UNREASONABLE MUSICIANS: Parliament’s Committee Trashes Demands By Artists To Have 90% Of Their Content To Command Airspace In Uganda

The Parliament’s ICT Committee has described as unreasonable the demands by artists to have 90% of their content command airspace in Uganda, saying talent globally is dictated by quality. “Ugandan music...

Editors’ Picks

ACQUIRING LAND FOR OIL ACTIVITIES: Project Affected Persons Petition CNOOC Boss To Address Kingfisher Oil Project In Kikuube District

The Strategic Response on Environmental Conservation (STREC), a local civil society, has written a...

AGROECOLOGY ENTREPRENEURS: Biovision, SHONA Announce Cohort 2 Intake of the Neycha Accelerator & Fund to Advance Agroecological Enterprises

The Neycha Accelerator & Fund, a joint initiative by the Biovision Foundation, SHONA, and SHONA...

ANTI HOMOSEXUALITY ACT OF 2023: Parliament Happy with Constitutional Court Decision Not To Nullify Law Which Criminalizes Homosexuality

Members of Parliament are happy that the Constitutional Court refused to nullify the Anti...

In the Spotlight

Stories for you

Ads 3

Latest News

  • NO TAXES, NO PAY RISE: President Yoweri Museveni Says Government Cannot Pay Good Salaries To Public Servants If There's No Socio-Economic Transformation Across The Country

    President Yoweri Museveni has said the government cannot pay good salaries to public servants if there's no socio-economic transformation in societies.

    “How will the state pay good salaries if there's no socio-economic transformation? Where does it get money from? When we took over the government, we were earning very small salaries for a long time, even now I earn a small salary,” he said.

    Museveni who is also the patron for Patriotism Clubs in Uganda made the remarks on Saturday 3rd February 2024 while passing out 413 secondary school headteachers from greater Western Uganda, Mubende, and Kasanda Districts who have undergone ideological orientation training at the National Leadership Institute (NALI) in Kyankwanzi.

    Museveni urged that if families undergo socio-economic transformation, they create jobs, people get income, and they will be able to pay taxes.

    “When they are able to pay taxes, the government gets more money then it will be able to put up infrastructure, deal with peace and security, and also pay good salaries to public servants,” he noted.

    The President also reiterated why the government decided to increase the salaries of scientists at the expense of their Arts counterparts.

    “Recently I was in a small war with you, the teachers. When we got a little bit of money, we decided to enhance the salaries of scientists. That is where the war started. We need these scientists more because we need engineers, and medical doctors, among others. I studied Arts but I cannot come with my Shakespeare to put up a bridge,” he said.

    Museveni further urged the headteachers to work towards the realization of the four principles of the National Resistance Movement which are patriotism, Pan-Africanism, socio-economic transformation, and democracy. The President said these will enable all Ugandans to be prosperous.

    The President added that socio-economic transformation has four avenues where Ugandans can transform themselves and these include commercial agriculture with “ekibaro”, manufacturing, services, and ICT.

    The Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni appreciated Museveni for his continuous guidance to the education sector and his availability, whenever they call on him to facilitate their capacity-building programs.  

     

  • RATIONALIZATION OF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES: President Yoweri Museveni Says Strategic Move Will Help Ugandan Government To Save One Trillion Shillings Per Year, Create Wealth For Ugandans

    President Yoweri Museveni, who is also the National Chairman of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), on Friday 2nd February 2024 met the party's parliamentary caucus at State House, Entebbe.

    During the meeting, the President and the Members of Parliament discussed the Rationalization of Government Agencies and Public Expenditure (RAPEX).

    “This subject we are dealing with is a strategic one. If you don't answer strategic answers correctly, you end up with problems and when you answer them correctly, you win,” he said.

    Museveni further informed the caucus members that if the government decides to carry out rationalization now, they will save Shs1 trillion a year.

    “When we talk of rationalization, we are talking of first of all, doing things which are rational and save money.”

    He added that during rationalization, the whole structure of the government should be geared to support the wealth creators, since they are vital in the development of the country.

    “This issue of rationalization is a strategic one and the way to handle it is to start by asking the question that Adam Smith answered in 1776 when he wrote a book titled “The source of the wealth of nations”, the question is where does wealth come from? Because there's no way any group of leaders will succeed if they do not answer that question. That is why you find a lot of chaos in so many parts of the world,” the President said.

    “Wealth creation is the issue of enabling families and companies as well as individuals to produce goods and services and sell them and do so with “ekibaro”. Now who are these wealth creators? Number one, the commercial farmers, the second are the manufacturers, the third are the service providers and then ICT. So, what do this need? They need peace, the infrastructure (such as the roads, railways, electricity), they also need capital, skills and technical support.”

    The President also advised the legislators that if they want to be successful politicians, they must help the people they serve to create wealth through sensitising them to embrace the four sectors of the economy.

    The Government Chief Whip and Chairperson of the NRM Parliamentary caucus, Denis Hamson Obua, said as a caucus they support the rationalization of government agencies and public expenditure through the enactment of legislation in Parliament, sector by sector.

    During the same meeting, Bukoto South MP, Twaha Kagabo, who belongs to the opposition-National Unity Platform (NUP), committed himself to work with the ruling party for the betterment of the people he serves.

     

  • SHARIA BANKING LANDS: Museveni Launches Salaam Bank, Uganda's First Ever Licensed Islamic Banking Institution

    President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has launched Salaam Bank, Uganda's first ever licensed Islamic Banking institution.

    Islamic banking is a form of banking based on Islamic principles. Basically, in Islamic banking it is not allowed to pay and receive interest but rather it is based on profit sharing.

    Islamic banks focus on generating returns on investments through investment tools that are “Sharia” compliant.

    The President launched the bank today during Ramathan dua prayers organised by the Office of the National Chairman-NRM at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds.

    President Museveni wished the Muslims a fruitful Ramathan and prayed that God protects them.

    He also reiterated his call to believers to make sure that they take part in income-generating activities to improve their livelihoods.

    He however assured Muslims that in the near future he will have a meeting with their leaders so that they discuss PDM and riba and how Muslims can benefit from the program without any limitations.

    “If you convince me that the PDM and Emyooga money has some contradictions as per the Islamic teachings, then I will find a way how I send your money direct to this bank,” he said.

    President Museveni also welcomed the bank to Uganda, before assuring them of support to smoothly run their operations in the country.

    “I welcome Salaam Bank to Uganda. This is a big market with a population of 48 million now and in the next 27 years, the population of Uganda will be 106 million. You are going to start right away to serve the people of Uganda,” he said.

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Djibouti who led the Djiboutian delegation to Uganda, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, underscored the inspiring ambition of the Salaam Group to broaden the scope of its activities all over the continent including Uganda which he said has a safe and solid financial institution.

    The Wakiso District Kadhi, Sheikh Erias Kigozi who spoke on behalf of Muslims, thanked President Museveni for being a hero, a patriot, a parent and a visionary leader with a mission and an ambition.

    He also commended President Museveni for fighting and protecting the property of Muslims in the country.

    The Board Chairman of Salaam Bank, Ibrahim M. Abdirahman informed the President that he signed the Islamic bank regulations into law at a time when the Islamic community really needed it.

    In September last year, Bank of Uganda granted its first Islamic banking license to Salaam Bank Uganda Ltd, a subsidiary of a Djibouti-based bank after Parliament passed legislation to authorize Islamic banking, which President Museveni signed into law in August 2023.

  • Uganda’s Museveni, Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta Meet To Discuss Regional Peace

    President Yoweri Museveni and the former president of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, who is the Facilitator of the East African Community (EAC) - led Nairobi Peace Process on Wednesday met at State House in Entebbe, Uganda, to discuss the regional mandate alongside recent developments in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

    Leaders of the EAC member states are trying everything in their means to end insurgencies in DRC. Recently, the EAC has reaffirmed its commitment to ongoing efforts to restore peace and stability to the eastern region of the DRC.

    The EAC Secretary General (Dr.) Peter Mathuki said that the lessons learned from the deployment of the EAC Regional Force (EACRF) present opportunities for the Community to strengthen its role as the primary guarantor of peace and security in the region through the Institutionalisation of the EACRF’s achievements.