine
should be able to provide solutions when
such infections happen, they still catch
responders unprepared with no drugs
to treat them; not even a vaccine yet they
can be easily prevented. Obuku says
developing drugs is both an economic
and political venture whose prioritization
depends on the incentives involved.
He cites the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West
Africa where talk of a vaccine only came
up after the disease had killed more than
10,000 people.
“The virus wasn’t a mystery to
scientists. It was discovered in the 1970s
and had been killing people. There is no
effective vaccine to date because there is
no interest. It didn’t threaten the existence
of those in power”.
Loss of wealth
bad for health
People who suffer a sharp
drop in wealth experience a 50
percent increased risk of dying.
By Agencies
A
n analysis involving more than
8,000 Americans found that those
who suffered a “negative wealth
shock” — defined as losing at least
75 percent of their wealth in two years —
faced a 50 percent increased risk of dying
over the next two decades.
“That was surprising,” says Lindsay Pool,
a research assistant professor of preventive
medicine at Northwestern University. “A
50 percent increased risk of mortality over a
20-year period is a lot.”
The study is the first to find an associa-
tion between financial catastrophes and
an increased risk of
dying in the long
term, Pool says. The
results were pub-
lished Tuesday in
JAMA, the journal of
the American Medical
Association.
Previous research
had found that finan-
cial problems can
have short-term nega-
tive effects on health,
Pool says. The Great
Recession from 2007 to 2009, for example,
increased the risk of developing high blood
pressure and depression.
Pool and her colleagues analyzed data
collected every two years between 1994 and
2014 from 8,714 adults ages 51 to 61 when
they got involved in the Health and Retire-
ment Study, an ongoing nationally repre-
sentative study.
The researchers were not expecting to
find that 2,430 of the study subjects — more
than a quarter — experienced a negative
wealth shock.
“So this is an issue that is potentially
impacting millions of Americans,” Pool
says.
The researchers compared those who
experienced a negative wealth shock to
those who had never had much money.
They found the loss of money put the two
groups at almost the same level of risk for
dying prematurely.
“You would hope that having had some
money at some point would provide some
health
protective effect,” Pool says.
Other researchers who study the relation-
ship between economics and health noted
the strength of the association between a big
financial setback and mortality.
“The magnitude of it is quite remark-
able,” says Ellen Mearas, a professor of
health policy at the Dartmouth Institute.
“If it’s losing the wealth that’s causing it, I
think we want to ask ourselves: ‘Is there any
way to protect people against that kind of a
shock?’ “
The researchers stressed that they
couldn’t rule out the possibility that health
problems were the reason people lost so
much money in the first place and that the
same health problems
put them at increased
risk of dying prema-
turely. But Pool says
the researchers tried
to factor that into the
analysis and found the
association persisted
even when existing
health problems were
taken into account.
Suddenly losing
wealth could increase
the risk of dying in
many ways, she says. It could create stress
and increase the risk of conditions like
depression or high blood pressure, as previ-
ous research has found, that heighten the
odds of dying over the long term. People
who experience bankruptcy could also have
a harder time affording medical care, such
as doctors’ visits and medications, she says.
“It could be not going to the doctor as
much,” Pool says. “At this age group, a lot of
people may be on prescription medications
and they could not be taking their medica-
tions as prescribed because they can’t afford
the co-pays.”
Other researchers say the findings are
important because of the possibility of
future economic problems. “If the economy
grows more volatile and we face an eco-
nomic contraction, we could see more
people losing wealth and leading to a higher
morality,” says Arun Hendi, an associate
demographer at the University of Southern
California. “It’s very disturbing.”
April 06 - 12 2018 33
health
Uganda at listeriosis risk?
Outbreak from South Africa threatens 15 countries
By Agencies
I
n South Africa, an outbreak of listeriosis,
a serious foodborne disease, has been
ongoing since the start of 2017. Between
1 January 2017 through 14 March 2018,
978 laboratory-confirmed listeriosis cases
have been reported to the National Institute
for Communicable Diseases (NICD) from all
provinces.
The outcome of illness is known for 674
patients, of whom 183 (27%) died; this case
fatality rate is comparable to other recorded
listeriosis outbreaks worldwide. Most of the
cases are persons who have higher risks
for a severe disease outcome; such as
neonates, pregnant women, the elderly
and immunocompromised persons.
In this outbreak, 42% of the cases are
neonates who were infected during preg-
nancy or delivery.
On 4 March 2018, the Ministry of
Health, announced that this product was
believed to be the source of the outbreak.
The food processing company and
three of its retailers export to 15 coun-
tries in the African region. They include
Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic
of the Congo, Ghana, Lesotho, Madagas-
car, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique,
Namibia, Nigeria, Swaziland, Uganda,
Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
According to a report by the World
Health Organisation (WHO) on March
28, all of these countries have issued
recalls for the implicated products.
Environmental samples from other food
production companies in South Africa
have also tested positive for Listeria but
with strains different from the outbreak
strain. These companies have also issued
food recalls. Some of their products have
been exported to some of the countries men-
tioned above.
Nine percent of the reported cases in
the present outbreak in South Africa were
infected with different strains of Listeria
than the predominant ST6 outbreak strain.
This may indicate that more than one out-
break is ongoing. Comprehensive investiga-
tions to identify the source of infection of
these cases should be conducted.
The country has activated a national mul-
tisectoral task force to coordinate investiga-
tion and response activities:
The Minister of Health, South Africa, held
a press conference on March 04 to announce
the source of the outbreak.
The Southern African Development
34 April 06 - 12 2018
Community (SADC) Health Ministers held
a meeting in Johannesburg on March 15, to
share information and to enhance prepared-
ness and response for listeriosis. Health
Ministers were further reminded about their
rights and obligations under the Internation-
al Health Regulations (IHR) with regards to
additional health measures for international
travel and trade.
WHO risk assessment
Globally, this is the largest outbreak of
listeriosis that has been detected. Due to the
potentially long incubation period of liste-
riosis (one to three weeks and up to 70 days)
further cases are expected before the impact
of the food recall is observed.
Following the identification of the source
of this outbreak, WHO is now concerned
that the export of implicated products may
have resulted in listeriosis cases in other
countries. Detailed information on the
implicated product batches exported to
each of the identified 15 countries should
be shared with WHO and the International
Food Safety Authorities Network (INFO-
SAN) Secretariat. This will help to facilitate
efficient recalls of these products.
Recently, Namibia reported a confirmed
case of listeriosis. It is important that this
case and other possible cases be properly
investigated and the implicated food sourc-
es identified. The isolated Listeria strains
should be sequenced to determine potential
links to the outbreak in South Africa. Some
of these countries may not have well-estab-
lished surveillance systems and laboratory
diagnostic services in place to detect cases
of listeriosis. In such cases, WHO is ready to
provide support and has reached out to 16
African nations (two West African countries
and 14 members of SADC) to provide sup-
port for preparedness and response.
An increase in public concern about the
outbreak has been reflected in media reports
and discussions in various social media
platforms.
WHO advice
Countries should strengthen national
food safety and disease surveillance sys-
tems as a prerequisite to prevent similar
events in the future and to ensure a safe
food supply for their populations. Addi-
tionally, countries are urged to pay closer
attention to common foodborne patho-
gens such as Salmonella species, Campy-
lobacter jejuni, Escherichia coli and Liste-
ria monocytogenes, to make listeriosis a
notifiable disease if not yet done, to make
the best use of a new “WHO manual to
strengthen surveillance of and response
to foodborne diseases”, which was pub-
lished on November 2017 and to refer to
the “WHO Factsheet on Listeriosis”. See
below, in the “Further Information” sec-
tion for links to these documents.
Responsible authorities are encour-
aged to proactively provide public health
advice on the prevention and control
of listeriosis, including, strengthened
risk communication, to address public
concerns and promote outbreak control
measures.
Currently, 12 out of 15 countries have
recalled the implicated processed meat
products, and banned imports of the same,
while three out of these countries have addi-
tionally banned imports of other food prod-
ucts. WHO continues to monitor the travel
and trade measures taken by countries in
relation to this outbreak and their compli-
ance with requirements under the IHR.
For travellers, it is advisable to practice
good food hygiene, such as avoiding
uncooked food, avoiding food that has
been kept at room temperature for several
hours, and always washing hands thor-
oughly with soap and water before prepar-
ing or consuming food
 ART | BOOKS | SOCIETY | TRAVEL | CULTURE

A
By Dominic Muwanguzi

current exhibition of Geof-

frey Mukasa’s works at AKA
Gallery in Kamwokya, Kam-
pala relieves his bold and
controversial portrayal of
the human form, especially
the female. A painting by Geoffrey Mukasa
would never be complete without these
women. “In her, I find myself,” the artist
who died in 2011 proudly asserted about
his apparent preoccupation.
The women were invariably voluptuous,
with vivid outlines of their well-endowed
busts dominated by breasts that appear to
almost pop out of the canvas. These he rep-
resented simply, almost likefully round and
ripe oranges.
Critics demonise the artist, accusing
him of objectifying the woman. A famous
example they point at is his nude series that
depict women naked with their elbows tact-
fully covering the private parts. They say he
exploits the woman for personal gratifica-
tions and point at his nude series and his
emphasis on the female bust form. He also
stresses the nose and eyes of the subjects

Mukasa’s women
in his paintings with thick purple and blue
glazes. While the nose is neatly done, the
eyes are often popping out terrifyingly.
But Mukasa, in defense, often said wom-

en metaphorically represent beauty, power
and strength of the African woman. His
fixation with their form was an expression
of his belief that life revolves around wom-
en. He also believed that there is not greater
symbol of individual human thoughts and
feelings than the face.
In life, Mukasa shared a strong bond with
one woman – his mother. Though he grew
up with both parents, it was his mother that
had a big impact on his life. It was she who
sent him on errands at the Buganda chiefs’
residences on Bulange-Mengo hill. Here, he
observed women going about their day to
day duties. It was this rhythm of the women
duties that fascinated him and later played
out in his oil paintings.
He viewed his art as veneration, in the
manner of the idealistic illustrations of
Greek fairy-tale paintings that sometimes
portrayed women as gods floating in the
air and consorting in spiritual realms. So
Mukasa’s women are often depicted wear-
ing the gomesi (Buganda official dress) and
posing with men and children a symbol of
celebrating family life and union.
The artists had another fixation –
with the African cockerel. For him this
was equally a figurative representa-
and cocks
Metaphors of Buganda or
images of exploitation?
tion of the cultural significance and majestic
poise of the bird. This symbolism too is
derived from the Baganda- a tribe from
Buganda of which the artist belonged-
cultural norm that states that the cock has
authority and power. The cock is majestic;
moving with pride. This inspires the anal-
ogy of the Kabaka as a cock – a supreme
being.
More so, in Buganda tradition, eating
chicken was a preserve for the male. As
such, the cock is similarly a symbol of the
patriarchal nature of Buganda kingdom. In
light of this symbolism, Mukasa’s paintings
showcase recurring scenes where a cock is
being embraced by male figures. This is to
underline the relationship between the bird
and the men.
Mukasa’s dwelling on such symbolism
qualifies his work as a cultural and social
archive. The artist, in spite of the different
confrontations from critics that challenged
his work as a replication of Matisse or Picas-
so, was a radical in style. He was a break-
away artist who did not conform to the
western modernist procedure of art making.
If he did, his style of integrating traditional
African themes of day to day life and styles
of art making made his art a perfect podium
of cultural appreciation.
An exhibition of Geoffrey Mukasa’s works
is ongoing at AKA gallery located on
Bukoto Street, Kamwokya-Kampala next
to Goethe Zentrum and Alliance Francaise
Kampala offices.

April 06 - 12 2018 35
arts
The politics
of black hair
When girls’ hair was
cut to reduce their
desirability to men
By Kathomi Gatwiri
W
hen I was growing up in a
village in Kenya, we kept
our hair short. Sometimes
my grandmother cut it with
scissors, other times with a razor blade.
“It’s manageable when it’s short,” my
grandma insisted. We never questioned
why we were not allowed to grow our
hair; but at almost every school assembly,
we were punished if we had not shaved
our heads.
We were told it was to keep us looking
tidy. The irony was not lost that our feet
— bare, covered in dust after walking to
school — were much more “untidy” than
our heads ever were.
Revisiting that phase of my childhood
now with fresh eyes reveals a problematic
history. When colonial education started in
36 April 06 - 12 2018
Kenya, most schools were run by Christian
missionaries who constructed a singular
narrative about black hair: that it was
unsightly, ungodly and untameable. They
demanded that girls who attended their
“godly” schools cut their hair to the scalp.
Cutting girls’ hair somehow minimised
evidence of their womanhood. It was a
covert move to reduce their desirability
to African men, who were constructed
as primal beasts with no sense of sexual
control.
Artistic hairstyles were banned or
criminalised in school and in church. By
enforcing these rules, the missionaries
were able to successfully sexualise hair and
use it as a tool of control and punishment
in a way that Africans had never done.
Such historical understandings expose the
political significance hair carries.
Hair and Black Panther
The meaning of hair to Africans extends
beyond looks and sexuality. For example,
in the Maasai community, hairstyles and
braid patterns can be a signifier for marital
status, class, age and other social roles in
the community.
In the Marvel movie Black Panther,
natural hair is used as a social identifier
that defines characters. The queen and the
older women wear elaborate dreadlocks,
the warriors are bald and bold.
Nakia, a secret agent and a love interest
of the king, wears Bantu knots, an artistic
African hairstyle. Shuri, a young tech
genius, wears braids, which are popular
among younger black women. The film
also uses black hair symbolically to show
the rejection of both patriarchal and racial
expectations shaping the standards of
beauty.

In a particularly powerful scene, Okoye,
a warrior and army general, rips off her
wig and throws it at an adversary during
a fight. In doing so, she rejects such
accessories, which are often used to soften
the blackness of women by hiding their
natural hair.
Policing black hair in schools
In Australia, conversations about hair
and blackness are coming to the fore. Last
year in Melbourne, two Sudanese girls
were told to remove their braided hair, as
it did not comply with the school’s “strict
uniform policy”. After media reports, the
school’s principal later offered them an
exemption from this policy.
Not long afterwards, it was reported that
another student in another town was asked
to cut his dreadlocks or face expulsion
as they did not comply with his school’s
uniform policy – which forbids “extreme
styles”. These kinds of incidents reveal
the need to revise uniform policies and
draft new ones that are more conscious of
diversity.
Over the last few years, salons catering
solely to black hair have started to
emerge in international cities. Yet despite
the growing presence of black hair, it
continues to be threatening – a symbol of
difference – or an object of curiosity.
Black hair is political
Black hair is personal, but it is also
political. It shows how black consciousness
and identities of race, gender and
sexuality are constructed, reinforced
and represented. The ’fro is particularly
interpreted as a statement of resistance to
white supremacism due to its association
with the US-based Black Panther political
movement.
A simple Google search of
arts
“unprofessional hair styles” is dominated
by black women‘s kinky and “nappy”
hair. A search for “professional hair styles”
is populated by white women’s straight
hair. Social and cultural messaging about
hair and beauty has been clear: to be
presentable, attractive, professional, black
women need to tame their hair.
In her book `Hair Matters: Beauty,
Power and Black Women’s consciousness’,
Ingrid Banks argues that “for Black
women, desirable and undesirable hair
is measured against white standards of
beauty”. To date, black women lament
the ongoing hair bias they face during
interviews or in the workplace when they
wear their hair in its natural form. Policing
and prohibiting black hair is a way of
enforcing conformity with white beauty
standards.
Due in part to these messages and the
internalised hatred for their “nappy”
hair, black women resort to using harsh
chemicals and extreme heat to tame
their “unruly” hair. These methods can
not only damage hair but also cause
physical discomfort and pain. Just like
skin-lightening creams, hair-straightening
products have overpopulated the market
— with companies capitalising on the
message that black women are in need of
fixing.
Random hair touching
My hair now reflects my developing
black consciousness. Two years ago, I
cut my chemically straightened hair to
the scalp – and for the first time in my
adult life, I allowed it to grow naturally.
My different artistic expressions through
my hairstyles are now often met with
questions and curiosity.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect
of growing hair that looks “different” is
learning how to negotiate the constant
attention it draws to me – from the
unwarranted touch “just to feel my hair”
to the unending questions about whether
it is “real”.
The random and constant touching
of my hair (and by extension my body)
reveals how white privilege can function in
hair politics. There is almost an unspoken
expectation that black hair should be
available to the white audience as an
object of curiosity through touching and
interrogation of its authenticity.
Hopefully, through powerful and
positive imagery such as that shown
in Black Panther, black hair will stop
being interpreted as a threatening
symbol or an exotic “mark of
difference” – because representation
matters. NB: The author refers to black
hair to mean hair of Afro-descent.
Kathomi Gatwiri is a lecturer, Southern Cross
University, Australia
April 06 - 12 2018 37
Woman spends Shs70m on kidney transplant - for her cat
Stanley the cat was on the
last of his nine lives. Luck-
ily, his owner decided to
gift him a tenth, by shelling
out $19,000 (Approx.Shs 70
million) for a kidney trans-
plant. Betsy Boyd earns just
$46,000 a year, working as a
part-time writing professor,
and her husband Michael
Tiny tank moves large trailers
Woman crashes car on
is a freelance journalist transplant, just so they could purpose to show her kids
and a stay-at-home dad for have Stanley 17-year old
their 3-year-old twin boys. Stanley live a little longer. that God is real
They’re not exactly rolling in The transplant was done at
dough, but when presented Ryan Veterinary Hospital in A woman in
with the chance to save their Philadelphia, USA. Indoor Georgia, USA,
favorite cat’s life in exchange cats live on average between recently drove her
for $19,000, they didn’t 13 and 17 years, but this SUV into a con-
hesitate. They even agreed wouldn’t be the first time crete pole to show
to adopt his donor after the Stanley beat the odds. her kids that God
would protect them
if they had faith.
Traffic camera foot-
age shows 25-year-
A new Trailer Valet RVR robot- old Bakari Warren
tank is making moving trailers driving straight believed in Him.
easy as maneuvering a radio- into a concrete pole. That was confirmed
Her two children, by her children.
controlled car. The RVR may look
ages 5 and 7, were When asked wheth-
like one of those RC vehicles you
in the backseat, but er they thought her
used to play with as a child, but
luckily escaped crash was inten-
it is actually an incredibly strong
unharmed. When tional one of them
vehicle capable of moving trail-
questioned by Nor- said: “Yeah, because
ers as heavy as 9,000 pounds. All she turned. Her
you have to do is attach it to your cross Police, Warren
allegedly said that eyes were closed
trailer and use a remote control and she was say-
to have it move, turn and park it she crashed her
car on purpose, ing, blah, blah blah,
in even the tightest of spaces. It ‘I love God.’” Still,
is powered by up to four power- to show the kids
that God was real she was arrested on
ful planetary gear motors and the spot and is now
features heavy-duty caterpillar and that He would
protect them if they facing child cruelty
treads. charges.

Woman creates heels that Time for vodka-infused pizza!

transform to flats in one click Ordering a cocktail at a bar and then hav-
Many women commute in flats and
change deftly into the pair of heels they’ve
carried in their purses the second they get
to the office. Former flight attendant and
40-something entrepreneur Melody Ave-
cilla does the same but she now thinks
she’s found a comfy and convenient solu-
tion to the shoe struggle. Her fledgling
company, Runway Heels, is developing
Silicon Valley-engineered shoes that con-
vert from high heels to flats with the push
of a button. To convert the flats to heels,
you push a button on the inner
side of the sole and the heel
springs out from the
bottom of the shoe.
ing to go to a pizzeria to get your pie fix
sounds exhausting. One Philadelphia res-
taurant has figured out a way to streamline
the tiresome process by combining the two.
Scarpetta Philadelphia, an Italian restaurant
known for fine dining, has teamed up with a
local distillery, Stateside Urbancraft Vodka,
to create a vodka-infused pie that will quench
the thirsts of cocktail and carb enthusiasts
alike. The pizza is started with vodka-infused
dough, then layered with vodka-infused
ricotta cheese, a vodka blush sauce and sun-
dried tomatoes, the press release says.
Russian ships may be using underwater cables to spy
Russian ships are skulking in cutting or tapping the Western officials are increas-
around underwater com- cables? Does it want the West ingly troubled by their rival’s
munications cables, causing to worry it might? Is there interest in the 400 fiber-optic
the US and its allies to worry a more innocent explana- cables that carry most of the
the Kremlin might be taking tion? Unsurprisingly, Russia world’s calls, emails and texts,
information warfare to new isn’t saying. But whatever as well as $10 trillion worth of
depths. Is Moscow interested Moscow’s intentions, US and daily financial transactions.

38 April 06 - 12 2018

By Motoring Guru
I
was caught up in a scary
driving spot recently – going
up a very, very steep hill in
heavy stop and go traffic.
Fortunately, my car and I can
handle this situation perfectly.
Not so the taxi ahead of me!
It was a hard lesson on why
stopping up a very steep hill is
called the “hanging position”.
It is one of the trickiest driving
situations and it gets worse the
sharper the incline.
Now, considering that the guy
ahead of me was driving a taxi,
I suspect he must be relatively
skilled. So the problem probably
was his car.
Car condition is critical in
this kind of situation. The hang-
ing position is one of the worst
places to be in when your brakes
are not in good condition. Same
with the handbrake. Those two
have been in tip-top shape if you
are going to avoid either tum-
bling over backwards or bump-
ing into the car behind you.
And I suspect the taxi was
having brake trouble. If not,
then the driver was possibly
not familiar with this particular
vehicle as part of the survival
Caught in jam
on a steep hill!
technique in the hanging posi-
tion involves knowing your
vehicle’s friction position.
Normally, if it is a vehicle you
drive a lot, then it is important
to test the brakes – on hills. If it
is an unfamiliar vehicle you are
driving uphill, then it is impera-
tive that you test the brake and
handbrake early. You do this
by going up the incline a few
meters, then stepping on the
brake pedal. If the vehicle stays
in same position without rolling
backwards you are possibly safe.
The point is; high up the incline,
stopping in the hanging position
will put much more pressure on
the brake. Try the same test on
the handbrake.
But if you are caught up a
steep hill without safe brakes;
your goose is possibly cooked.
You can possibly make it if you
are driving a manual car and
have practiced a bit. This is a
situation that requires very, very,
sharp reflexes. Fortunately, it
appears, the taxi driver ahead of
me had them.
I could see that he was try-
ing to use the clutch to prevent
his car from going backwards.
In some driving schools this is
called balancing – which means
maintain very carefully bal-
anced pressure on the clutch and
accelerator. With unpracticed
feet, it can be quite dangerous as
a simple mistake can cause the
engine to go off and you find
yourself tumbling backwards.
Usually, however, it is the clutch
that suffers. If you have been in
this situation, you are possibly
familiar with the distinct smell of
a burning clutch. Replacement
is costly and gets worse if the
whole transmission system is
affected.
Otherwise, if you have tested
your brake and handbrake and
are sure they can handle an
incline of more than 10 degrees;
then use the following tips to
survive.
 Select lower gears – one and
two and start going up with
the traffic flow.
 When the traffic stops,
engage the handbrake if you
feel there is a danger of roll-
ing backwards. Keep your
foot on the brake pedal - in
case, the handbrake fails!
 Keep the vehicle ahead of
you at some distance and
hope that the one behind
you does the same.
 When the traffic starts, accel-
April 06 - 12 2018
erate gently while releasing
the handbrake gently.
 If driving a manual, when
traffic starts, step on the
clutch and engage gear
one. Next, ensure that you
do three things at once. (1)
Gently release the clutch, (2)
accelerate gently (3) release
the handbrake. Wow! If you
do this correctly, you will
feel the vehicle straining to
pick power but it soon starts
driving uphill quite comfort-
ably. If you do it wrongly,
the engine stalls.
 When you feel the vehicle
moving comfortably, release
the handbrake completely
but keep your hand near it.
You might need to engage it
quickly!
 Repeat procedure until hill
is cleared.
Note: If your brakes are
not good but the traffic is not
heavy, then race up the incline
quickly without stopping.
Don’t attempt if traffic is
heavy and there is a danger
of not clearing incline without
stopping. If in doubt, practice
on some hill is a quiet area.
39
Global comment
By Francis Mangeni
Africa’s free-trade future
The launch of the CFTA was a major milestone for
Africa; a clear message to the rest of the world
W
hen African leaders launched
the massive Continental Free
Trade Area (CFTA) on March
21, 2018, at a summit in Kigali,
Rwanda, their top priority should have been
to avoid rolling out something that is either
hollow or redundant. The CFTA – one of
12 flagship programs under the African
Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063 framework –
could double intra-African trade and bring
enormous benefits to the continent. But
much will depend on the arrangement’s
final shape.
One positive sign is that the CFTA will
include trade in services, which already
contribute more than 50% of African coun-
tries’ GDPs, on average. A growing body of
research suggests that services will provide
new social- and economic-development
pathways for Africa. In their recent book
`The Unexplored Potential of Trade in Ser-
vices in Africa’, Nora Dihel and Arti Grover
Goswani of the World Bank marshal data
to show that services have the potential to
provide much-needed employment and
incomes for ordinary people across the
continent.
Service industries such as communica-
tions, transportation, banking, insur-
ance, energy, education, and health are
key drivers of development, while both
tourism and construction currently have
high growth potential. Moreover, for
many young professionals, services are
the only way to earn a living. And with the
emergence of entrepreneurial universities
– where course work and dissertations pro-
duce business propositions rather than just
paper degrees – vibrant services markets
will become more necessary than ever.
But Dihel and Goswani also warn of
“regulatory hurdles.” African policymakers
will need to go beyond the initial frame-
work that has already been agreed under
the CFTA, to identify sectors that can be
brought into the fold of a wider, integrated
services market. And a comprehensive
framework to establish the terms and con-
ditions of trade and investment in specific
sectors, and to attract investment, should
follow.
In selecting sectors to promote, the focus
should be on infrastructure and areas
where countries have already made market-
access commitments through the World
40 April 06 - 12 2018
Trade Organisation. That implies that
policymakers should concentrate on com-
munications, tourism, banking, transport,
and energy, followed by education, health,
and construction services. One positive
development came earlier this year with the
establishment of the AU’s Single African Air
Transport Market, which covers 23 coun-
tries and 70% of air travel in Africa.
As for trade in goods, the main goal of
the CFTA is to open up markets through
a broad reduction in tariffs. But before
that can happen, African countries need to
agree on a common schedule for lowering
their import barriers. That will require
potentially complex negotiations among
multiple stakeholders. To simplify matters,
it will be important to keep the number of
negotiating parties to a minimum, perhaps
by forming country groupings. Beyond that,
a fairly short timeframe for negotiations
should be established, so that talks do not
bog down.
Beyond across-the-board tariff reduc-
tions, policymakers will also need to des-
ignate sensitive and excluded products in
a way that promotes regional value chains,
including in agro-processing, chemicals,
and automobiles, as well as in the services/
logistics inputs that constitute up to 60% of
One positive
sign is that
the CFTA will
include trade
in services,
which already
contribute
more than
50% of African
countries’ GDPs,
on average
the value of final products. Policymakers
should also impose a cap on the maximum
value of imports that can be excluded.
On the whole, African trade already com-
prises relatively few product lines, which
means that if the most-traded products are
excluded, intra-African trade will suffer,
and the entire CFTA will be rendered
redundant.
Although trade under the CFTA regime
will not begin until there are established
rules of origin, participants have at least
agreed to follow the World Customs Organ-
isation’s recognised criteria for determining
“value addition,” “material content,”
“substantial transformation,” and whether
goods are “wholly obtained.”
Still, producing product-specific rules for
6,000-odd goods can take a very long time
(it has taken the WTO over 27 years). To
expedite the CFTA, African countries could
agree to a general minimum threshold of
20-40% for value addition and a maximum
of 60-80% for non-originating material. And
in the meantime, work on determining sub-
stantial transformation and other product-
specific rules could continue, albeit with a
set timeframe.
A critical objective in setting the CFTA’s
product-specific rules of origin should be
to promote the production and trade of
inputs and other intermediate products
within Africa. The CFTA should enshrine
the principle of “Made in Africa,” even as it
recognises that some inputs will necessarily
be sourced from abroad.
It was everyone’s hope that African heads
of state turn up in large numbers to the AU
Kigali summit this March. The launch of
the CFTA was a major milestone for Africa.
It will permanently change the continent’s
economic geography and defining narra-
tive. African leaders used the occasion to
send a clear message to the rest of the world
that Africa is ready for a social and eco-
nomic transformation.
Francis Mangeni is Director of Trade, Customs,
and Monetary Affairs at the Common Market
for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018.
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