Blogs
Jun
17
2013
Uganda May Slip Into A Constitutional Crisis
By
Attorney General Peter Nyombi
The current state of affairs has thrown the constitutional stability of Uganda in reverse gear, and soon, the pearl of Africa may slip into a constitutional crisis. Thanks to the framers of the 1995 constitution who erroneously allowed the Attorney General to double as a cabinet minister. See Article 119(1) of our constitution which reads as follows;
There shall be an Attorney General who shall be a Cabinet Minister appointed by the President with the approval of Parliament.
In analyzing the real effect of Article 119(1) of our constitution, I have been compelled to also read Article 119(3) of our constitution which flows as hereunder;
The Attorney General shall be the principal legal adviser of the Government.
When articles 119(3) and 119(1) of our constitution are juxtaposed and analyzed together, a grave internal contradiction is revealed. It is this internal contradiction that is threatening the constitutional stability of Uganda. I will clarify this issue herein later.
For starters, I must underscore that the constitutional mandate of the Attorney General as espoused by Article 119(3) of our constitution extends to
Jun
13
2013
Museveni Budget Day Speech
By
H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda
His Excellency the Vice President,
Rt. Hon. Speaker,
His Lordship the Chief Justice,
Rt. Hon. Prime Minister,
Ministers,
Hon. Members of Parliament,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
I greet you. I thank all of you for the positive contribution you made in the past Financial Year.
As you heard, our economy grew by 5.1%, in the last Financial Year. The sectors which grew fastest were: industry (6.8%); services (4.8%); and construction (8.4%). The manufacturing sector grew by 4.2% (2012//13). Agriculture grew by 1.4% (2012//13). This is good but could have been much better. As you can see, sectors like telecommunications and construction grew very fast. This is because of the correct policy of liberalization that we put in place in 1987 and subsequently.
By liberalizing the telecommunications sector in 1997 (when Parliament passed the Communications Act), there has been this phenomenal growth. There is, however, one factor that is common to telecommunications and construction. They use little electricity.
A sector like manufacturing needs much more electricity in order to grow. Since this sector grew by 4.2% in 2012/13, it could have grown much more if there had been no
Jun
13
2013
Full Budget Speech
By
Finance Minister Maria Kiwanuka (File photo)
Your Excellency the Vice President,
The Right Honourable Speaker of Parliament,
His Lordship the Chief Justice,
The Right Hon. Deputy Speaker of Parliament,
The Right Hon. Prime Minister,
The Right Hon. Leader of the Opposition
Honourable Ministers,
Honourable Members of Parliament,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
II. INTRODUCTION
1. Madam Speaker, in fulfillment of Article 155(1) of the Constitution and in exercise of the powers delegated to me by H.E the President, I beg to move that Parliament resolves itself into a Committee of Supply to consider: i. The Revised Revenue and Expenditure Estimates for the Financial Year 2012/2013; and
ii. Proposals for the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the Financial Year 2013/2014.
2. Madam Speaker, in March this year, Uganda’s long-term collective development aspirations as embodied in the Vision 2040, was launched by His Excellency the President. Vision 2040 provides a
roadmap to transform Uganda from a low income to a modern middle income country within 30 years. Vision 2040 requires a fundamental change on the way of doing things by Government and the Private Sector, to unlock the binding constraints to Uganda’s progress.
3. Madam Speaker, there are no quick answers
Jun
11
2013
Bp. Zac Must Remove Hazy Lenses To Appreciate Progress In Uganda
By
Morrison Rwakakamba, Chief Executive Officer, Agency for Transformation
He was dismissing with contempt the Heroes Day and with utter arrogance – demonizing dignitaries and all those grateful citizens, veterans and their loved ones;
the liberated and liberators who attended and indeed celebrated the day (see -http://www.facebook.com/dzac.ruzaaza?hc_location=timeline).
Yet he was enabled to attend the function through a media that was liberalized by the NRM leaders he continues to without convincing reasons castigate at every opportunity – and now on Facebook! For this particular event, he was glued on NTV. What a contradiction?
Well, being part of the 92% of a religious Uganda, I tend to be reluctant to engage fiercely with agents of God on Earth- those that wear robs– especially on partisan debates. But for Bishop Zac, he is retired and now a self-confessed activist – of what? I don’t fully know.
He has been jumping from issue to issue. He started with school feeding, – then to every topical issue including Heroes day. He has even with vehemence, sought to hijack the agenda of groups like Black Monday that are well intentioned, especially on fighting the vice of corruption – though their tactics have sometimes been diabolic.
Listening to his diatribes, over time,
Jun
11
2013
Gen Muntu: The 2013 State Of The Nation Address That Never Was
By
Muntu addressing press at FDC headquarters in Kampala on June 10
Muntu says the President fell short of tackling key issues affecting the nation, especially corruption and job creation.
The opposition leader further faults Museveni for falling short of raising salaries for civil servants especially teachers, doctors and the army.
Below is Muntu’s statement issued at FDC headquarters in Najjanankumbi, Kampala on Monday.
The tradition of a President delivering a State of the Nation Address was never part of our constitutional tradition until the promulgation of the 1995 Constitution.
When this requirement was enshrined in article 101, it was intended that the President, on an annual basis, gives a full account to Ugandan citizens and taxpayers, through their elected representatives, the State of our Nation.
The State of the Nation address is therefore an address to appraise the Nation about the state of our democracy, the state of our economy, the state of our socio-economic infrastructure, the state of public service delivery, the state of our military, and the state of our international relations, among others.
It is therefore disappointing to see that after 27 years of leading this country, President Museveni would address the Nation and fail to address the issues that are central to the citizens of Uganda.
Jun
07
2013
Museveni’s State Of The Nation Address
By
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
My main concerns, as you may by now know, apart from peace, are socio-economic transformation of our society and economy and the integration (both economic and political) of the African continent.
In the battle for socio-economic transformation, I have identified the ten (10) strategic bottlenecks that I have been repeatedly talking about. Even yesterday, I repeated them to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA).
They are: ending ideological disorientation; building the State pillars to ensure that the State is capable of governing people and protecting them; developing the human resource through education and the improved health for all; promoting the Private Sector, which is a more efficient vehicle for enterprise identification and growth rather than persecuting them as used to happen in the past; developing the infrastructure (especially electricity, the railways, the roads, ICT, etc); modernizing agriculture; modernizing services; integrating the African market to assist the Private Sector; and ensuring democracy.
As you can see, integrating the African market is part of removing the strategic bottlenecks that I, normally, talk about. The East African Community (EAC) broke down in 1977 because of the incompatibility between the principled Mwalimu Nyerere and Idi Amin. Investors, however, cannot invest if they
Jun
06
2013
2 Constituencies Boycott Butebo Poll
By
Electoral Commission Chairman Badru Kiggundu
Deputy Police spokesperson, Patrick Onyango, who is in the area, says security is tight.
He further notes that two constituencies of Kibaale and Opeteta have decided to boycott the election process claiming they have no reason of casting their votes when the candidate of their choice was disqualified from the race.
Richard Oriebo Oseku was on Wednesday disqualified from participating in the race for not resigning from the army where he was an actively serving soldier.
Security is water-tight in Butebo, Paliisa District, as constituents cast ballots Thursday to elect their area representative to replace departed Minister, Stephen Mallinga.
Deputy police spokesperson, Patrick Onyango, says the force deployed heavily to ensure a violence-free election process following reports of possible chaos.
Six candidates are eyeing the seat after the Electoral Commission (EC) on Wednesday disqualified Richard Oriebo Oseku for not resigning his position as an army officer before participating in the election exercise.
The EC took action following a petition by the National Resistance Movement (NRM), challenging Oseku’s participation in the by-election claiming that he was still serving in the UPDF.
Patrick Mutono Lodoi is thought to be leading the race that involves Zaid Ziwa of Democratic Party, Samuel
Jun
06
2013
2013/2014 Budget: Bigger Pie Of Agriculture Sector Budget Should Focus On Dsip And Local Governments
By
Morrison Rwakakamba, Chief Executive Officer, Agency for Transformation
For instance, in Financial Year 2012/13 the sector received Shs 379.04 billion compared to Shs 559.6 billion projected in the DSIP, thus leading to a funding gap of Shs 180.6 billion.
The agriculture sector remains among the lowest ranked sectors in the national budget. Agriculture sector has not received more than 5 percent share of the national budget since 2009/10.
The total budget allocation for the agriculture sector for FY 2012/13 was Shs 379.04 billion which is 3.5% of the total national budget. The 2013/2014 projection is 3.2% - even if we stretch to the total direct and indirect allocation to the sector, the total allocation will not exceed 5% of the total national budget.
Either way, the allocation to the sector is way below the Maputo / Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) declaration (target) of at least 10% of the national budget- that Uganda committed to implement.
Due to low funding, the agriculture sector is facing challenges, among them are: lack of implementation of the Shs 1.4 trillion national action plan on poverty reduction and enterprise selection; recruitment of staff at district Local governments; lack of non-wage budget to implement the MAAIF structure at headquarters; failure
Jun
05
2013
Ten Years Into The Constitution, Rwanda Pushes Forward In Delivering For Citizens
By
This constitution was a first in many regards. It was the first time citizens had been consulted. All four previous constitutions had been set up without consultation or participation.
It was also the first time the constitution guaranteed the rights and freedoms of citizens. Rwandans would be free of all forms of discrimination, whether by ethnic group, gender, political or religious affiliation.
A country united
After decades of bad politics based on divisionism, Rwandans voted for a Constitution that clearly provides for mechanisms that do away with the discrimination and impunity that led to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.
Speaking at the occasion of the anniversary,Prof Shyaka Anastase, CEO of Rwanda Governance Board said that after the genocide, Rwandans through the constitution, said never again and established democratic institutions, which today form the bedrock of their development.
“We set fundamental principles and established a free and fair electoral system, which saw Rwandans across the country have their voices heard in 2003, 2006, 2008 and 2010 and 2011. We resolved to build a State governed by the rule of law; a nation which respects the rights of each and every one of its citizens, engages
Jun
04
2013
"State Communication Surveillance Undermines Freedom Of Expression"
By
“Who are the authorities mandated to promote the surveillance of individuals? What is the final destiny of the massive amounts of the stored information on our communications?” he said. “These questions urgently need to be studied in all countries to ensure a better protection of the rights to privacy and the right to freedom of expression.”
Mr. La Rue’s findings contained in a report* on the implications of States’ surveillance of communications on the exercise of the human rights to privacy and freedom of opinion and expression, which was presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
“Concerns about national security and criminal activity may justify the exceptional use of communications surveillance,” he said. “Nevertheless, national laws regulating what constitutes the necessary, legitimate and proportional State involvement in communications surveillance are often inadequate or simply do not exist.”
“The surveillance of human rights defenders or journalists in many countries has been well documented,” the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression noted.
According to the report, States possess multiple instruments to breach communication privacy today: “Access to the stored content of an individual’s
