Consumers Guide Magazine September - October 2018 Issue

Edition: September | October 2018

Accident Victims: Go to Insurance Companies for Compensation.

Home & Garden: Green House ■■ A guide to make your Home Eco-Friendly.

FAshion

■■ A Dream Turned into An Empire-in-The-Making!

Every Day Health:

■■ Guide to Spotting Counterfeit Skin Care Products.

Price: 10,000 USDUS$3 $3 KShs 400 TZShs 9,000 RF 4,500 Price:Ugx Ugx10,000 KSh400 TZShs 9,000 RF 4,500

Awards 2018

ing Business Excellen Recognis ce

8 th Nov. 2018

KAMPALA SERENA HOTEL

Honoring companies and individuals who go that extra mile for their consumers

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Tech Automotives Banking Investing Insurance

Health Family Markets Appliances Travel

Fashion Electronics Home & Garden Education Real Estate

Don’t Miss »» »»

Government Mandatory Services Series.

Consumer Protection Law Series.

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Editor’s Note

Accident Victims:

Insurance Companies are obliged to compensate you.

T

he savage slaughter on the Uganda public roads and streets continues unabated. This does not come as a result of bad narrow roads per se but bad drivers and poor mechanical conditions of some vehicles that have not been checked effectively by traffic police. The traffic police is routinely deployed in every black spot or prone accident locations but have not done much to arrest the situation.

Their concentration is on the speed control and containing traffic jam especially in urban centres.

Bari Salim

Publisher/Editor in Chief

“The government of Uganda and all stake holders must sensitise the public and ensure that the third party insurance law benefits all people involved in accidents including drivers, conductors, passengers and other victims.”

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Government passed Motor Third Party insurance policy to protect every road user. This is mandatory insurance of vehicles and motorcycles operating in Uganda that compensates and protects road users who may be injured or killed by a vehicle. The challenge is; do the accident victims know their right? Do they actually know that insurance companies are obliged to compensate them after fate, therefore make claim? The answer is very few people know about it. Therefore, Insurance Regulatory Authority and Uganda Insurers’ Association have the duty to educate the public of their right to compensation and how to make claims when an accident occurs.

Firstly, depending on the circumstance of the accident, the victim / witness should first seek medical assistance, report the accident to the police and where possible, let the police visit the scene of the accident before the vehicles are removed, record all particulars of the other vehicle(s) as soon as possible.

Secondly, the accident victim must obtain a form from the insurer and return it duly filled with all support documents including: Police Abstract Reports and sketch plans, Medical report forms from a recognised medical practitioner, plus Medical bills and receipts. Other documents are; Formal identification, Death certificates (if fatal), Introduction letter, proof of relation to the victim, and passport size

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photograph of the claimant (if fatal) and Letters of administration, where necessary.

Publisher /Editor – in - Chief Bari Salim

Once you have submitted the required documentation, the claim should be paid within 10 working days of receipt of the discharge voucher.

The discharge voucher is a confirmation that the insurer has agreed to pay the claim and as a claimant, you need to sign this voucher to show that you have agreed the amount being paid.

Managing Editor Dan nSalasatta.

Senior Editors James Otai Creative Director Mark Waigolo

This vital information is kept within the coffers of insurance companies and police. Most victims are ignorant of it, subjecting the cost implications of either burying the victim or nursing the debilitated to their families and well-wishers.

Office Administrator Prisca Mirembe

Insurance companies have taken advantage of the public ignorance to pocket the MTP money collected from the motorists for their companies’ development.

Marketing Executives Samuel Bujingo Azizi Ngabirano Felix Oketcho Farouk Kangave Sulait Byabagambi

Just as we call upon the insurance authorities to educate the masses, the public ought to equip themselves with information about their rights through reading. Let’s demystify the claim that if you want to hide something from the black race put it in writing.

Contributors Philip Corry Sekyewa Julius Richard ILOCO Malinga Humura Ruth Plutocrat Andrew Deus Bugembe Murindwa Keith Jayson D Matisko James Oromait Caroline Ajambo

The government of Uganda and all stake holders must sensitise the public and ensure that the third party insurance law benefits all people involved in accidents including drivers, conductors, passengers and other victims.

Thousands of road users in Uganda suffer horrific injuries daily in road accidents but are never compensated because they are ignorant of the existing insurance law. Unaware of what their due is, the victims continue to bear heavy medical and motor vehicle repair costs.

“If a government doesn’t defend the interests of its citizens, who will?”

For more information: Contact the Marketing Department Consumers Guide Magazine, Shumuk House, Colville street suite 21A-22A Tel: +256704238797, +256772450095 E-mail: info@cgmagazine.biz Subscriptions and address changes: Rights and permissions: ©2018.

All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of any of the contents of this service without the expressed written permission of the Publisher at: info@cgmagazine.biz is expressly prohibited.

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CONTENTS

September | October 2018

Features

8

Markets

■■ Listed Companies.

■■ Interbank Average Exchange Rates.

9 Banking

■■ Think about DigiTal Banking – Think about DTB. ■■ Orient Bank Celebrates 22 Branches in 25 Years.

31

15 Real Estate

■■ Guide to Hiring a Property Manager

Automobile ■■ Must Have Tools To Carry in Your Car In Preparation for Any Car Emergency.

■■ Basic Car Maintenance Checklist Every Car Owner Should Know.

18 Food & Beverages ■■ Shawarma Served at Meza Restaurant in KisementKampala

33 Car Review ■■ The Anatomy of a Prius: Pros & Cons.

Find amazing inspirations on 38 Imperfect Starts.

38 Travel Guide 21 Career Choice & Management...

■■ Find out Important Considerations

23

Education.

■■ Online Education Replacing Traditional Teaching in Universities.

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■■ Birding Safari ■■ Tours Guide.

■■ Uganda a Birdwatching Sanctuary!

Contents

42 Home & Garden Guide

62 Fashion

■■ A Dream Turned Into an Empire-In-The-Making!

■■ Find out how to create a perfect Green Home ■■ A guide to make your Home Eco-Friendly

47

68 Everyday Health

■■ Guide to Spotting 8 Outstanding Tools Counterfeit Skin Care To Be More Productive Products.

Every Day.

49 Lead Story

Motor 3rd Party Guide.

■■ Accident Victims!!

Go to Insurance Company for Compensation ■■ Understand Motor Third Party Insurance Policy

72 Electronics

■■ Choosing the Right Power Bank to power your Smart phone.

76 Cryptocurrency ■■ Bitcoin and Marx’s Theory of History

81 Guide to Successful Poultry Farming 56 Consumer Protection.

89 Sports

■■ The Last Cry of Consumer Protection on Insurance Services in Uganda.

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■■ The Rise & Rise of Rugby in Uganda.

■■ Upcoming Sports Events around the Globe TM

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Markets Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) - Listed Companies Company

Symbol Sector

Price

Change YTD

Date

Bank of Baroda (Uganda) BAT Uganda Centum Investment DFCU East African Breweries Equity Group Jubilee Holdings KCB Group Kenya Airways Nation Media Group New Vision Printing & Publishing NIC Holdings Stanbic Bank Uganda Uchumi Supermarkets Uganda Clays Umeme

BOBU

Financials

150

0.00%

32.74%

29-Jun

BATU CENT DFCU EABL EBL JHL KCB KA NMG NVL

Consumer Goods Financials Financials Consumer Goods Financials Financials Financials Consumer Services Consumer Services Consumer Services

30,000 1,449 970 8,407 1,814 19,310 1,756 420 3,455 450

0.00% 2.08% 0.00% 0.51% -2.53% 0.05% -1.56% -0.85% -1.59% 0.00%

0.00% -6.85% 42.65% 2.63% 33.14% 10.95% 16.85% -32.45% -15.29% -12.62%

29-Jun 29-Jun 29-Jun 29-Jun 29-Jun 29-Jun 29-Jun 29-Jun 29-Jun 29-Jun

NIC SBU UCHM UCL UMEM

Financials Financials Consumer Services Industrials Utilities

18 32 56 22 300

5.88% 0.00% 3.63% 3.61% 0.00%

50.00% 17.43% -64.81% -25.86% -25.00%

29-Jun 29-Jun 29-Jun 29-Jun 29-Jun

INTERBANK AVERAGE EXCHANGE RATES Exchange Rates for September, 2018

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CURRENCY

UGX Equivalent BUYING RATES SELLING RATES

USD (Opening) USD (Mid) USD (Closing) GBP (Closing) EUR (Closing) KSH (Closing) TSH (Closing) USD 7/02/2018-WAR S.A RAND JAPANESE YEN DHIRAM RWANDESR FRANC

3,871.29 3,861.71 3,856.79 5,092.14 4,502.97 38.24 1.7 3,873.72 75 1040 1040 4.1

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3,881.29 3,871.71 3,866.79 5,105.35 4,514.64 38.34 1.7 3,883.72 300 35 1080 4.4

Think about DigiTal Banking – Think about DTB.

K

awooya Kenneth* commonly known as KK in his business circles returned to Uganda from UK where he had travelled to pursue an M.SC degree at Cardiff University. He searched for a job until his shoe developed a hole underneath. He came back to his senses and thought about alternative options, like teaching, home business etc.

Finally, he made up his mind to start a small business to make ends meet. When he completed the mandatory processes of business registration, what remained for him to do was choosing the best bank that would satisfy his aspirations and help him to build a successful enterprise.

“I got a tip off from my cousin who advised me to open up a bank account with Diamond Trust Bank (DTB). I obliged and went ahead to implement the advice.

Today, I am not shy to confess that ever since I joined the UTB clientele, I have never regretted. I have accessed, and enjoyed almost all DTB products and services that has accelerated my business transactions”, Kawooya said.

He was amazed when DTB introduced DigiTal Banking service which is the way to go in this digital age. Digital banking is the move to online / Mobile banking where banking services are delivered over the internet / cellphone. The advantages for banks and customers are providing more convenient and faster banking services. The Digital user is fast, sharp and always on the move. Digital Banking is always connected and ready to try new products on the shelf.

‘“As far as banking is concerned, digital banking is a likable service, swift and convenient,” he said. “In a Digital world that is constantly evolving, we are always willing to keep up with the latest trends that are making banking simpler. It has made banking simpler, easier and extremely convenient,” he added.

Digital banking has put the power of banking at his fingertips. KK can download the account opening online and fill it out before proceeding to the branch for the final review.

Make payments to his suppliers from China and Hong Kong, send and receive money locally and across Africa at affordable rates.

He can withdraw whenever he is instead of carrying bulk cash in the boot of his car. He makes bill payments through the mobile service on the move.

He uses mobile banking to check his balance, that will enable him do any account to account transfer to settle his suppliers as well as move money to the savings account. He also makes his bill payments for UMEME and National Water in the comfort of his office.

He also clears the pay TV subscription whilst sipping coffee in the comfort of his living room.

He advises those wishing to open bank accounts or switch to a better bank DTB is the option. You download the DTB mobile app from Google Play or App store to avoid fossilizing because the future as we see it, banking as we know it will change and be entirely in your control.

Real customer identity has been hidden - Kawooya Kenneth*

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Banking Commenting on DTB services & innovation, Hussein Omar, Head, Products and Projects DTB said the Bank is unique in its operations because of its unprecedented innovative digital products and services it provides to its customers to match the ever changing times.

He also added that the bank is continuously looking at enhancing its products and services to match up to the latest innovative trends.

DTB POS machine.

TB Gold Debit Card.

A point of sale terminal (POS terminal) is a secure electronic devise that enables a business receives payments for all Mastercard and VISA issued cards globally. Increased sales in a secure cashless environment.

DTB Pay easy.

A cherished flexibility for platinum & premium customers which offers ease for shopping, allows cash withdraw through ATMs for immediate needs and acceptance at more secured Pin based POS terminal. A gold credit card is usually a rewards card that comes with more perks that can be followed through on the Mastercard App in any locality.

DTB Platinum Mastercard Credit Card.

PayEasy is a merchant mobile money platform the enables merchants to receive mobile money payments (MTN & Airtel) through the mobile channel. The collected amounts are credited to the bank account electronically with no manual intervention. Another innovation into the cashless, secure and less strained drive.

DTB Digital teller.

A cardless option to deposit any amount in 4 UGX denominations, 24/7 with instant credit to client’s account , in addition to cash withdraw like any other ATM. DTB Internet Banking.

DTB is the first bank to launch a Platinum Credit Card in Uganda. The platinum card has a lot of benefits that fit well into the day to day as well as travel opportunities for customers. The card enables you to have various discounts at countless outlets across the globe. The card is secure and can be used on ATM & POS Terminals as well as used for secure online transactions.

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Banking on the internet, you can a view option to review your balances for multiple accounts as well as have access to statements. You can also have a secure transactional option to perform transactions from your offices and send them to the bank securely. You can do account to account transfers, SWIFT & RTGS transactions as well. The system is designed to have multiple levels for approval to maintain the account operating mandates.

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Banking

Orient Bank Celebrates 22 Branches in 25 Years.

By Our Finance Sector Correspondent

O

rient Bank is celebrating 25 years of existence this year (2018).

Its Founder and Vice Chairman Keatan Morjaria talked to Consumers Guide Magazine about the Bank‘s journey to date.

Qn. The public would be interested to know Orient Bank’s story since its inception to the present day.

Ans. From a small operation with a single branch when we opened our doors 25 years ago, Orient Bank has grown to be the largest privately owned commercial bank in Uganda, with 22 branches around Kampala and the key areas of economic activity across Uganda. At first we had limited capacity to offer a few basic services to a few hundred customers but today we are serving hundreds of thousands of customers with a full range of services. Through planning, continuous innovation, and steady implementation, we have been able to roll out a complete set of banking and payment solution products and delivery channels that enable our customers to do business anywhere around the world.

Qn. What was your motivation to set up the bank?

Ans. At the time NRM restored stability to Uganda, it was clear that Ugandans would have the chance they had been waiting for to build wealth and provide for the future of their families. We saw the need for a bank that understood the nuts and bolts of industry, the trade flows in the agricultural sector, and the need to build a strong indigenous commercial class. We wanted to create a bank that understood business and could help others to create wealth through enterprise.

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Qn. Why did you choose to call it Orient?

Ans. We had always admired the level of service and professionalism of another business with whom we interacted a lot in the early days.

They were called Orient, and when we chose the same name we hoped to be able to serve our customers with the same level of dedication that the original Orient had always given us.

Qn. Tell us the challenges faced in the past 25 years of banking business and the strategy set to overcome them?

Ans. The biggest challenge that Orient has faced in the past 25 years has been the impact of the Financial Institutions Act of 2004, which has brought many benefits to the banking sector through improved regulatory controls, while at the same time creating new hurdles to investment in financial services that have not yet been adequately addressed. One such hurdle, in the case of Orient, has been the effect of the limitation of concentration of ownership. The strongest banks around the world have proved to be the banks where the founders have a continuing strong commitment to the growth of their business.

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Banking Qn. What has made Orient Bank tick over the past 25 years and what is the significant landmark?

Ans. It has been expanding greatly because of the commitment of the founders, our continuous reinvestment in building a strong balance sheet, early adoption of technology, expansion of delivery channels, and continuous professional development of staff.

I am particularly proud of the two moments when Orient Bank provided industry leadership; once in 2002 when it outbid other banks to take over operations and assets of Trans-Africa Bank and in 2005 when we pioneered Point of Sale Machine technology and the launch of plastic money in Uganda.

Qn. How has Orient Bank helped its customers build wealth?

We understand agriculture, trading, and manufacturing, so we are able to go to our customers, understand their needs, and tailor solutions which best meet those needs, often introducing them to trade finance tools that they had not thought of before and which help them get more value from their banking relationship.

The same approach has been replicated during the creation of innovative technology solutions by anticipating our customer needs and creating solutions to ease their business.

Qn. What extraordinary milestones did the Bank achieve under your management? ˃˃ In 1993 Orient Bank started operations along Kampala Road at Uganda House, next to where our Head Office stands right now. ˃˃ In 1996, our Jinja Branch opened. It was the second branch of the bank. ˃˃ In 2002 Orient Bank Limited beat other bidders in taking over Trans-Africa Bank. We successfully integrated the operations of the two banks. ˃˃ The year 2003 was one where the first alternate channels to branches were introduced in ATMs and the Orient Express Cards. ˃˃ Between 2005 and 2006 Orient Bank pioneered the Point of Sale Terminals which ushered in the use of plastic cards.

Our deposit base hit a record UGX 101Bn with Shareholder’s funds exceeding 23Bn. ˃˃ In 2007 Orient Bank Launched VISA Electron Cards on our ATM Terminals. We have since gone ahead to partner two more payment service providers; master Card and China Union Pay.

Qn. What is your vision for OBL in the next 25 years?

Ans. Technological innovation has enabled us to provide faster and more efficient services. This is a global trend that can only accelerate, and we intend to keep Orient Bank ahead of the curve.

The watchword in achieving this will be continuous improvement.

Better staff training and motivation, more investment in technology, and above all, regular interaction with our customers to understand their needs better.

Qn. How can Banks remain relevant in this era of financial technology companies?

Ans. We are dedicated financial professionals, keeping other people’s money safe is what we are about and we have been able to develop procedures, controls, and prudential guidelines which enable our customers to bank their savings with us and watch them grow. No matter the changes in technology, the key issues of; trust, specialist financial management skills and strong international payment solutions cannot be replaced.

Sophisticated trade finance instruments as well as a powerful international partner with a strong equity stake are other key pillars that will keep supporting our business. This is topped by passion for growing our business by growing our customers. www.cgmagazine.biz

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Statutory Mandatory Series (URA)

Taxpayers Appreciation Week “Menu” at Kololo is ‘Free Services’.

Vincent Seruma, the Assistant Commissioner Public And Corporate Affairs, URA

F

REE is a keyword to describe the services government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are to offer in the impending taxpayers’ appreciation week scheduled for September 26th - 28th, 2018 at Kololo Independence Grounds. Entry is free.

The theme for this year’s taxpayers’ appreciation week is Stronger Together, according to Vincent Seruma Assistant Commissioner, public and Corporate Affairs division Uganda Revenue Authority (URA). URA in partnership with MDAs will camp at Kololo Independence Grounds, Kampala where free services will be provided.

The free services include: heart screening by the Uganda Heart Institute (UHI), which will determine the organs’ status, offer nutrition advice and test for diabetes. An awareness walk will be held on September 28th. Dental, eye checkups and prosthetics (artificial limbs) from the Uganda People’s Defence Forces will be available. Others are HIV testing and counselling, Hepatitis B screening, sickle cell and cancer testing and registration of births and deaths.

Also, legal advice, financial and tax advisory, verification of land titles and yellow fever vaccination, which were a major attraction last year are also on the list.

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And if thus far, you failed to register your savings and credit cooperative organisation (SACCO), your prayers have been answered. It will be done there at no cost. In what will sound like music to the youth, there will be free Wi-Fi. Registered and compliant taxpayers will win prizes among them phones, motorbikes, watches and many nice branded items. The institutions’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) will be part of a series of activities on the programme of this year’s taxpayers’ appreciation week. Reflecting the MDAs’ partnership, Prime Minister, Rukahana Rugunda is expected to preside over the opening ceremony on September 26, 2018.

The week’s objectives are accounting for tax revenue, promoting transparency and accountability in addition to showcasing and promoting Government services.

Imparting knowledge will be facilitated by daily sectoral press conferences at Kololo. Amid these, institution supremoes will field journalists’ questions, explaining how allocated funds are turned into services for the public.

Alongside this will be an exhibition for over 200 complaint taxpayers, who will exhibit their goods and services at zero cost. An innovation village will showcase skills and businesses.

Days before the Kololo activities, the MDAs will on September 21, 2018 be involved in a countrywide tree planting exercise meant to rejuvenate Uganda’s receding tree cover.

At a joint press conference with the URA chief, Doris Akol, National Forestry Authority supremo, Tom Okello announced that 10 million seedlings of fruit and hard wood trees would be given to the public at no cost. The grand finale will be a taxpayers’ appreciation day to be held on September 28, 2018 at Kololo where taxpayers, who excelled in 2017/18 will be awarded. This is the second year that URA partners with MDAs to showcase and offer free services. The first one was held last year at Kololo Independence Grounds.

Appreciating taxpayers has since inception in 2005 become a permanent feature of the URA annual calendar. Over the years, it has evolved, becoming bigger and better and benefitting Ugandans.

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Real Estate

Hiring a Property Manager By: Our Property Correspondent

A

property manager can assist you to market your rental property, select tenants, maintain the property, create budgets and collect rent. You may consider hiring a property manager if you wish to delegate these tasks to someone else to limit your dayto-day responsibilities regarding your rental property. You will simply supervise the property manager.

Property Manager’s Role If you decide to hire a property manager, it is important to identify his or her role. You can develop a list of duties for which the property manager will be responsible. For example, will your property manager’s responsibilities be limited to finding tenants? Or will he or she also deal with day-to-day maintenance and the collecting of rent? Your agreement with the property manager should clearly state your expectations.

You must decide if the property manager will be an independent contractor or an employee.

Depending on your situation, there may be advantages and disadvantages to both. It is advised that you speak with your tax accountant to determine the most favorable approach and to determine specific obligations that you may have (such as obtaining a federal tax identification number).

You will also have to make decisions regarding the property manager’s compensation. Will they be full-time or part-time, salaried?

Selecting a Property Manager In certain areas, anyone who engages in the renting of property must hold an active real estate license. If you are in one of these areas, make sure a property manager that you are considering meets the appropriate licensing requirements though in Uganda the property industry is not regulated and property managers don’t have professional license. You don’t have to have a license to manage property, as long as you have a company that manages property and some of them operate without licenses and companies, although it’s vital for one to have a qualification.

Depending on the role you envision for your property manager, you may want to look for a property manager who is experienced in advertising, marketing, tenant relations, collecting rent, budgeting, leasing and maintenance.

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Real Estate Ideally, your property manager should also be knowledgeable about local and state laws: as a property owner, you may be held liable for the acts of your manager. For example, you can be sued if your manager violates any fair housing laws. If you find someone you feel may be a good fit, you can set up an interview where you can ask questions that focus on the property manager’s qualifications and experience. You might make inquiries such as these: Describe your experience in managing rental properties i.e; »» »» »» »»

Collecting rent money.

What is one problem you’ve encountered as a property manager, and how did you resolve it?

Why are you interested in this position?

Do you have any questions for me?

Management companies deal directly with prospects and tenants, saving you time and worry over marketing your rentals, collecting rent, handling maintenance and repair issues, responding to tenant complaints, and even pursuing evictions. Plus, a good management company brings its knowhow and experience to your property, giving you the peace of mind that comes with knowing your investment is in good hands. Finally, a management company is an independent contractor, so you avoid the hassles of being an employer.

Even if you think you’ve found the perfect property manager, you should check the candidate’s references in the following areas:

When Should You Hire a Property Management Company?

•

Although hiring a property management company has many advantages, using one can be expensive. And, even apart from the cost, relying on a property management company is not for everyone. Consider the following factors to determine if hiring a property management company would be a good decision for your business.

•

•

Employment - Call and speak with former employers to inquire about the candidate’s job responsibilities, strengths and weaknesses.

Credit history and background report - If your property manager will be responsible for handling money, a history of tidy personal finances may be important. Make sure you get the applicant’s written consent before performing a credit or background check.

Criminal record - Your property manager may have access to your money as well as to your tenants’ houses. It may be a good idea to check their criminal history.

If you are contracting with an established property management company, you can research the company’s history online or talk to current or former clients. Once you have decided on a property manager and the terms of engagement, you and the property manager can complete a property manager agreement which identifies the manager’s duties, compensation and termination clause.

This is when you’re dealing with a management company.

Property management companies can be a huge asset to your business, but they don’t come cheap. And there are other reasons why you might not want or need one. Carefully review the factors discussed below to determine if hiring a property management company is the right move for your business.

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What Does a Property Management Company Do?

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When you should consider hiring a property management company You have lots of properties or rental units. The more rental properties you own and the more units they contain, the more you’re likely to benefit from a management company.

You don’t live near your rental property.

If your rental property is located far from where you live, hiring a property management company can be invaluable in dealing with the many issues that you will not be able to handle from afar.

You’re not interested in hands-on management. Many landlords look forward to the challenge of finding good tenants and the rewards of maintaining a safe and attractive property on their own.

But if you view rental property ownership strictly as an investment and want little or nothing to do with the day-to-day management of your properties, consider hiring help to manage your property.

Real Estate Your time is limited. Even if you enjoy hands-on management, you may not have much time to devote to your business, especially if land lording isn’t your day job. And if you prefer to spend your time growing your business, including searching for new properties, arranging financing for renovations, or changing your business structure, then a management company may be a good way to spend your money.

You can afford the cost. Hiring a property management company is an attractive option if you can afford the fees. When interviewing companies, expect to hear quotes ranging between 5% and 10% of what you collect in rent revenue.

If it’s a down market and you’re able to manage things yourself (or with the help of a resident manager or other employees), you may want to keep doing so until the market turns around. You’re suddenly inundated with management tasks. If your business is growing, at some point you may find that you need a substantial amount of help to manage everything properly.

At that point, it might make sense to hire a management company. You don’t want to be an employer. If you hire a resident manager or other employees to help with your property, you become an employer. You’ll have to handle payroll and deal with a host of other legal requirements and considerations.

But, because a property management company isn’t your employee (it’s an independent contractor), and neither are the people who work for the company, by using one you avoid the hassles of being an employer.

Your property is part of an affordable housing programme. If you participate in an affordable housing programme, things can get complicated. Usually, in these programmes the landlord receives financial assistance, which may be in the form of a grant, lowinterest loan, or tax credits, in return for agreeing to rent at least part of the property to tenants earning below a certain income level. In order to continue receiving the assistance, the landlord must comply with a complicated set of rules. With so much at stake, it’s often worth hiring a property management company that has expertise and experience with the particular housing programme in question.

In conclusion, the decision of hiring a property manager lies in the hands of the landlord and what he or she expects from the property manager but it’s the safest way to go to avoid day to day hustles and operations.

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17

Food & Beverage

SHAWARMA SERVED AT MEZA RESTAURANT IN KISEMENT-KAMPALA

M

So what is Shawarma?

Shawarma is an Arab meat, chicken, turkey, beef, veal, or mixed meats are placed on a spit in restaurants, and may be grilled for as long as a day. Meat (Chicken or beef) is marinated for 24 hours and it is roasted on spit and served for the whole day (until 11:30pm daily).

18

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eza Restaurant in Kisementi, makes the best Mediterranean food in the area offering outdoor dining lined with high banquet seating. Their chicken and meat Shawarma comes as a plate and sandwich with delicious ingredients. The name of this Restaurant and its menu are no exaggeration. This is shawarma worth waiting for. Meza Restaurant has revolutionized Shawarma in Kampala!

We at Meza Restaurant are using Lebanese spices thus you don’t need to wait to travel to Dubai for the best shawarma. We have secret recipe that makes our Shawarma very tasty and drawing lunch crowds with unbeatable chicken shawarma.

Topped with pita bread - like a roll, garlic sauce, lettuce, vegetable salads, tomato pickles, and hot sauce, the shawarma sings in both platter and wrap form. Take-out orders receive free piece of pita bread wrapped with vegetable salads sandwich while sit-down customers can have plate served with humus sauce, with lot of fries and salads for lunch.

The Restaurant has made a name for the best Shawarma in Kampala. Mr Yasine notes that there has been customer good and inspiring feedback cross the clientele. We make shawarma for International School of Uganda – Lubowa. We get the chicken from Yo Kuku Uganda who have the best chicken so far. www.cgmagazine.biz

Food & Beverage

Shawarma sandwiches are a tasty way to add meat to pita bread or similar unleavened bread. Chicken makes a good filling because it is easy to cut into sand wich sized slices and tastes delicious. This Meza Restaurant is the perfect place for quick shawarma, especially during night fun.

Shawarma

At Meza We Serve.

Sandwich is served with vegetable salads + humus sauce and free wrap of salads

Shawarma is served with chips + vegetable salads + humus sauce

The shawarma is very healthy meal. We make sure that whatever is left is NOT served again the next day.

Our shawarma is fresh. Come enjoy the best shawarma ever in Kampala!

Awesome Chicken Wings

Our a plate of 10 chicken wings is only 12,000/=, Chiken sandwich 13,000/=, Beef sandwich 12,000/=, Shawarma chicken plate 27,000/=, Shawarma beef plate 25,000/=, Shawarma mix plate 29,000/= only – awesome!

The idea came while Meza restaurant engaged with student and youthful eaters thought, they didn’t make this dish of fried chicken wings to make a lot of money but it was informed by the students of Makerere University whereby two friends can order Chicken wings and happily share it. I call it School menue, he said.

Crafted for youthful and university students clients. While not a grilled chicken wing, as those famous ones from the other restaurants, these are not only easy to make - but affordable. In some restaurants in Kampala you will find this 10 piece Fried Chicken wings at 45,000/=, 26,000/=, 28,000/=

10 piece Chicken wings, with fries and salads – this is a finger licking dish! – 12,000 It served with vegetable salads

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www.cgmagazine.biz 2018/09/14 4:51 PM

Education

Career Choice & Management...

By: James Oromait

C

onsidering to make a career move?

Well, whether or not you are starting to chart your way into the unknown territory or you’re already in the world of work, this question is valid. It’s even more valid today for students at school, college or university and; for parents who seek the very best for their children. While the traditional perception among those in employment has always been characterised by the “Up and down” thinking, in the light of today’s increasingly fluid market place, career choice and management are critical issues that need to be addressed.

Career professionals suggest that making a career move be it lateral, vertical or even downward moves may be helpful in achieving one’s career goals especially, if one expects to gain maximum success and happiness in life.

Therefore, before you make a career choice, it is imperative to ask yourself these four critical questions: What are your personal strengths and weakness? This relates to the kind of skills you wish to acquire or those you already possess.

Secondly, you need to explore your deeper interests and ask yourself what sort of activities and subjects you find interesting.

In addition, you may wish to examine what style of work environment you are looking for.

Some people may prefer to have more travel i.e. tourist oriented style of career as opposed to just sitting in office work environment Finally, you may need to examine your principles. What values are important to you in your ideal career? Similarly, your career choice and development may be driven by how paying your chosen career path is. While salary shouldn’t be the only consideration in choosing a career, it certainly is an important one.

If you are a student or a graduate just starting your career, you need to maximize your experiences and develop your skills. Also, you must understand that many life considerations will contribute to your happiness such as job location, cost of living, community, and the opportunity to connect with people of similar ages and interests.

Other Important Considerations for Career Choice and Management: Career Clarity

Does the new job you expect or the employer provide a clear picture of the career paths and opportunities available to new recruits? This may become more important once you have completed your studies or a particular training programme. How long are you expected to remain in the first job?

Job Training

Will you receive the training you need soon after being appointed in the organisation? Usually, the type of training varies with each job, so during the recruiting process, you need to ask about the initial and ongoing training. Are you comfortable with the offer being made? Does it seem there will be additional opportunities for learning beyond day-to-day experience?

Work Autonomy

In a real work environment each new recruit comes with a different set of experiences and learning curves. It is always good to hold discussions with your supervisor regarding your tasks. This may help in gauging your skill level and your desire for appropriate independent work. In case of training, once you have completed a training programme, you should be able to undertake an independent assignment with close supervision?

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21

Education Work Responsibilities

Is there opportunity for clearly defined work assignments that are interesting, satisfying and challenging?

Satisfaction often comes with accomplishing assignments that stretch you. Are you able to share decisions about your work assignments?

Career Management

Are you a busy Professional and already at a senior management level? It is your dream job? Your day to day tasks include ensuring that your company is successful and your team is motivated and inspired. This could be the point you may think to manage your career. You may be asking; I am already succeeding, this is my dream come-true, what more do I need? While this is a thought with busy and successful professionals, unfortunately it is shortsighted. You may be aware that good management requires long-term strategic planning and ongoing investment to ensure success not only for today but well into the future.

This philosophy is no different when it comes to managing your career.

Below are known strategies you can employ to ensure you are successfully managing your career for the future, not just for today.

■■ Develop an internal and external strategy: Your career management planning should include both an internal focus within your current organisation as well as discrete strategy for managing your career outside work. The sought-after professionals today are those that have both functional knowledge in a specific area as well as broad exposure across functions. For example, if you are a Brand manager collaborating closely with IT staff and finance, acquiring as much knowledge in those functional areas as possible will only serve your advantage within and when you seek new opportunities externally. Focus outside of work networking is key.

WE ARE

Identify those who either have the type job you want or have specific positions in the companies you would want to work in some point in the future and create a relationship that is sustainable.

■■ Understand your values: What do you value at your career or profession. By understanding things you value at a professional level helps you to take bigger responsibilities and serve better.

The same applies to values outside work. Understanding intersection of your skills and personal values will better allow you to target new opportunities or evaluate them when they arise.

■■ Build your Authentic Brand: The most sought-after professionals have a unique point of view that extends well beyond their experience and skillset. It is the combination of what they excel at and what they value that creates their personality and unique career brand.

In conclusion, based on what you know about your personality traits and the world of work, choose a profession you feel is the best match for you. If you experience difficulty with this step, consult a professional career counselor or a career coach for assistance.

James Oromait MA Educational Planning, Economics & International Development (MA- EPEID) University College London - Institute of Education Tel: +256 780 264 353 / +256 756 790 851 E-mail: joromait2@gmail.com

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Address your applications to The Managing Editor, Consumers Guide Magazine Plot 2 Colville Street, Shumuk House-suit 21A-22A, P.O. Box 9572 Kampala Uganda.

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(Marketing, B.com, Mass Communications, plus any other equivalent).

Not less than two years working experience in a related or similar field.

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Applications Submission Deadline:

30th October, 2018.

Education

Online Education Replacing Traditional Teaching in Universities.

By Felix Oketcho

W

ith digital migration ruling or rather shaping our everyday life style, universities have not been left behind in advancing their education programme to students. Private and government aided universities have embraced on line education to enhance education programmes to now working class through online education affording them opportunity to study without traditional face to face teaching.

One such university is Virtual University of Uganda has pioneered online education in offering its post graduate programmes and now other universities like Makerere University and Victoria University have followed suit.

Virtual university in Uganda is the only African university that programme on line education at post graduate level.

But why online education at this era.

Justice Flavia Angelin senoga Chancellor of Virtual University in Uganda advises working people to embrace online education in a bid to advance in professional career and become competitive in the job market. Senoga says online education affords time and opportunity to those in employment to study without travelling distances. She also adds that through online education one can study at most convenient time possible and keep in touch with lecturers on line without traditional face to face interface.

“Online learning is the most appropriate education for the 21st century and working people that will keep you on time and because time is very keep in business, ”Senoga explained. However she challenges universities to invest money in promotion of the on line education saying although online education learning is still low in East Africa Region. “Promoters of on line education should work with government to ensure that policies are reviewed to support the on line education and current systems adapts to online education.”

But Virtual University in Uganda vice chancellor Prof Vice Chancellor, Dr. Everd B. Maniple urges people to embrace online education because its on line education is convenient and closely linked to meeting the current needs of business and society and global transformation besides faster system in delivering of education. “Online education is built on the idea that tertiary education can be enhanced and transformed through innovation, ”Maniple said. Virtual University of Uganda is the first online university in the region that looks at technological revolution in tertiary education and fully licensed by the Uganda National Council for Higher Education.

What the university is doing to scale up the programme.

According to Maniple Virtual University in Uganda has partnered with Mbarara University of Science and Technology to deliver a world-class ICT for Development programme fully online, and University of Africa to make online business administration programme available in Zambia and Southern Africa.

What beneficiaries say.

Perry Gamba, pioneering PH student says studying virtually has been monumental saying online learning requires a lot of discipline and time management. “The fact that it is self-directed, it tests the learners ability to maneuver online tools, effectively plan to hit deadlines as well work under pressure to submit course works, tests and exams,”he said. Gamba says online education is an epitome of new education revolution that caters for all regardless of geographic distance, space and time.

Emmanuel Maraka, pioneering Virtual University of Uganda graduate noted that he did not have hassle of waiting for printed materials to arrive as was the case when he was doing BA distance education. “The on-line lectures allowed me to interface with instructors and fellow students. This gave me opportunity to continue discussions outside the structured programme at my convenience.

I learnt a lot when I was researching for and writing my MA dissertation. Thanks to the rigorous supervision I received and my own hard work. I am very satisfied with online education,”Maraka said.

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“Promoters of on line education should work with government to ensure that policies are reviewed to support the on line education and current systems adapts to online education.”

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23

Trade

(Cooperative bank to be revived & cooperatives to be enlisted on school curriculum)

Cooperatives Guide Social Economic Transformation and Development

By Dan nSalasatta

U

ganda commemorated the 24th UN Day of Cooperatives and 96th ICA International Cooperative Day recently. The celebrations were hosted by WALIMU SACCOS UNION LIMITED at the Civil Service College in Jinja. The celebrations were intended to increase awareness and appreciate the role of Cooperatives in social-economic transformation and development.

The theme for 2018 is “Sustainable consumption and production of goods and services”. The theme is in the view of giving an opportunity for Cooperatives to demonstrate their potential in running successful businesses while respecting our natural environment and the resources it offers to both their members and communities.

The slogan is “Sustainable societies through cooperation”. This slogan was selected by cooperators across the world with the view that through the International Day of Cooperatives, local and global policy makers can learn how cooperatives contribute to more sustainable and resilient societies and work towards including cooperatives in policy processes related to sustainability.

In his speech, Frederick Ngobi Gume State Minister for cooperatives reminded those present that in 2016, his ministry launched the first ever National Cooperatives Week which is subsequently celebrated annually with various activities ahead of the International Cooperative Day celebrations.

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Fredrick Ngobi Gume - State Minister for Cooperatives

This year, the Ministry in collaboration with other stakeholders marked the National Cooperative Week that undertaken a number of activities across the country with the aim of increasing awareness of cooperatives.

The activities include; National Prayers, National Blood donation drive, National Cleaning of all Major Markets in the Cities and Towns in the country, National Conference and Ignatius Kangaave Musaazi memorial lecture, Planting a tree at major schools as part of the green growth campaign and the National Symposium and beginning of exhibitions in Jinja, Football and Netball.

The Main celebrations of the International Cooperative Day saw processions, entertainment, speeches, exhibitions and crowned with the giving out of awards to various personalities who have made a contribution to Uganda’s Cooperative movement.

The press caught up with him in an interview and the following is the excerpt of the deliberations:

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Trade Qn. The public would like to know who Frederick Ngobi Gume is?

Ans: I am a politician in Uganda, currently the State Minister for Cooperatives in the Ugandan Cabinet.

I was appointed to that position on 6th June, 2016. I concurrently serve as the elected Member of Parliament representing Bulamogi North West County, Kaliro District in the 10th Parliament (2016 - 2021).

Qn. Since you were appointed as the maiden Minister in charge of Cooperatives in 2016, what has been your contribution towards the cooperative movement?

Ans: I thought the Cooperative Movement had collapsed to zero, but when I came in I found around 900 registered cooperatives in form of SACCOs, agricultural marketing cooperatives, housing and others. But this number has now grown to more than 17,000 registered cooperatives. »»

We have conducted a lot of sensitisation among cooperatives concentrating on mindset change so that cooperators know that they have to compete with private entrepreneurs, enterprise selection, embracing the culture of saving, management style in a liberalized economy.

»»

As a Ministry we have done a lot in resolving conflicts in cooperatives. We encourage cooperatives to resolve conflicts amicably without going to court

»»

Training in management criteria has been at the forefront. We have educated members that the Secretary Manager of a cooperative society is their employee and it is their role to supervise him/her.

»»

We have also made progress in addressing the problem of fraud among cooperatives. The challenge of managers disappearing with members’ funds has reduced.

Qn. What are the major challenges in development of the Cooperative sub sector?

Ans: The major problem facing cooperatives is the high cost of credit. Many cannot afford to borrow money at such high interest rates in Commercial banks and be able to break even »»

Post-harvest losses are another challenge with many cooperators losing so much during the harvesting period

»»

The cost of fertilizers for farmer cooperatives is also too high

Qn. How is Government addressing these challenges?

Ans: Government has capitalized the Uganda Development Bank and the Microfinance Support Center to offer affordable credit to cooperatives. Plans are underway to decentralize the services of the Microfinance Support center so that they can be accessed by all cooperatives.

I have met with my colleague the Minister of Microfinance and we have agreed to work out better ways of handling farmers. We are looking at a credit facility accessible to all farmers with less bureaucracy and a one digit low interest rate of at least 9% per annum.

As a Ministry we are working on strengthening the regulatory framework for cooperatives. We are reviewing the National Cooperative Policy and the Cooperative Act Amendment Bill is now before Parliament. We have supported cooperatives to add value to their products so that they can earn more.

SACCO Brings a smile to a member

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25

Trade

Left: Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Hon. Kyambadde Amelia Anne during a trade seminar with the UPDF Army soldiers.

Through the Rural Industrialisation Development Project (RIDP) under my Ministry, we have supported cooperatives in 53 districts with value addition equipment including coffee hullers, rice mills, honey processing equipment and more, in addition to training them in management skills.

Our emphasis as Government is transparency in doing business and our attention is on production based cooperatives. We encourage them to be market driven and produce what they can sell. We have started training cooperatives to be in charge of the entire value chain from production to marketing.

Government is planning to introduce cooperatives as a subject in schools. We would like our children to be exposed to the cooperative movement right from school time.

Why should our children be learning about Okonkwo in Nigeria yet they can learn about cooperatives to create social cohesion. Through the Operation Wealth Creation, Government has distributed seedlings to cooperatives with District Commercial Officers doing the monitoring.

We have so far compensated 13.1bn to 9 Unions including Lango Cooperative Union, East Acholi Cooperative Union, Nyakatonzi Growers Cooperative Union, Masaba Cooperative Union, Masaka Cooperative Ltd Union among others.

Qn. How far with the revival of the Cooperative Bank?

Ans: H.E the President has given us a go ahead to re-establish the Cooperative Bank to provide agriculture and commodity financing to the cooperative movement »»

We have written to Bank of Uganda requesting for a liquidation report for the defunct Cooperative Bank. This report will enable the cooperators to understand the reasons that led to the collapse of the bank and learn from the past mistakes

»»

We are still undertaking stakeholder consultations on the re-establishment of the Cooperative Bank to provide agriculture and commodity financing to the cooperative movement. A number of consultative meetings have been held to get stakeholder views and suggest collective strategies that will be employed to re-establish the bank. A number of avenues were explored and discussed including the following:

Q.n How far has Government gone in compensating the Cooperatives Unions?

Ans: We set up a verification committee that continues to assess/verify the claims of the unions that lost property during the war. The committee is composed of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Ministry of Defense, Attorney General, Solicitor General, Ministry of Lands and others.

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• Partnership between Government and the Cooperatives.

• Cooperatives mobilizing their own capital.

• Cooperatives partnering with a strategic investor with “Cooperativeinterests”.

Trade During the consultations, cooperators seconded the option of partnering with a strategic investor with “Cooperative interests”. This way, Cooperatives can later gradually phase out the investor and fully own the bank. The Ministry is still studying the proposals and later come up with a decision.

Qn. As an MP from Busoga Region and the State Minister for Cooperatives, what it your contribution towards the revival of Busoga Growers Cooperative Union and how far is the process?

Development Project (RIPD) in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Busoga Growers Cooperative Union will be given a Coffee Huller to assist in adding value to coffee. Budondo Youth Cooperative Society Nawaikoke – Mwanga Cooperative Society are set to receive maize mills.

Qn. Cooperators were very successful in convincing Government to scrap the tax on SACCOs, what about the taxes on other cooperatives.

Ans: We started with SACCOs and with time we will move to other cooperatives.

Ans: Busoga Growers Cooperative Union is the apex body for all cooperatives. Although the union has challenges, many of the primary cooperatives are active.

We have had several meetings on the revival of the Union, however, for the union to be revived it needs to recover the assets especially the land that was lost. Busoga Growers Union is claiming for UGX 6bn which has been cleared by the verification team and is expected to receive part of the payment in this new financial year.

Through the Rural Industrialization

Qn. In nutshell, how would you sum up the Growth trends for Cooperatives in Uganda?

Ans: In spite of setbacks and challenges experienced overtime, the cooperative movement in Uganda has remained resilient and it is now on a steady growth trend. By 30th May 2018, my Ministry had registered 17,967 cooperative societies and these are of diversified sectors including agricultural marketing, transport, housing, health, education, fishing, energy, beef and dairy, multi-purpose and financial cooperatives/SACCOs.

Sacco member remits her monthly contribution to the treasurer.

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27

Trade

Table 1: Categorized Cooperative registration to 30th May 2018.

TYPE

FIGURE

SACCOs

8,184

Agricultural Marketing

7,044

Transport

564

Dairy

332

Housing

102

Energy

27

Fishing

119

Area Cooperative Enterprises 97 Unions

120

Multipurpose

890

Others

488

Total

17,967

Source: Registrar of co-operative Societies.

Government efforts in the Revitalization of Cooperatives Government has made interventions to improve institutional sustainability, strengthen cooperative governance and operations and, improve transparency and accountability systems. The following interventions have been made to promote the development of vibrant and sustainable cooperative.

2. Cooperative Financing: Government has capitalized the Uganda Development Bank and the Microfinance Support Center to offer affordable credit to cooperatives. Plans are underway to decentralize the services of the Microfinance Support Center so that they can be accessed by all cooperatives. I have met with my colleague the Minister of Microfinance and we have agreed to work out better ways of handling farmers. We are looking at a credit facility accessible to all farmers with less bureaucracy and a one digit low interest rate of at least 9% per annum.

3. Compensation of Cooperative Unions. A multiAgency verification committee was constituted to verify the claims lodged in by the affected cooperative societies and unions that lost property and assets during the liberation wars and insurgencies. Government has so far made part compensations totaling to UGX 13.1BN to some cooperative unions and arrangements have been worked out to settle all the claims.

1. Policy and Legal reforms to strengthen cooperatives - The National Cooperative Policy: A committee was set up to review the National Cooperatives Policy and work is ongoing. The Cooperative Societies Amendment Bill 2016: The Bill was tabled before Parliament for the first reading and referred to the responsible Sessional Committee of Parliament for scrutiny. We hope it will be passed by the end of this year.

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Trade

Table 2: Summary of compensations No.

Name of Union

Compensated Amount (UGX)

1

Nyakatonzi Growers Cooperative Union

198,000,000

2

Lango Cooperative Union

712,000,000

3

Banyankole Kweterana Cooperative Union

3,059,844,589

4

East Acholi Cooperative Union

1,000,000,000

5

West Acholi Cooperative Union

196,000,000

6

Masaaba Cooperative Union

7,000,000,000

7

Teso Cooperative Union

131,000,000

8

Masaka Cooperative Ltd Union

362,353,400

9

Kigezi Growers Cooperative 458,682,000 Union Ltd. Total

13,117,879,989

The other Cooperative Unions to be compensated include Bunyoro Growers Cooperative Union Ltd, North Bukedi Cooperative Union, Busoga Growers Cooperative Union Ltd, West Nile Cooperative Union, West Mengo Cooperative Union, Middle North Cooperative Union, Madi Cooperative Union, East Mengo Cooperative Union, Kidda Cooperative Savings and Credit Society Limited, Kimwanyi Dairy Farmers Cooperative Society Limited, Uganda Cooperative Transport Union Ltd and Bugisu Cooperative Union Limited.

4. Production, Agro processing/value addition and marketing: Government through my Ministry has made interventions to promote value addition among cooperatives;

a) MoU between SSA- Turkey and Uganda Cotton Cooperative Union;

In this collaboration SSA – Turkey will

support Uganda Cotton Cooperative

Union Ltd in mobilizing members and

farmers for cotton production, bulking

and value addition at union level. There

is a plan to construct a cotton spinning

factory which will enhance the

development of the textile industry in

the country.

b) MoU between the Ministry

of Trade and Microfinance Support Centre; This is to

facilitate information sharing

and networking so as to

improve access to credit by

cooperatives. With financial

credit from Microfinance

Support Centre, Wamala

Cooperative union constructed

a modern maize mill in

Mubende district to enable

farmers add value. The mill is operational.

c) Provision of Value Addition Equipment; Through the Rural

Industrialization Project (RIDP),

my Ministry has supported 53

cooperative societies across the

country with value addition

equipment and capacity

building in the areas of

business management and

value addition skills, product

quality and standards

requirements, and principles of

cooperative movement.

d) Construction of Soroti Fruit Factory; With support from KOICA, government of Uganda has completed the construction of the factory and is ready for commissioning in August 2018. 58 Primary Cooperative societies in Teso Region have been mobilized and trained hence forming Teso Tropical Fruits Cooperative Union Ltd that will be a partner in running the factory.

5. Skills development, Cooperatives management and Education »»

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My Ministry is advocating for the return of Uganda Cooperative College, Kigumba and Uganda Cooperative College Tororo from the Ministry of Education and Sports.

The Cabinet memo for the transfer of the cooperative training institutions was submitted to Cabinet Secretariat.

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Trade »»

Government is planning to introduce cooperatives as a subject in schools. We would like our children to be exposed to the cooperative movement right from school time.

6. Commodity Exchange and the Warehouse Receipt System; Government is promoting the Warehouse Receipt System and the commodity exchange as an intervention to improve market access and commodity trade financing.

A number of producer Cooperatives have become bulking centers. Cooperatives can benefit from the Warehouse Receipt System and the Commodity Exchange as depositors of commodities, and financiers (SACCOS), and brokers on the commodity exchange.

7. Capacity Building to SACCOs; My Ministry in collaboration with the Project for Financial Inclusion in Rural Areas (PROFIRA) under the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development has continued to implement capacity building programs for Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs). Capacity building for SACCOs leaders.

Qn. How do you envisage the future of the cooperative movement in Uganda?

Ans: The future of the Cooperative Movement in Uganda rests fundamentally in the hands of cooperative leaders able to envision a cooperative future and communicate effectively to their members. It also rests on the shoulders of members who must be empowered to demand accountability from leaders and managers.

Cooperatives will serve humanity best when the core value of equality and, the principle of democratic member control among others are cherished, practiced and lived in Cooperatives. Good corporate governance strengthens members’ role and the progress of the cooperatives’ leadership and management.

FOR GOD AND MY COUNTRY

We have agents throughout

EAST AFRICA

Community Region

“Fully Represented in USA, UAE, UK & China” Tel: +256 414250444 | +256 772426846 | +256 390370374 Fax: +256 414255955 Email: ndagire@utlonline.co.ug 30

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Automobile

Must Have Tools To Carry In Your Car In Preparation For Any Car Emergency.

By: Our Automobile Correspondent

I

magine you are driving on along highway on a cold, dark night, and the road is secluded.

Unexpectedly, there is a break down on your vehicle. You look around for help and use your smartphone to check the nearest garage.

However, you would have to wait for several hours on the dark road to get assistance. If this happens to you, you’d likely wish you have the right automotive tools to get your car running again.

Socket & Screwdriver Set

Sometimes, you do not have to be an expert mechanic to fix your vehicle. In some cases, you’d only need a small kit of tools to take action in an emergency like that. Aside from knowing a handful of car maintenance tips, you should also know what tools you need to carry inside your vehicle at all times. Some of them may even be small enough to fit your glove compartment. Here are some of the items you need to prepare for any car emergency.

Jack and Spare Tire

A jack and a spare tire should always be kept in your vehicle and of course you should know how to use them. This can help you avoid hours of waiting for assistance when you get a flat tire.

Remember to bring your car on level ground, turn on the handbrake, and place the vehicle on first gear or Park.

Whenever you get your car serviced, you should also ask your mechanic to check the condition of your spare tire.

Tire Inflator & Sealer

You have your spare tire in the storage compartment, but is it properly inflated? What will you do if your spare tire fails? Such problems can be resolved when you keep a can of tire inflator and sealer in your vehicle at all times. The specific instructions vary depending on the brand you choose. However, the basics are generally the same: hook the inflator to the valve stem of the tire and let the compound find the leak, filling the tire with enough pressure.

This temporary workaround should allow you to drive to the nearest car repair shop. www.cgmagazine.biz

Whether you opted for used cars for sale or brand-new vehicles from dealerships, things can sometimes come loose in the car. In most cases, all you need to do istighten whatever’s loose to resolve the issue. When you have a slipped hose clamp, a loose battery terminal connection, or other simple problems under the hood, having a multiple-socket and screwdriver set would come in handy.

Make sure you familiarize yourself with the components under your hood before you start tinkering.

Life Hammer

In cases where you end up underwater, or have a collision, you can reach for it and break a window or cut your seatbelt quickly. You can literally save your life with this small tool. Always keep one near the driver’s seat.

Especially when your car is on fire, a life hammer may be a simple tool, but it can really save your life.

Jumper Cables No driver would love to be stranded with a dead battery. To avoid this, you must keep jumper cables inside the boot at all times. This allows you to jump-start your car in case it breaks down. Make sure that both the batteries are of similar voltage. In this way, you can prevent damages on the electrical components.

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Automobile

Basic Car Maintenance Checklist Every Car Owner Should Know.

O

ver the last century, cars and Japanese trucks have made some of the most important contributions to people around the world. However, a lot of people still think of their vehicles as little more than complex and expensive appliances.

No matter what you use your car for, you rely on it to keep your daily activities running smoothly. That is why it is always essential to have a basic car maintenance checklist you should know and follow.

Whether you own a brand new vehicle or a Japanese used car, there are many things you can do on your own. However, there are also some things that are best left in the hands of professionals, especially when you’re handling a fleet of Japanese trucks. After all, there are common car maintenance mistakes you should avoid. So, before anything else, it is best to study your car manual and follow the suggested maintenance schedule. Just to give you an overview of how you should take care of your vehicle, here are some of the basic care procedures you should never neglect.

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Car Engine Oil.

It will start creating heat and friction to the cylinder walls, the engine, rings, and bearings, among other things. Eventually, more deposits will collect, leading to a dirtier engine.

Vehicle Fluids.

A lot of people think that oil in the engine helps the vehicle burn fuel. The truth is that it is essential in cooling, lubricating, and cleaning your engine. So, if your car does not have enough oil, these three things can possibly happen to your car: ■■ Compressive heating – Soot and tar.

■■ Thermal degradation – Carbonaceous and lacquer deposits.

■■ Oxidation – Sludge and varnish.

The aforementioned will start to collect in your engine, causing friction in parts where oil should normally flow. When this happens, the oil starts to do the opposite of what it’s supposed to do. www.cgmagazine.biz

Aside from the engine oil, every car owner should remember to check and maintain the various fluids in their car. This will help keep their vehicle running smoothly. It is also worth noting that this is something anyone can do on their own.

These are the five essential car fluids: ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■

Engine Oil Coolant Power Steering Fluid Brake Fluid Windshield Washer Fluid

Automobile

CAR REVIEWS

Windshield Wiper Blades.

In our September/October, we review a Toyota Prius.

Have you ever experienced driving in the rain with your windshield wipers no properly functioning? Every car owner knows that it wouldn’t be a pleasant experience. Many people easily forget about taking care of their wipers. They would only realize how important these components are once they are in a tight crunch. So, if you want your wipers to provide their optimum performance, you must ensure that their blades are in good condition. In general, they should be replaced every six months. However, it is best to consult your vehicle’s manual first.

Tire Pressure.

A lot of car owners think that checking the tire pressure is not as important as other maintenance procedures.

However, they are mistaken. It is worth noting that the tire pressure is one of the essential safety features of your vehicle. Keep in mind that when the tire pressure is low, its surface will touch most of the ground, creating friction between the tire and the road. This will cause the tires to wear out fast. Another key thing to remember is that low tire pressure may lead to tread separation, which is a big accident risk. However, you should be cautious not to overdo tire pressure. After all, too much air in your tires is not good. The ride can be bumpier because less tire surface is touching the ground. It can also cause you to misjudge the road conditions when slamming your car brakes.

The Anatomy of a Prius: Pros & Cons.

A

s human beings, one of the things we need is a mode of transportation from one place to another. These days, vehicles have been made to be cost-effective and efficient. We can attribute that improvement to the rapid development and changes in modern technology. When it comes to fuel efficiency, many can consider hybrid cars as the best option that will help owners save money.

Among these vehicles is the Toyota Prius. Aside from being recognised as an elegant and fancy car, this vehicle is also built using light materials and a hybrid system that promises optimum fuel efficiency. If you’ve been reading Toyota Prius reviews online, you will know how this car is designed to usher in a new era of healthy air.

On the other hand, like many other vehicles, the Prius also has its downsides. After all, it is not a vehicle that may be suitable for all types of people.

As such, we’ve put together this article to give you a general overview of the pros and cons of this hybrid car. Keep on reading to discover whether the Toyota Prius specs meet all the factors in your list.

Toyota Prius Pros.

Exemplary Fuel Economy The Toyota Prius is widely known for its fantastic fuel economy. No matter the trim level you choose, you can enjoy around 54 mpg driving around the city and at least 50 mpg on the highway. It can be difficult to find something that can offer fuel economy as good as this.

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Automobile User-Friendly Controls Another key element of the Prius is the clearly marked controls. Drivers find it easy to identify and use them. You wouldn’t have to guess what a button or knob can do. Moreover, these controls can easily be accessed from the driver’s seat. You can also find the important controls on the steering wheel.

Secure Handling Since the Prius is a nimble car, it can offer good yet secure handling. The tires lack a little bit of grip. On the other hand, the vehicle itself is steady and balanced.

You can enjoy secure handling in most weather conditions.

Responsive Steering The moment you drive a Prius, you will notice how natural and responsive its steering is. There’s a good amount of feedback, especially since the steering system efficiently handles winding roads and difficult turns. If you choose smaller tires, you can expect an even better performance from the steering system.

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Toyota Prius Cons.

Poor Acceleration.

If you are looking for a fast car, then the Prius might not be the best option for you. Other vehicles in its class can relatively produce good acceleration, but the Prius cannot match them. After all, this hybrid car is built for fuel economy and not for getting upto-speed on the highway.

Rough Ride Quality.

Unfortunately, if you opt for a Prius, you have to expect a rather stiff ride quality. It is worth noting that its tires are designed to get good mileage.

However, they might not perform well in absorbing shock on the road. Even if the hatchback version is designed to provide more comfort, it can still feel rough when moving on difficult road terrain.

Just by looking at the Toyota Prius specs, you would know that its advantages always outweigh its negative qualities. While this hybrid car is not made for all types of drivers, it is good for those who seek to get the best fuel economy out of their own vehicle.

Is the Prius for you? Get yours now!

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Urban Development

A Guide to Smart Cities in Africa Conference Comes to Kampala

By Our City Correspondent

T

he eight countries that make up the East and central African region have basically similar structural problems namely; Urban Squalor and Abject Poverty, Gender imbalances, Diseases, Unsustainable Urban sprawl, Entrepreneurial and Apprentice skills gap, Youth unemployment, lack of agro produce markets and many more.

Such teething troubles have called for urgent attention by Government representatives, consultants, practitioners, academia and experts responsible for urban and infrastructure development who will be convening in Uganda’s capital Kampala for the Urban and Infrastructure Development Conference (UIDC) for East and Central Africa at the end of October 2018. According to the concept paper, the meeting is an idea conceived to stimulate; debate, advance high policy guidance and dialogue with sustainable Urban and Infrastructure Development experts and agencies across the globe.

UIDC will be playing a monitoring and re - evaluation role for sustainable urban development strategies in Urban East and Central Africa region Majority countries in East and Central Africa are commodity and agricultural based. However, there is a growing population in the trade and commerce sectors, hence driving rapid urbanisation.

Urban centres are essentially required to stimulate both urban and rural development.

The above idea is hinged on three things; ■■ Urban development which in economics terms stimulate macroeconomics policies.

■■ Contemporary technologies that reduce costs and enhance service provision. e.g. Off grid energy, water and sewerage resources etc.

■■ Urban development financing using cutting edge technologies i.e. Big Data Analytics, Smart Cities and some traditional methods like Town Council landownership.

■■ The Urban and Infrastructure Development Conference for East and Central Africa held its first and second conference. The conferences were attended by among others, high level technical and political officials from the Ministries of Lands, Housing and Urban Development from Kenya, Uganda, and Malawi. Other delegates came from Canada, Rwanda, Pakistan, Holland and Sweden.

The conference had five themes; a. Physical Planning in development b. Transportation Planning c. Engineering/Architecture in urban environment d. Environmental Issues in both physical planning e. Financing and investment in a, b, c and d.

The 2015 UIDC recommended that UIDC be an annual event and should spread out to target even local government policy and technical brains to share the expert knowledge at that level.

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Urban Development Today, there are huge volumes of trade, commodity and passengers among the East and Central Africa countries in cross border trade. Cross border trade has resulted into growth of certain trading centres like Busia, Malaba, Oraba, Nimule, Katuna and inland ports and depots etc. However, trade, commodity and passenger nodes have not been developed into tangible locations for sustainable Human Development and Settlements, Transportation, Logistics, Urban, Passenger and processing industrial locations.

The above underpin an array of structural problems (macro-economic policy) that can’t be resolved by mere economic stimuli without tangible physical planning interventions and disruptive range of strategies in the way societies are organised.

UIDC is the most relevant organisation with pivotal role to bring together international partners that are necessary for the East and Central Africa Urban and Infrastructure development programs.

As the world transition to agenda 2030 realising the Millennium Development Goals, to tackle development goals in the East and Central Africa region, SIUP will help to bring development actors under the Urban and Infrastructure Development Conference into the region.

Purpose, methodology and Stakeholders: UIDC for East and Central Africa working with School for Integrated Urban Planning (SIUP) a school project seeks to internationalise, operationalise and promote United Nations Development Programs into scalable and measurable physical infrastructure, urban and rural planning development activities.

The UIDC will increase awareness and resolve contemporary socio-economic transformation and proliferation of sustainable urban infrastructure ideals and practices within the East and Central Africa countries.

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The conference creates an enduring platform for higher level policy dialogue through attracting international players from the academia, urban and infrastructure corporate development agencies, non-governmental organisations, and local governments from the region and outside in an engagement for a sustainable development and growth of the East and Central Africa urban and infrastructure sectors.

This UIDC project is based on the third industrial revolution that entails: ■■ Energy Efficiency, ■■ Transition to Renewable Energy, ■■ Energy-producing buildings, ■■ Energy storage, ■■ The Energy Internet, ■■ Sustainable Mobility of people and goods, ■■ The Circular Economy, and ■■ The Economy of functionality.

UIDC propagates the convergence of Green Technology Dynamics, Society Design, Planning and Infrastructure Development.

Project Description: SIUP has established a UIDC secretariat that will be running the conference in this and the coming years. The secretariat will be the coordinating centre of all UIDC preparations and operational activities and the overall coordinating organ, communicating across organisations that will be involved in the urban and infrastructure development programmes within the East and Central Africa region and globally.

Previously, UIDC was a personal initiative and had no significant support in terms of finances and personnel. UIDC therefore presents an opportunity to grow this as an initiative and a practice for the local governments of Uganda and globally.

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Urban Development This conference is now an annual event to be held during the first week of October partly as a refreshers platform for young and old planners, for review of the urban and infrastructure development initiatives in respective countries and the introduction to new technologies to the conference participants (As a recommendation arising from the previous conference). UIDC bringing on board an introduction of the much needed private investment in and from around the world into the East and Central Africa Urban and Infrastructure project developments.

The SIUP is looking at using these UIDC conferences to start Research through to understand how sustainable human settlement and development can be organised based on the above seamless Green Transport Systems, Off-Grid technologies and dweller participation. The 2015 UIDC resolved to find ways as to how government could be supported to make investments using several development models for example Build Own Transfer (BOT), Private Public Partnerships (PPP) or other business models.

Since urban environmental issues featured prominently at the 2015 and 2016 conference, key areas were pointed out for interrogation namely: alternative energy sources, water, sanitation, lake shore protection, clean water transport systems, solid and liquid urban waste management and transportation, and investing in generation of electricity out of urban waste.

Given the status of East and Central African local governments and towns, the conference is a two days of discovery for Central and local government workers, policy makers, the academia, researchers, towns planners and engineers, town clerks, municipal/district planning officers, district/town mayors, physical planners, economic developers, biologist, statisticians, Chief Administrative Officers , District and Sub- county Chairpersons – where the following critical issues will be discussed as well; ■■ Urban buildings, vehicle and road design, ■■ Community and neighborhood planning ■■ Site planning and environment ■■ Rural – urban relationship and agriculture development ■■ Town economic growth, governance and financing etc.

■■ Urban public health etc., and much more ■■ Rural and urban develop and investments.

Reduction of rural population by 70% could save the environment by reducing use of trees as fuel, reduce land fragmentation and changing land ownership system to mitigate hindrances to planning possibilities derived from different land tenure systems.

The above will be the basis for a blue print for an East and Central African urban planning strategy that will include among others a shared vision about planning human settlements, resource allocation and utilisation, urban confluences, focusing on key priority areas like border towns, industrial locations, high density population locations and production centres.

This calls for urban infrastructure investment.

As such the 2017 UIDC will present for discussion and showcase contemporary innovations, expertise and knowledge on the following key themes; ■■ Theme 1: Designing MGD Smart Cities:Ecological Engineering and Architecture.

Specific objectives of the conference. »» »» »»

■■ Theme 2: Physical Planning Education for MGD Smart Cities.

■■ Theme 3: Urban Transport systems.

■■ Theme 4: Environment for Smart Cities.

■■ Theme 5: Financing Local Governments and Smart Cities.

»» »» »»

To offer a platform to stimulate debate on urban issues.

To show case contemporary innovations and technologies on urban and infrastructural developments To bring together urban and infrastructure policy makers. Practitioner, academia and private sector to explore or share opportunities for investment.

Conference outcomes Resolve to grow organised and well planned urban centres across the region Secure government commitment to implement the Sustainable Development Goal on urban and infrastructure development.

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Lifestyle

T

IMPERFECT STARTS

‘‘

here will never be a point in your life when it’s the perfect time for you to start something, the perfect time for you to do a great work. If you are waiting for the perfect moment, if you are still waiting for the perfect timing in order for you to start your business, in order for you to start your company. If you are waiting for the dollar exchange rate to come down, then you might never get started on your dreams and your goals.

Big achievements come,one small advantage at a time, one step at a time, and one day at a time.

‘‘

You don’t have to be perfect to get started, you don’t have to be perfect to do what you want, to get what you want, to be what you want. It’s a lie. The successful people, the big businesses and the professional athletes whom we admire, the systems they have now, the equipment and the gear they have now.

These things are probably not the same ones they had when they got started. You don’t have to be perfect, and you will never be perfect. For as long as you are alive, there is always room for progress, a chance to improve yourself, a chance to improve your company or your products.

So start small, where you are and with what you have, but commit to the process of growth. Make sure that you are doing something with every second, with every minute, with every hour, with every day that is helping you build the business or the career that you would like to have. Do something that is helping you become the kind of person that you would like to become. Become an expert of living in the now, an expert of living in the moment.

Big achievements come one small advantage at a time, one step at a time, and one day at a time. Don’t try to do the big stuff on setting out but rather fall in love with the small and commit to the process, commit to development and the big will be attracted to you. It has been said that if all possible obstacles were to first be removed, then nothing would ever be attempted.

By Inno King Ndimwibo C.E.O Achievers Poet, Motivational speaker, Writer

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Travel Guide

Birding Safari Tours Guide Uganda a Birdwatching Sanctuary!

By Caroline Ajambo

U

ganda is an equatorial country with astonishing contrasts. Its abundant wildlife includes chimpanzees as well as rare birds. No other area in Africa can match its amazing diversity of habitats and this richness is reflected in its bird list of over 1060 species.

From the source of the Nile on Lake Victoria to the snowcapped Rwenzori Range, the montane forests of the Virunga volcanoes to the desert plains of Karamoja, bird watching is an exciting experience for the traveler.

The country has wide-ranging environments where you can go birding; savanna grasslands, swamps and wetlands, tropical rain forests, mountainous places and more. On a single birding safari through Uganda, you can see over 600 birds – this is terrific!

While other East African Countries are famous for wildlife safaris, many naturalists would affirm that Uganda offer an experience that is more diverse, exceptional and breath-taking. There are a billion reasons as to why one should bird in Uganda; »» The numbers speak for themselves. More than 1060 bird species in are found in Uganda. »» There are many varied habitants that can be reached in a day and many different birds spotted. »» It’s not uncommon for a week long itinerary to produce a trip list for less than 500 bird species. »» Rare birds such as the Shoebill Stork can be easily spotted in Uganda.

This Birdwatching guide, helps you to plan your tour to the Pearl of Africa to explore varied landscape from streaming river valleys to grassy savannas, teeming with wildlife. Enjoy birding through Uganda’s most popular savanna birding locations; Murchison Falls, Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo National Parks.

Bird watching safari to Budongo Forest – Royal Mile and Busingiro.

To maximize your chances of seeing the rare skulking birds, the Royal Mile and Busingiro provides an amazing opportunity not only to watch the much sought after shoebill but other bird species which include; the black kite, Bluebreasted Kingfisher, African dwarf kingfisher, Black-eared ground thrush, and the Crested guineafowl. Others are; Crowned eagle, Greyheaded sunbird, and the olive-breasted greenbul.

The birder is also treated to the White-spotted flufftail, White-thighed hornbill, Yellow-footed flycatcher and many other bird species. www.cgmagazine.biz

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Birding Along the Forest Trail

Queen Elizabeth - Kibale Forest

The River Ivy trail is by far the longest in the park and will inhabit you for a full day.

It is highly optional for bird watchers.

The Munyaga river trail is ideal for a short walk. Here you can see birds and primates of the forest edge. The popular waterfall trail provides an attractive feature of the forest with a abundance of tree ferns, orchids and Bwindi’s colorful array of butterflies. This trail which leads to three delightful crystal clear waterfalls typifies your impression of a tropical rainforest.

Kibale National Park. This is a large protected block of rainforest which offers a very different variety of birds to those already seen. Take a forest walk and find the fruiting trees which attract Narina’s trogon, pied hornbill, yellowspotted, hairy-breasted and yellow-billed barbets.

Kibale also has the joyful greenbul, which is rare to other Ugandan parks.

The Rushura trail commands expansive views across the Western Rift Valley floor.

To the west, Congo’s Park Nationale des Virungus provides a spectacular backdrop, and on a clear day Lake Edward and the Rwenzori Mountains are visible.

The 5.2km Muzabajiro Loop trail offers breath taking views of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, the Western Rift Valley and the Virungas. On the way, you witness hundreds of pre-historic tree ferns. The top of the trail is a great place for a picnic lunch.

Queen Elizabeth National Park An early morning game drive will provide the best chance to see a wealth of animals such as elephant, warthog, lion, hyena, Uganda Kob, waterbuck and bushbuck.

Later, a boat trip will allow you to experience wildlife up close where hippos huff and spray mere feet away, buffalo linger in the shallows and a tremendous variety of birds grace the grasses on the river’s edge. Amongst those you will see are the malachite and pied kingfishers, great white and pink-backed pelicans and the open-billed stork. There is also a Bird Observatory here which was set up with the aim of studying both migratory and resident birds (February and March offer spectacular sightings of migrants).

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The dominant vegetation type of the park is rainforest, interspersed with patches of grassland and swamp. Roughly 355 bird species have been recorded in Kibale Forest, including Prigogine’s ground thrush and four other species not recorded in any other national park: Nahan’s francolin, Cassin’s spinetail, blue-headed beeeater and the masked apalis. Kibale Forest bird checklist is similar to that of Semliki National park, but also includes a greater variety of water and grassland species.

Murchison Falls A trip to downstream to the delta where abundant water birds can be viewed and this will include a game drive exploring the many tracks and trails around Murchison Falls Park.

The park HQ at Paraa holds some excellent species including the Blue-naped bird headed Gonolek, Silver bird, Buff-bellied Warbler, Blackheaded Batis, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-weaver and the highly localized White-rumped Seedeater.

The riverine thickets hold Yellow-throated Leaflove, Red-winged Grey, Doubletoothed Barbet, Warbler, White-crested Touraco, Grey Kestrel, Heuglin’s Francolin and many others.

Across the Victoria Nile, one encounters Stanley’s Bustard and Abyssinian Ground Hornbill. The grasslands support Barbreasted Fire finch, Fawnbreasted, Black-faced and Black-rumped Waxbills.

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Birding Along The Nile Delta A birding day at the Delta is lavish. A drive to the top of Murchison Falls – here you will appreciate the tremendous power of the Nile as it rumbles through a small 8 meter gap, dropping 40metres to the bottom.

This is a magical adventure!

Birding To Queen Elizabeth National Park Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda’s second largest protected area on the shores of Lake Edward. A game drive in the early mornings and evenings is ideal time for birdwatchers to experience numerous birds that inhabit the surrounding scrub and lakeshore like the African Hoopoe, Green Winged Pytilia, African Golden Breasted Bunting and later in this drive we look out for the Black Shouldered, Swamp, Square Tailed and Pennant-winged Nightjars.

Birding safari to Mubwindi Swamp Birding safari to Mubwindi Swamp needs a whole day. This is the best birding spot for the Albertine rift endemics including African Green Broadbill, the beautiful Regal Sunbird, Dwarf Honeyguide, Stripe-breasted Tit, Rwenzori Batis Black Headed Waxbill, and African Hill Babbler, Grauer’s Scrub-warbler, Fraser’s Eagle-Owl, African Green Broadbill, Grauer’s Rush Warbler, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Blue-headed Sunbird, Regal Sunbird, Strange Weaver and many more bird species.

Birding safari to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, around the forest margins is productive. This part of Bwindi is generally at a higher altitude. Forest birding at Bwindi ranks the best in Uganda and perhaps the whole of Africa. It is home to over 23 highly localized Albertine Rift endemics and the No. 1 Birding site in Africa as per the African Birding Club.

Here you encounter mostly bird species like Black-billed Turaco, Western Green Tinkerbird, Fine-banded Woodpecker and the African Green-Broadbill. Other bird species include the Mountain Greenbul, Stripe Breasted Tit, African Hill Babbler, Mountain Illadopsis, Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Grauer’s Warbler, Mountain Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-throated and Collared Apalis.

You will also encounter the Blue-headed Sunbird, Regal Sunbird, Mountain Masked Apalis, Blue-throated Brown Sunbird, Blueheaded Sunbird, and the Northern Doublecollared Sunbird. Bwindi also prides itself in many other species which include; the White-naped Raven, Montane Oriole, and the African Golden Oriole. Others are African Wood-Owl, Rwenzori Nightjar and the Scarce Swift.

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Home & Garden

A Green Home A guide to make your Home Eco-Friendly

By Richard ILOCO Malinga

S

o what exactly is “a green home”? A green home is a type of house designed to be environmentally friendly and sustainable. It also focuses on the efficient use of energy, water, and building materials.

Green homes are becoming popular as the need for affordable housing emerges across the borders and some Ugandan developers and home owners are embracing them. A green home uses generally less water, less electricity but more on recycled objects, on the materials of the house and when in use.

The parts that make up a green home are not universally agreed upon. In general terms, a green home is a type of house that is built or remodeled in order to conserve “energy or water; improve indoor air quality; use sustainable, recycled or used materials; and produce less waste in the process.” This may include buying more energy-efficient appliances or utilising specific building materials that are more efficient in keeping both cool and heated air inside the structure.

Uganda home owners or buyers are becoming more environmentally-conscious.

Being more eco-friendly will not only help you contribute to a sustainable environment but can even save you money. Here are some ways to guide you in buying or building a home or make improvements of the mechanical and electrical engineering of your home, and make your home secure, healthy and eco-friendly.

Think about saving water Being eco-friendly means taking a holistic approach and water is a number one component that should be considered. You need to figure out the most efficient way to save water. First and foremost, take the time to fix any leaks to eliminate water wastage.

For instance, the washrooms are commonly known places where water wastage happens.

Thus, you should ensure that you don’t run the tap when you brush your teeth or shave.

Install a low-flow shower-head. These have been revealed to save up to 160,000 liters of water for a family of four members.

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Home & Garden

Invest in smart meters

cleaning products

Your water heating appliances is one of the biggest ways that you use energy. It can be very easy to avoid prolonged heating especially during the sunny months. Appropriately leaving your heating appliances on for longer than you strictly need leads to wasted energy and wasted money. The best way to combat this is to have a smart meter installed. Smart meters can be programmed so that they only turn on at certain times of the day. Installing Smart meters is a must for anyone looking to reduce their carbon and cut their energy bills. They are available in most of Kampala’s supermarkets and electrical stores.

Using risky chemicals to clean is very bad for the environment. When you wash them away you are simply putting them into the water supply – it is a fact! That means water will take more purification before it is safe to use again. But the good news is that in the majority of cases you really don’t need to use them. For most day-today cleaning tasks in home-sensitive living spaces, natural products like vinegar, citric acid from citrus fruits and bicarbonate of soda can be used in place of caustic chemicals to great effect.

Install Energy efficient light bulbs The Ugandan government ran a campaign on energy efficient light bulbs which has seen significant use of energy efficient bulbs. These bulbs can be got almost in every shop or supermarket in Uganda. While energy efficient bulbs use less electricity, they also last longer, which means you don’t have to spend a lot of money replacing them.

Don’t waste your kitchen scrapings and leftover food – turn them into manure.

You would be surprised how much of the food that you currently throw away can be recycled and turned into fertilizer or manure. Simply place a compost bin in your garden and fill it with any food waste.

Buy recycled

Install solar panels Solar panels are an essential feature for any eco home. Providing you with completely clean electricity and depending on the capacity, they can make enough energy to allow you to sell some back to the grid. Solar panels are certainly a long-term investment and it has been suggested that it will take around 20 years for you to break even depending on where you live. However, remember that this is not just a financial investment – it’s an opportunity to be eco-friendly.

Consider use of natural

Create your own compost

It is a good idea to buy recycled products whenever you can. This can include everything from toilet tissue to kitchen roll. Whenever you notice that there is a recycled option available to buy, it’s worth purchasing.

Construction Materials The Materials used in the construction of a Green Home are not only eco-friendly but are also insulated to allow for heat retention during colder seasons and have high ventilation and allowing cooling during warmer periods. Timber floor tiles that are made of 20% mahogany and 80% composite timber can be very useful.

The value of a green home is often higher than that of standard home, and there is evidence that the market for green homes is rising. Currently some of Uganda property developers are taking a holistic approach to eco-friendly homes because mortgage players prefer to work with both homebuyers and developers who are going green!

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World Consumer Rights Day March 15, 2019

Call for participation & early bookings in the Consumers Guide Magazine Special Edition to mark the D-Day.

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onsumers International (CI) in partnership with Consumers Guide Magazine (CGM) will play host of the first East Africa Business and consumer Expo 2019 from 13th to 15th March 2019 at a venue to be communicated in our subsquent issues.

A Special Report marking the International Consumers Rights Day will be published to coincide with the season event. On the 15th March 2019, as the world commemorates the Worlds Consumer Rights day, Consumers Guide Magazine will also organise a half day symposium, focusing and reflecting on the rights of consumers in all aspects of life.

Consumers International, a membership organisation for consumer groups around the world, working together with over 200 members in more than 100 countries to empower and champion the rights of consumers everywhere, is the only independent and authoritative global voice for consumers. Consumers Guide Magazine (CGM) is an independent publication that works side by side with, businesses, producers, processors, manufacturers and consumers for truth, transparent and fairness in the market place to advance consumer rights. It is published once every after two months.

World Consumer Rights Day is marked every year, as a means of raising global awareness about consumer rights and needs.

Celebrating the day is a chance to demand that the rights of all consumers are respected and protected, and to protest against market abuses and social injustices which undermine those rights. The day was inspired

by President John F Kennedy, who sent a special message to the US Congress on 15th March 1962, in which he formally addressed the issue of consumer rights. He was the first world leader to do so. The consumer movement first marked that date in 1983 and now uses the day every year to mobilize action on important issues and campaigns.

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Stakeholders in consumable goods and services are called upon to book space in the Consumers Guide Magazine early enough to showcase their stocks and deliverables.

Advertisers will scoop an opportunity of featuring on CGM website Consumers International existence of more than 50 years call for building relationships and global opportunities as the only way to deliver ambitious goals for consumers. Participants will be recruited into the Consumers International partnership club to advocate for the common good.

Coming Together For Change.

Too often consumers are left at a disadvantage with the companies and governments they encounter, leaving them exposed to unsafe, unfair or unethical practice. Consumers International wants to change this and ensure that the voice of consumers is as powerful as the governments and corporations they interact with. With their members, partners and consumers around the world, are challenging the unfair, unsafe and unethical practice to ensure all consumers are treated safely, fairly and honestly.

The special edition will feature: • • • •

A word from the sector Minister / Ministry.

Stakeholders Advertorials & Advertisements Expert comments on international consumer issues.

Research and statistics on key consumer issues such as: Food safety, Digital consumer rights and International trade agreements.

For bookings, get in touch with The Marketing Manager Consumers Guide Magazine Email: info@cgmagazine.biz.

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Consumer International Coming Together Together Coming For Change Change For

Present The

East Africa’s

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Trade Expo

th 13 13 -- 15 15th March March 2019 2019

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8

Career

Outstanding Tools To Be More Productive Every Day.

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ife is full of distractions, ranging from social media, chitchat with friends, catching up with family among others.

These distractions deter us from achieving our day-to-day goals and, in most cases, we end up being busy the whole day but hardly productive. Here are some productivity tools that can break this chain. By keeping you focused on small actionable objectives, you can accomplish the daily goals which translate into long-term goals. These are some of the best-recommended productivity tools for you to try.

1

FLAT TOMATO.

Time Management Tool

The flat tomato application employs the Pomodoro technique to help you accomplish more in a more effective way. The Pomodoro technique is one of the oldest concepts in queuing theory designed in the 80’s by Francesco Cirillo. It uses a timer to break down complex work into simple tasks with 25 minute intervals for each. At the end of every interval, there is a short break referred to as Pomodoro, hence the name.

The flat tomato is a time management tool that employs this technique in breaking down your project into 25 minute intervals.

By employing the Pomodoro technique, the flat tomato helps you to improve your concentration on a project. It helps you to avoid distractions while working on a project by breaking down the project into 25-minute intervals. When the timer goes off after 25 minutes, take a break from the project. When you resume after the break, you will be more refreshed, energized and focused. This way, you can concentrate for long hours without getting fatigued.

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2

TRELLO. Project Planner

The Trello project planner enables you to plan, organize and prioritize your tasks in a fun, flexible and smart way. This tool can help you organize anything in your life, ranging from job-related tasks, planning a party or even planning your long-term life goals. The Trello project planner tool uses cards and boards with the board representing the event and each task represented by the cards.

For instance, if you are planning a party, the board represents the party while the cards can represent events like booking a venue, shopping, sending out invitations among others. Further, this tool has an option for you to add anyone who can help you in the event.

For instance, if your friends want to help you plan the above party, you can add them to the application. In addition, it has amazing graphics and visuals to make the planning process fun and interesting.

Features of the Trello project planner. »»

The tool has a quick overview feature for all the tasks in the project.

»»

It comes with easy organization tools containing tags, categories, and labels.

»»

Contains a checklist with a progress meter.

»»

Comes with a dateline reminder tool to help you meet your datelines.

»»

Contains a data filtering feature for easy editing of the data.

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Career

GOOGLE CALENDAR.

With the Google calendar tool, it is easy to keep track of life’s most important events all in one place. The tool allows one to create a calendar of events of the most important tasks in a day, week or month. For instance, a company CEO can create a calendar of all meetings he/she must attend. Similarly, a socialite can create a calendar of all parties that she must attend. The calendar is stored in Google’s cloud system, hence it is always available on the web, unlike the traditional calendar which must be accessed through the computer or phone.

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GOOGLE DRIVE. GOOGLE FORM.

Accomplishing a project on time requires you to visualize, plan and track every step of the way and this is exactly what Google drive forms can help you attain. With the forms, you can outline all the tasks in the project, every activity during the tasks and expected completion date.

The forms indicate the start and end period for each project. Hence, at every stage, you can compare the expected completion date with the actual completion date, compare the two and outline the reasons for the difference.

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Normally, a huge difference between the expected completion date and actual completion date can tell whether the project is on-time or there are delays and corrective actions can be undertaken.

30/30.

Task Manager.

Planning is an important aspect of completing any task, but sometimes, it is hard to predict all tasks with certainty. Thus, all you need is to set a start period and end period and this tool is great for that. With the 30/30 planning tool, you can manage your to-do list by assigning times for all the tasks, then start the time. When the timer goes off, simply switch the tasks. This way, you can avoid the temptation of over concentrating on one task, especially in cases where some tasks are more fun and interesting to accomplish. Thus, with this tool, you can divide your time to allocate equal time intervals to all the tasks.

Also, with these forms, you can identify the critical path, which is the shortest path that can be used to complete the project within the shortest time possible. You can also share the documents with your team, a customer or any other concerned parties.

Hence, this is a great tool for planning, whether you are working on a personal project, completing your day-to-day activities or making long-term life goals.

Also, you can save and share all forms in Google drive.

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Career

6

REMEMBER THE MILK. Thing- To-Do Application.

Remember the milk is one of the most basic thing-to-do application, but also one of the most effective. With this tool, you can break down complex tasks by creating tasks, dividing the tasks into sub-tasks and then, organizing the tasks creating multiple lists for the sub-tasks.

Further, the application includes powerful tools for searching and a smart list to improve your organization.

It can also integrate with most project planning tools like Google calendar, Gmail, Twitter and Evernote among other tools.

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»»

Ease of organizing the tasks and sub lists to ensure each task is integrated into the main project.

»»

Enables you to set the start and due dates, hence ensuring you can complete the project on time.

Further, it outlines the recurrent tasks.

»»

It has a dashboard which can help you prioritize the tasks, hence you can distinguish between emergency, high-priority and urgent tasks.

»»

It can integrate perfectly with other planning tools and applications.

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1PASSWORD

Keeping Passwords Secure.

Remembering and keeping passwords secure is one of the tasks that can waste your time and reduce your productivity. Some people prefer to use one password for computer logins, social media networks, phone, work emails, personal emails, and other sites, which increases your risk of exposure to hacking. Thus, with this application, you can keep track of every password that you have. This way, when you need to retrieve the password, simply go to the application and get it, rather than wasting time trying to remember, or searching for the password in your diary, or even resetting the password on the site which might waste your time.

8

WORKFLOW.

Tasks like sending texts, calling uber, or even uploading photos on your social media networks can waste your time. Luckily, with the workflow application, you can automate such tasks. The application allows you to customize your phone, this way you can tell your phone what to do when you realize you need something done. To recap, setting a goal is one thing, but its achievement is a totally different thing. Most people get overwhelmed by the tasks needed to be accomplished in any activity. With these project tools, you can plan, organize and work on the tasks needed to achieve the desired goal, thus help you get more done within a short duration.

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Cover Story/Insurance

Accident Victims!!

Go to Insurance Companies for Compensation

By Dan nSalasatta

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oad transport is the dominant mode of transport in Uganda, carrying over 90% of passengers and freight traffic.

The number of vehicles plying Ugandan roads has increased by over 500,000 (100%) in the last 20 years. According to the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) estimates, there are 635,656 vehicles in Uganda today, an increase from 50,102 in 1991. Light goods vehicles have increased by 5.7% in the last 10 years.

According to findings by various researchers, a third of motor users on Ugandan roads are young drivers (between 18 and 35 years of age). Some of them are not just reckless drivers but also seem to be seriously ill-informed about Motor Third Party (MTP) insurance policy cover, its importance, claim, bonus and whether it was legal to have it. The older drivers are also not confident about what MTP insurance policy entitles.

Thousands of road users in Uganda suffer horrific injuries daily in road accidents but are never compensated because they are ignorant of the existing insurance law. What’s more, even those who are familiar with the law are still relatively underpaid. Unaware of what their due is, accident victims continue to bear heavy medical and motor vehicle repair costs. However, numerous surveys in the transport sector assert that many of the victims and other Ugandan

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Cover Story / Insurance motorists do not know the use of MTP Insurance. They think it is a tax that vehicle owners you have to pay every year.

When they get involved in motor accidents, they either try to negotiate with the victim and compensate them or they are compelled by Police to pay the victim before they can release their vehicles from custody. Few people know that the MTP Insurance car owner is supposed to help him during such misfortunes. The insurance company is supposed to cover some of the costs incurred as a result of the accident.

Ordinarily, third party insurance, a revenue stream from which insurers collect billions, is supposed to help motorists meet these expenses. Family members, relatives and friends shoulder colossal treatment costs because they are unaware of their legitimate claim to insurance cover.

What is most unfortunate is that majority of the accident victims who survive death by a whisker, due to the agony they go through at that moment of accident cannot recognise the registration of the vehicles that has caused them serious injury.

Surprisingly, even accident witnesses or rescuer at the road side hardly take notice of the automobile registration either. They instead rush to either save the lives of the victims or snatch their belongings. After recovery, the victim is never compensated because the vehicle in question was not identified. The law covers only insured vehicles which are identified post-accident.

business. A conservative estimate places the number of vehicles on Uganda’s roads at not less than one million.

What is third party insurance?

MTP Insurance policy was established by the Motor Vehicle Insurance (Third Party Risks) Act of 1989 Under Section 2 of the act that requires that in the event of an accident, the vehicle or motorcycle involved (first party), the occupants of the vehicle (second party) and the other vehicle, person or property involved (third party) be compensated by the insurance company.

The third party is entitled to compensation by an insurance company in case of an accident causing bodily injury or death of persons on public roads.

The first party is responsible for its own damages or losses whether caused by itself or the third party.

Depending on motor type, capacity, usage, geographical limit, value, driver’s history and market condition, third party insurance policy’s per UIA, the premium ranges between UGX 22,000 and UGX 550,000 for cars and UGX 3,300 and UGX 13,000 for motorcycles.

Government cars do not buy third party insurance cover because Government provides a fund to cater for losses and damages caused by its vehicles. If a Government vehicle knocks a victim,

In Uganda, there are two types of motor vehicle insurance. The motor third party insurance, which is compulsory for all vehicles plying the Ugandan roads and so covers the third party liability resulting in damage or death; and the comprehensive motor insurance which is not compulsory, but offers higher protection against the insured vehicle as well as third party damage or death.

MTP insurance is a multibillion shilling

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Cover Story / Insurance he/she secures compensation through the Attorney General, who will process the necessary compensation.

Road Safety Performance Review Report on Uganda.

According to Road Safety Performance Review Report on Uganda (February 2018) by Mr. Jean Todt, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety which he presented to president Museveni at State house in March this year, Uganda has an alarming rate of accident deaths on Ugandan roads adding that road crashes cost the Government of Uganda Shs.4.4 trillion (US$1.2 billion) annually which, he observed, represents 5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“On average, Uganda loses 10 people per day in road traffic crashes, which is the highest in East Africa,” said Mr. Todt as he handed over the report on Uganda to President Museveni.

Mr. Todt recommended that the Government of Uganda should prioritize road safety and focus on the provision of technical assistance, financial and political commitment to optimize the benefits of the investment made in the development of road transport infrastructure.

Reports indicate that in the last decade, the recorded road crash fatalities in Uganda rose from 2,579 to 3,503 in 2016 representing 25.9%. This is a result of weak leadership for road safety, declining priority of allocation of resources and diminishing capacity for road safety interventions mainly driven by low commitment to road safety matters, reduced interest of development partners in road safety and non-participation of key stakeholders.

Records at Mulago Hospital casualty ward show that there are about 85

road accident victims every week. Majority of the patients that we talked to, did not know they could be compensated.

Few people are making claims.

A report by Uganda Insurance Commission confirms that few people are making claims against the third party insurance. According to David Tumuhaise, the technical manager at Uganda Insurers Association (UIA.). Insurance companies are just pocketing most of this free money.

According to IRA, in the year 2016, the gross premium underwritten by the insurance industry increased from Ugx 612 Billion in 2015 to Ugx 634 Billion in 2016 representing an overall growth of 3.6%. Non-life insurance business continued to dominate the industry in terms of premiums underwritten with 70.9% down from 75.99% in 2015. Life insurance on the other hand accounted for 20.87% up from 16.36% in 2015.

However, this is undermining the relevance of the MTP Insurance requirement for vehicles because Ugandans are not reaping any benefit from the policy. It is paid because it is mandatory but many feel the law on third party insurance has totally failed to achieve the target it was set for.

Importance of the MTP insurance policy.

Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) Chief Executive Officer Ibrahim Lubega Kaddunabbi, says MTP insurance should provide security to the owner of a motor vehicle because in the event of an accident, the victims are compensated by the insurers.

He says that by paying that money for third party per year, you transfer the risk of accident compensation to your insurance company, which is supposed to take on the risk when it occurs.

When you cause an accident, the insurer is supposed to cater for the medical bills of the affected person up to sh1m or pay the members of the victim a maximum of sh1m in the case of death.

‘In case a vehicle with a valid MTP insurance gets involved in an accident, it is not the duty of the vehicle owner to pay up the victim(s) of the accident unless the accident was caused by the owner or driver’s negligence. The vehicle owner should instead inform the insurance company which will have to investigate and pay compensation to the injured or dead person; according to the Director Legal Affairs Mrs. Evelyn Muwemba.

Mariam Nalunkuuma, the Communications www.cgmagazine.biz

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Cover Story / Insurance Officer, IRA, recently said IRA was aware of the state of ignorance about MTP insurance. She said the sensitisation programme was on going.

“The major problem with the current MTP insurance law is that it doesn’t compensate the drivers, conductors and owners of the car since they are the beneficiaries of the vehicle. In this case, the drivers also don’t assist passengers to report the case to police yet passengers don’t know where the vehicle had been paying insurance,” she said.

Nalunkuuma said they are currently working with the MoFPED and the World Bank, to amend the MTP insurance law to benefit all people involved in accident including drivers, conductors, passengers and other victims.

She advised victims to report accident cases to police since police writes a report which includes: identity of the accident vehicle, the third party insurance company of the vehicle, the number of passengers involved and their names. The passenger is supposed to use this police report to claim compensation. The huge treatment costs are currently shouldered by the family because they are unaware of their legitimate claim to insurance cover.

Unscrupulous people forging MTP IRA is on record that unscrupulous people are forging MTP stickers which they use to go through the traffic system seamlessly.

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has adopted an online MTP platform. IRA is also seeking the amendment of the MTP Act to address the emerging fraud.

According to Uganda Insurers Association (UIA) Chief Executive Officer Mrs. Miriam Magala, every after three years the stickers is changed. UIA has issued new MTP insurance stickers for transit cars, private cars, motor cycles and commercial vehicles such as buses. The change is part of a process to minimize fraud.

“We change the stickers every three years mainly for security purposes to make sure they are not forged. We have had cases of forgery which we have addressed with the police,” Ms. Magala revealed.

Who may not claim compensation?

According to Uganda insurance Technical person, David Tumuhaise, the intended beneficiaries of this policy (called third parties) must not be in a formal relationship with the insured and insurer. Therefore, members of one’s immediate family and employees of a company cannot claim for compensation in case they are involved in an accident with the family or company vehicle.

“This is because family members have a personal accident insurance policy while employees have the worker’s compensation policy,”Tumuhaise said.

“Since MTP is primarily for the car and not the owner, if ownership changes, the www.cgmagazine.biz

accident victim will still be compensated by the insurer of the first owner as long as the certificate is still valid,” Tumuhaise says.

What should one do after an accident?

Social compassion demands that you assist the victim to reach hospital if this is required. Report the accident to the Police and then ask your motor third party insurers to assist the victim.

According to the Insurance Act, the victim cannot demand compensation from your insurance because the insurance has a contract with you not the victim.

“All MTP claims in respect of damages to property, death or bodily injury, the third party shall proceed against the owner of the car, or the driver and not the insurer.” the Act says.

IRA Director Evelyn Nkalubo also advises the accident victim not to claim from an insurance firm but from the insured as provided for in section 39 of the Motor Vehicle Insurance Act of 1989.

In payment of claims, the insurer compensates the affected individual with a sum of money equivalent to the value of property destroyed bearing in mind the excess that is always borne by the insured.

What if an insurance company fails to compensate the accident victim?

Kato Musa and others

Cover Story / Insurance like him may be frustrated by some insurance companies which play delaying tactics or use technicalities to avoid paying compensation to victims.

But there is a solution.

You can lodge your complaint to UIA which has a disciplinary committee that deals with errant members. The IRA also has a Complaints Bureau, as provided by the Act, where you can send your complaint. Nkalubo says in the past years, the bureau received, numerous complaints per year about delays in settling claims.

She adds that the IRA carries out periodic on-site inspections of insurance players in order to ensure that policyholder’s interests are protected and that legitimate claims are settled timely. Those that default risk being disciplined.

An insurance company that defaults on its obligations may be punished by way of fines or revocation of license, depending on the gravity of the offence, Nkalubo said.

What you need to claim third party Prior to processing a MTP insurance claim, there are documents you need to get.

■■ A Police Abstract Report to prove that an accident actually occurred and the claimant was the real victim of the accident.

■■ A Death Certificate in case the accident victim dies. The certificate bears the cause of the accident.

■■ A letter from the Chairman of the Local Council and letters of administration. These serve to introduce the victim especially when he has no recognized identification.

Letters of administration serve the purpose of ensuring that the administrator of the estate of the deceased is the person supposed to be paid.

■■ In the case of non-fatal accidents, a medical report and medical bills

may be required to ascertain the medical expenses incurred by the victim.

■■ Insurance certificate as proof that the insured entered into a contract with the insurance company.

MTP Stakeholders participants -MTP ku Ssimu Jubilee Insurance recently partnered with Afrisafe Risk Consultants Uganda Ltd – an Insurance and Risk consulting firm offering insurance consulting services – to minimize the hurdles involved in processing MTP insurance services via mobile phones. This was through the launch of Motor Sure, a payment mode through which motorists get to pay for MTP insurance using their mobile phones, hence the name MTP ku ssimu (meaning MTP party on mobile).

Buying MTP insurance on your phone MTP ku Ssimu is a service for vehicle, bike, and boda-boda motorists to purchase their MTP insurance off the phone by simply dialing through a USSD code *210*22# with their mobile phone. This service lessens the burden on motorists buying MTP, the MTP is delivered within an hour, and it reminds motorists when their insurance expires. Working on the assumption that they all pay insurance, which traffic police said ranges between UGX 90,000 - UGX 130,000 a year, an estimation of a minimum of UGX 50 billion collected.

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Cover Story / Insurance This money is meant to compensate accident victims. There have been 9,000 recorded deaths attributed to road traffic accidents over the last three years in Uganda, according to available statistics.

What people say?

Muslim Centre for Justice and Law MCJL president, Jaffer Senganda, says “In our petition to court, we want all people knocked in accidents to be compensated; whether they are knocked by government or hit-and- run vehicles. Senganda also thinks compensation amounts should be revised. Accident victims are entitled to a maximum of just Shs 1 million per passenger which is very little money. “If I lose an eye or hand, they should compensate me according to the value of the loss since the law used currently was made several years ago and things are expensive now,” he said.

Medi Onyango of Katwe Kinyoro also had an accident where he lost his two children aged below nine years on Jinja road. The insurance company only gave him less than UGX 3 million which wasn’t enough to cover his own medical bills. He also lost 10 of his teeth and his mouth was disfigured.

Annet Ahimbishibwe’ (not real name) daughter was involved in an accident when she was five years old. She was knocked by a hit-and-run speeding vehicle and lost both her legs. She now uses prosthetic limbs which are too expensive, costing over UGX 2 million . “My parents have to buy new ones every year because I am still growing. As I grow, my leg bones get bigger and cut through the flesh,” Ahimbisibwe says.

Her mother says when the bones are growing, they come out. They become so painful and her wounds sometimes produce pus. “I keep her on painkillers until she is taken for surgery,” she says, adding,

“This is going to be the second time she undergoes surgery.”

Ahimbisibwe says her daughter goes to school at Bright school, Ndejje but her studies have been affected so much. She says the doctors have told her she has to keep doing this until her daughter turns 20 when human bones generally stop growing.

In 1989, parliament passed the MTP Insurance (Third Party Risks) Act. According to the law, every vehicle is supposed to be insured to cover passengers, pedestrians or any accident victim. It provides that a passenger injured or killed in a motor accident should be compensated. The only exceptions are victims of government vehicles, which, for some reason, are not insured under this act.

Ahimbisibwe says her parents approached the Muslim Centre for Justice and Law (MCJL) for assistance. The MCJL president, Jaffer Senganda, says Annet wasn’t compensated because the vehicle which knocked her was unidentified.

The law covers only insured vehicles which are identified post-accident. “In our petition to court, we want all people knocked in accidents to be compensated; whether they are knocked by government or hit-and- run vehicles,” Senganda said.

Juliet Kyomugisha an editor at Fountain Publishers, Kampala says sometimes motorists speed off without helping the accident victim because they are afraid of mob justice. “When you stop to take the victim to hospital, the angry mob will descend on you, hitting your car and may in the process injure you. I can identify with motorists who speed off after knocking a victim,” she says adding, “The authorities should train the public about the dangers of mob justice.”

Daniel Bikweto, an author and editor in the same Publishing house however says that mob justice should not be a reason for the motorists to avoid their responsibility. “It is true the mob can hurt a motorist who knocks a person in an accident, but the ideal thing for such a motorist would be to drive to the nearest

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Cover Story / Insurance police station and report the accident,” Bikweto says adding that once the case is reported, one can be sure that the victim will be helped and then they can follow up with their insurance company.

Yusuf Kawa said on average, a private motor vehicle pays a total premium of 70,000. However, out of the 70,000 insurance companies retain only 22,000, with the rest being taxes and levies.

Infact the bulk of the premium paid by motorists is received by Insurance companies and sent to government in form of taxes. It is therefore incorrect to assume that all the money by motorists is retained by insurance companies DADA Rogers said most motorists don’t know the importance of MTP insurance, they only buy it to avoid being questioned by traffic officers.

Experience.

David Mwebesa, a taxi owner says when the Police tow a vehicle to the station after an accident, they refuse to release it until the owner pays the victim.

Fredrick Womakuyu says he sympathised with the driver who knocked him because he looked unable to compensate him. “He only drove me to hospital. I forgave him and everything stopped there. I was not aware that his insurance company could have compensated me,” Womakuyu said.

Traffic Police Inspector who asked for anonymity said if it is a minor accident and the two parties agree to settle the issue on the site, Police does not pursue the case.

“But for some accidents we still have to prosecute drivers or owners of the vehicles.

Whether the MTP insurance exists or not and can pay, we may have to prosecute the driver in court for careless driving,” she said.

She explains that Police knows how MT insurance works. ’We train all traffic policemen about MTP insurance in addition to how to handle road accidents in general’.

Insurance companies, IRA and UIA have to sensitizing the drivers and the public about the importance of MTP insurance towards accident victims.

MTP INSURANCE COMPANIES. 1. Alliance Africa General Insurance Ltd 2. CIC Africa Life Assurance (U) Ltd. 3. APA Insurance (U) Ltd. 4. ICEA Life Assurance Co. Ltd 5. Britam Insurance Co. (U) Ltd 6. Liberty Life Assurance (U) Ltd. 7. CIC General Insurance (U) Ltd. 8. Metropolitan Life Uganda Ltd 9. Excel Insurance Co. Ltd. 10. NIC Life Assurance Co. Ltd 11. First Insurance Company Ltd. 12. Prudential Assurance (U) Ltd 13. Goldstar Insurance Co. Ltd 14. Sanlam Life Insurance Co. Ltd 15. ICEA General Insurance Co. Ltd 16. UAP-Old Mutual Life Assurance U Ltd 17. Liberty General Insurance Co. Ltd 18. The Jubilee Life Insurance Co. of Uganda 19. NIC General Insurance Co Ltd. 20. NOVA Insurance Co. Ltd. 21. Grand Micro-Insurance 22. Pax Insurance Company Ltd 23. Phoenix Assurance Ltd 24. Rio Insurance Company Ltd. 25. Sanlam General Insurance (U) Ltd. 26. Statewide Insurance Co. Ltd 27. The Jubilee Insurance Co. of Uganda Ltd. 28. Trans Africa Assurance Co. Ltd. 29. UAP-Old Mutual Insurance Uganda Ltd www.cgmagazine.biz

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Consumer Protection

The Last Cry of Consumer Protection on Insurance Services in Uganda.

By: Sekyewa Julius

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onsumer protection, in the broader sense, refers to the laws and regulations that ensure fair interaction between service providers and consumers. Government intervention and regulation in the area of consumer protection are justified on the basis of inherent information asymmetries and power imbalances in markets, with producers or service providers having more information about the product or service than the consumers. A consumer protection framework generally includes the introduction of greater transparency and awareness about the goods and services, promotion of competition in the marketplace, prevention of fraud, education of customers, and elimination of unfair practices.

As early as 1961, Uganda had a law providing for the regulation of Insurance, the Insurance Ordinance, 1961. It was repealed by the Insurance Companies Act of 1964 (Cap 92) which was in turn repealed in 1978 by the Insurance Decree of the same year , the Statute 1996 and the Insurance Act, 213,2000 which was eventually amended by the Insurance Amendment Act ,13 2011. Effective consumer protection is an important precondition to advance access to insurance as a sustainable risk protection mechanism. Growing insurance markets that include the low-income population can only mature if strong consumer protection measures are in place and effective for lowincome consumers. The implementation of a comprehensive consumer protection agenda, with low-income consumers at the center, requires public and private stakeholders to join hands.

Established in 1996, IRA is Uganda’s insurance industry regulator. Its main objective is to ensure a secure insurance industry through effective supervision, administration and regulation. As of 2015, IRA has begun altering regulations to promote a market for microinsurance in Uganda.

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The Insurance Statute now the Act established the Insurance Regulatory Authority formerly known as the Insurance Commission. As body corporate with the object of ensuring the effective administration, supervision, regulation and control of Insurance business in Uganda.

The basic act of the control by the Authority is the license. In order to obtain a license to commence business, an insurance company has to comply with several conditions.

The license is evidence of the Authority’s ’s approval that the prospective insurance player has fulfilled all the conditions prescribed by law and deemed necessary for the protection of the policyholders, beneficiaries and the economy of the country. The overall effect of the Act formerly the Statute is that the insurance industry in Uganda was from 1996 to be supervised.

The IRA is a specialist member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI). Section 15 (2) (e), (f) and (h) of the Insurance Act, 2000 as amended mandates the Insurance Regulatory Authority of Uganda, inter alia, to: (a) safeguard the rights of insurance policyholders and insurance beneficiaries to any contract ; (b) receive complaints from the public on the conduct of a licensed person, arbitrate and grant restitution to the complainant as may be possible; and (c) promote a sound and efficient insurance market in the country.

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Consumer Protection Whilst members of the Public have been lodging complaints with the Authority Complaints Bureau; the complaints analyzed and feedback from licensees sought in order to resolve the complaint, the information gathered has also been used to identify service, process, and information challenges and the recurrent issues that need to be addressed. Where appropriate analysis of feedback and complaint information is used to rectify the issues raised in complaints about / against a licensed player; claims have also been settled resulting in improved consumer confidence in insurance in Uganda.

The Insurance Act, 2017 (the “Act”) has recently been enacted to reform the law governing insurance in Uganda. The purpose of the Act is to bring Uganda’s insurance law in line with the Insurance Core Principles (“ICPs”) developed by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors and the Financial Action Task Force recommendations on combating money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism.

The ICPs form the basic internationally accepted standards for regulation of insurance companies and are the basis for assessment of insurance regulators’ compliance with accepted international best practice. The compliance is aimed at ensuring that Uganda’s insurance industry and its key players have structures in place, making Uganda a more acceptable destination for investors.

The Act establishes a board of directors to govern the Insurance Regulatory Authority (“IRA”). Membership of the board has been broadened to include the chief executive officers of the Capital Markets and Uganda Retirements Benefits Regulatory Authorities, as well as a representative from the Insurance Training College to represent the industry. Members of the board are to serve for a duration of six years. The Act has expanded the board’s role to include the power of supervision of licensees on a group-wide and crossborder basis and cooperation with local and foreign

supervisory authorities and law enforcement, as well as receiving and resolving insurancerelated complaints, therefore improving the reporting and enforcement mechanisms in the insurance industry in Uganda, as envisaged under the ICPs. The Act establishes the Insurance Training College, replacing the Insurance Institute of Uganda under the old Act. The college will have a board appointed by the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and its role will be to receive and administer the insurance training levy to be applied to registration, training, examination of licensees, as well as certification of training programmes. Every person licensed under the Act is required to be a member of the college.

The levy will be charged on policy holders at a rate determined by the IRA.The Act provides for the priority of insurance claims at windingup, completely overriding the Companies Act and the Insolvency Act. Assets of an insolvent insurance company will first be applied to the company’s liabilities under insurance contracts, following the payment of the costs and expenses of winding-up. This novelty should be cause for concern for lenders to insurance companies, as it disturbs the settled preferred position of secured creditors. It is not clear whether the Act’s intention is to place policy holders ahead of secured creditors or general unsecured creditors only.

The Act allows for cross-border and groupwide supervision, which involves the review and evaluation of risks and the assessment of solvency on a group-wide basis. It gives the IRA the power to request the submission of group financial statements if a licensee is

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Consumer Protection (20 non-life insurance and 9 life assurance companies).

a member of a group of companies. It can further require that the group statements are audited by an auditor of the licensee or one authorised by the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda and approved by the IRA. The Act provides for the establishment of an ombudsman to arbitrate complaints between licensees and the public. The nature of complaints and disputes subject to arbitration, and the procedures to be followed in the arbitration over these complaints, will be provided for under the regulations. The IRA will, in the interim, perform the functions of the ombudsman until its establishment.

Who can lodge a complaint? (1) Any affected person including the following persons can lodge a complaint: (a) A prospect; (b) A policyholder; (c) A third party; (d) A Broker; (e) An Advocate on behalf of the insured, prospective or beneficiary, etc.

In 2017, the IRA licensed 29 Insurance companies (20 non-life or general insurance companies and 9 Life companies), 6 HMO’s, 35 Insurance brokers and 21 Loss Assessors.

The Insurance Act 2017 was passed in June, 2017. Of note: Supervision will shift from Compliance Based to Risk based Supervision.

Perpetual licensing will be introduced.

Alternative distribution channels were also provided for. Cash and carry business is now part of the law. This now means that an individual/company has to have paid full premium in order to be covered/insured. With only 0.73 per cent insurance penetration in Uganda, the sector comprises of 29 companies

RBC is a preventative measure that requires insurers in addition to the minimum capital requirements set by the authority, to increase their capital in line with the premiums underwritten. It means that insurers that continue growing their figures in regards to premiums underwritten will be required to increase capital to handle claims in case of materialisation. This is in line with the regulator’s role in safeguarding policy holders and ensuring insurers pay claims. This is where smaller companies that seek to grow may find a challenge, as they need to match capital with premiums.

The previous law was mainly amended to adhere to the International Association of Insurance Supervisor’s Insurance Core Principles (ICPs). The ICPs are currently adhered to by 240 countries and are the benchmark for all insurance business in the world. Uganda too was obliged to adhere to them in order to compete on the world market. The new law has empowered the Authority to effectively set standards, implement and enforce the law; harmonize insurance laws within the East African region; provide for corporate governance principles and practices. It has also embedded best practice provisions for Risk Based Supervision as well providing for fulfilling the requirements for Antimoney laundering and Terrorism financing. It’s important to note that the previous insurance law had not incorporated the recommendations relating to the anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism, which left Uganda exposed for blacklisting by the International community.

There are a number of salient features in the Insurance Act 2017, which stakeholders need to be familiarized with. With the new law, there shall be increased representation to the IRA Board with additional members from the Uganda Retirement Benefits Authority (URBRA) and Capital Markets Authority following the crosscutting regulatory requirements of the players.

Under the new law insurers will no longer have to pay for annual licenses but the issued license shall remain in force until it’s suspended, varied or revoked by the Insurance Regulatory

Consumer Protection

Uganda Insurance Industry

Authority of Uganda. This marked the end of an era where insurance companies have to annually renew their licenses in order to do business.

On the other hand, intermediaries such as insurance brokers, loss assessors, among others, shall be issued with licences for two years and may be renewed for another two years. Although a license shall not be issued to an insurer carrying life and non-life insurance business, a license may be granted to a micro insurance organisation carrying both businesses. The new law sets in place strengthening of Risk management and internal control measures. Whereas the previous law was not providing for adequate administrative controls, the new law has reinforced the governance and management framework apportioning responsibilities to shareholders, directors, senior management and key persons in the control function. Specifically, every insurer and HMO shall be required to establish and maintain; a risk management function, a compliance function; an actuarial function; an internal audit function and any other as shall be determined by the Authority.

The Act introduces Cash and Carry measure for mainly insurance brokers and agents.

This development when fully implemented will improve liquidity and ease cash flow of insurance companies. The “Cash & Carry” measure will enable insurers rethink their strategies by offering creative solutions for premium payment to their customers as well as customize their client needs. In addition the new reform will no longer allow insurance companies to sell insurance policies on credit to its customers. The ‘no premium no cover’ policy will enable insurers to collect premiums upfront before providing insurance cover for any class of insurance business. Hitherto, it has been noted that some unscrupulous people move from one insurance company to another, to take insurance cover on credit and never pay.

The benefits of insurance:‐ Peace of Mind:‐ The knowledge that insurance exists to meet the financial consequences of certain risks, provides a form of peace of mind; Social Benefits:‐ The fact that the owner of a business has the funds available to recover from loss stimulates the business activity, jobs are being maintained and goods or services can still be sold. Thus people maintain their job and source of their income; Investment of Funds:‐ Insurance companies may have at their disposal, large amounts of money.

This arises due to the fact that there is a time gap between the receipt of premium and the payment of a claim.

There has been limited growth beyond the traditional sectors into more dynamic emerging ones. Players have been encouraged to move from product-focused to customer-oriented operating models.

The Authority has already embarked on the process of developing a framework to support Agricultural insurance and Microinsurance.

Additionally, the Authority and the Uganda Insurers Association made formal submissions to the Parliament on Sections 8(b) and 6(6) of the Petroleum (Exploration, Development and Production) Act 2013 and the Petroleum (Refining, Gas Processing, Conversion, Transportation and Storage) Bill, 2012 respectively which require the licensees to take the necessary insurance policies to protect against liabilities that may arise as a result of activities done under the licence. The local companies are already working on their capacity in terms of capital as well as technical abilities.

In terms of more recent changes in regulation, the Financial Institutions Act was amended in early 2016 and now allows for insurance companies to sell their products through banks distribution channels.

The financial advantages of banks and insurance companies partnering through bancassurance agreements notwithstanding, insurers will now be able to use the bank branch networks which will increase access to our services. We are similarly now speaking with the banking and related sectors to raise awareness about this change to ensure that when the regulations are passed. We expect that they will be passed by mid-2017.

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Consumer Protection

Paying a claim.

services including insurance, and their trust in insurance is typically low.

Policymakers, regulators and supervisors should create a conducive policy and regulatory environment, including proper enforcement. The insurance supervisor is the keeper of last resort, and as such, the agency in charge of protecting the consumer. Supervisors need to control providers’ operations to make sure they operate on a sustainable basis and are able to keep their commitments to the consumer.

Section 12 of the motor third party Act, 1989; Insurer may settle claim. Clause (1) An insurer that is a party to a policy under this Act may at any stage undertake on behalf of the insured or any other person that the insurer is liable to indemnify under the policy, the settlement of any claim against the insured or other person; and any proceedings or enforcement of any claim or the settlement of any issue arising from a claim.

And section 33 of the motor third party Act; Liability where a vehicle is uninsured, on clause (133) Where liability has been incurred by the owner or driver of an uninsured vehicle, in respect of the death of or bodily injury to any person caused by the use of that vehicle on the road, and the liability is one for which the owner would have been indemnified if there had been a policy of insurance in force as required under this Act in respect of that vehicle, then subject to this section, the amount of any judgment obtained by any person against the owner or driver in respect of the liability shall be paid to that person by the council.

Prospective consumers, who might already be distrustful of new and unfamiliar financial products, are even less likely to buy insurance where insurers and insurance products have a bad reputation. Existing consumers might drop out if a product or provider does not fulfill expectations or if they see or hear of problems that other consumers face.

From the insurers’ perspective, bad business experiences of micro-insurance providers will reduce their willingness to focus on the lowincome market and limit the chances that they will successfully develop and sustainably offer micro-insurance products in future. Due to the nature of products, clients and business type, consumer protection requires special attention in the area of micro-insurance: Consumers are often unfamiliar with financial products and 60

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Regulations should further motivate providers to offer valuable products and services in a fair and transparent manner, including disclosure of product information, provision of necessary policy documents and establishment of effective and accessible complaints mechanisms.

Regulation can create incentives to enter the micro-insurance market by doing away with regulatory barriers that unnecessarily add to the cost or other burden of offering microinsurance and related services.

Such a regulatory environment can create market conditions that provide the low-income consumer with confidence in the products they purchase and the providers that sell them, thereby promoting sustainable consumption.

Statutory Mandatory Series (UNBS) MEDIA RELEASE: For Immediate Release

UNBS lists high risk products in its July compliance report.

K

ampala, 31st August 2018 – The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) conducts regular market surveillance inspections to determine the level of compliance to Uganda Standards to protect consumers and the environment from dangerous substandard products.

In the month July 2018, the market surveillance inspectors picked 249 samples which were submitted to UNBS laboratories for further analysis. Among the tested samples, cosmetics registered the highest failure rate of 100%.

The cosmetics which failed contained hydroquinone, a banned substance used in skin lightening creams. Various scientific studies have confirmed that hydroquinone may have adverse effects on human health such as damage to internal organs e.g. liver. As a result, UNBS moved to seize some of the cosmetics from the shelves. Anti-bacterial toilet soap also registered the second highest failure rate at 71.4 per cent, followed by energy savers at 62.5 per cent and toilet paper at 55.5 per cent respectively.

UNBS Executive Director, Dr. Ben Manyindo, said: “We have published a list of brands that failed our compliance tests because we would like to encourage the public to look out for them and shun them while we continue to play our role of seizing them from the market to protect the health and safety of consumers”. “Products that fail our compliance tests are seized from the market, kept in our warehouses for further management and/or destruction. We recently destroyed more than 400 metric tonnes of substandard products worth Shs3.5 billion,” Dr. Manyindo said.

The brands that have failed the UNBS compliance tests include: Cosmetics Local

Hajjati Lususu; Mama Lususu; Sure Deal; Serious Herbal; Skin Doctor; Zero Pimples; Zonei;

Imported

Caro light toning; Caro light body lotion; Caro light cream; Citrolight body cream; Eclaire cream; Elegance Rico cream; New Santana; Light Cream; Super Claire Cream; Elegance Rico cream; Toilet Paper

Local

Eden Brand; Cozy; Hemico; Kleena; Lovely; Luxury; Nannies; - Facial Tissue; Relax Blended Tissue; Silkee Jambo; Soft Nap; Softee Toilet Tissue; Super Silk; Swan Soft; Wisper; Kleena; Silkee Jambo; Softee Toilet Tissue; Luxury

Imported

Piao; Piao Piao; Virony; Cosy White; Rosy; Sifa; Tena; Soft Wind Piao Piao

Local

Eco Foam; Rio Foam.

Mattresses Energy Savers (Bulbs) Imported

Canny; CIXING; DXBZ; Long stay; Nomi; Semco; Tedex; UNITEC; and Val Light.

As a result of the laboratory analysis, in July the UNBS Market Surveillance Team seized items 6.2 tonnes of assorted food items, 1.2 tonnes of Cosmetics, 2,051 pieces of mattresses, 410 Kgs of electrical items, and 450 kgs of toilet paper. UNBS will continue to perform its mandate of enforcing standards to protect consumer health and safety and the environment against dangerous and sub-standard products. Fighting substandard products requires a concerted effort involving UNBS working together with manufacturers, traders, consumers, and other government agencies. We would like to urge the public to report cases of substandard products on the market on our toll free line: 0800133133.

About UNBS: The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is a statutory body responsible for developing and promoting standards and quality of products and services to facilitate fair trade, promote local industries and protect consumers.

For more information, please contact: Godwin Bonge Muhwezi, Head Public Relations, Uganda National Bureau of Standards Plot 2 - 12, By Pass Link, Bweyogerere Industrial Park.

P.O Box 6329 Kampala, Uganda. Tel: 0700930996.

E-mail: godwin.muhwezi@unbs.go.ug, Website: www.unbs.go.ug www.cgmagazine.biz

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Fashion

A DREAM TURNED INTO AN EMPIRE-IN-THE-MAKING! You can’t speak of the fashion fraternity in Uganda without mention fashion stylist and entrepreneur Brian Ahumuza. The Award winning fashion guru has over the years managed to grow his “Abryanz’ franchise into one of the fastest growing brands, Uganda and across the continent. We caught up with him, and he filled us in what goes into building a brand like his, what we should expect from the 6th edition of his fashion and style awards.

As Interviewed By Ruth Humura 62

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Fashion

Q

: You are one of the country’s most highly recognised fashion entrepreneurs and stylists, and you’re such a busy man. What drives you with all your success and achievements, what keeps you going?

A

: First of all I am humbled when you say that. What drives my success is so much hard work. I am hungry to leave a legacy behind, so it drives me everyday. There’s something that I am creating which is the Abryanz legacy. So every morning when I wake up, that drives me to keep working hard.

Q

: You worked your way from selling clothes that you got from downtown to opening and owning your own fashion store and you are dressing celebrities all over the country .What challenges did you face along the way and how did you overcome them?

A

: I have faced many challenges along the way, but these are not any different from what anyone that had to start a business from scratch has gone through. On how I handle them; I always endeavor to keep positive.

That’s the one thing I have relied on to get me through. I endeavor to stay clear of any negative vibes around me. So I endeavor to keep only positive minded people around me.

Even when someone says I can’t do it, I just laugh it off. And then I go ahead and achieve it to disapprove them.

“ It’s not something I have learnt but of course as you grow in the business, you keep learning more, on how to manage money, save and many other aspects.”

Q

: Why did you decide to venture into men’s fashion?

A

: Everyone else in the business is all about female fashion. People felt men and fashion don’t relate that much so I wanted to do something everyone else doesn’t pay attention to. Men in fashion were always judged and it’s something that I always wanted to stand for.

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Fashion

Q

: Have you always been naturally good at fashion or is it something you have learnt over time?

A

: I’ve always been good at fashion naturally because it runs in the my family. We’re in the same business. Plus, I’ve always been dressed well. It started with my grandparents and parents dressing me really well so it comes naturally I think. It’s not something I have learnt but of course as you grow in the business, you keep learning more, on how to manage money, save and many other aspects. Those are things that you add on to the fashion that you are already well versed with.

Q

: Do you think you will ever retire from fashion?

A

: I think I am going to be involved in the fashion business fashion for the rest of my life. I have a property that I know will still be around even after a 100 years from now. Yeah, that’s why I said it’s a legacy in the making. The ASFAs (Abryanz Style &Fashion Awards), and the Abryanz brand are still going on so there’s no retiring.

Q

: The Asfas are coming up and many people are excited about them. What should we expect from this year’s Asfas and what will make them better than last year’s edition?

A

: What makes them better than last year’s is the hard work that we put in every single year. We make sure that the production is top notch, different, and more world class. So this year, we are still going to be working on the same thing to make sure it’s a world class show, especially with the show production

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Fashion

Q

Q

; This year’s theme for the Asfas is “Fashion is power.” What was the inspiration behind the theme choice?

: Favorite designer brands?

A

: Being someone that runs a fashion award franchise, I follow all designers both locally and internationally and I don’t have a favourite . The favourite ones are the ones people choose from the Asfas. But we follow almost all designers, and everything about fashion.

A

; We wanted to shine a spotlight on the possibilities the fashion industry has to offer in terms of transforming livelihoods and Africa’s economy. Shining a light on the opportunities that are in the fashion industry that maybe so many people don’t know about. We wanted to put that spotlight and show people that fashion is a business that you can earn from. Fashion can solve unemployment, as there’s power in fashion .It is not just about showing off.

Q

: Most memorable fashion moment?

A

: The black roman tunic I wore at last year’s Rolex festival. It made rounds on the internet.

Q

: How do you stay updated in current fashion trends?

Q

A

A

QA

: I think I am one of those to whom the fashion element comes to naturally. I think about them(trends) first before they blow over.

: Last year’s Asfas were star studded should we expect the same this year? : The Asfas only keep getting better .We are hoping to give you a celebrity packed red carpet affair. This time, we will have a celebrity session where you will see your favorite celebrity walking the red carpet, the red carpet is going to be longer with lots of entertainment, more lights more action and better organized and more in time.

: Hobbies?

: I love listening to music, though I am a workaholic. The advantage is my work is fun, it’s centered on music and somehow I get entertained with what I am doing.

Q

: Any last words to upcoming stylist?

A

Q

: What skills are important for one to make it as stylist in Kampala?

A

: You need to be original, have a mind that can create not just going on Pinterest, Instagram and duplicating styles .You need to understand the person you are going to style as well (their personality).

But the key element is originality.

: You have to be yourself. Don’t say I want to be next so and so or maybe the next Michael Jackson, the next Radio and Weasel, the next Abryanz. You can’t be the next MJ, but you can be the next big you. Don’t compete with anyone put more effort in yourself. Aim at achieving more than you achieved the previous year.

Q

: Three fashion accessories you can’t do without?

A

: Right now, it’s my nose pin. It’s always with me as I never take it off. Then, my ear pins and tattoos.

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Awards 2018

Business Excellence gnising Reco

RDS A W A E C I O H C CONSUMERS ness Excellence Recognising Busi

Awards 2018

ing Business Excellen Recognis ce

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Proudly Sponsored By: 66

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CONSUMERS CHOICE AWARDS 2018

KAMPALA SERENA HOTEL 8th November, 2018

KAMPALA SERENA HOTEL 8th NOVEMBER 2018.

It is going to be that time of the year, time to discover who the public chose as their Top Choice!

Consumers Guide Magazine (CGM) will bring to you the Consumers Choice Awards. The CGM conducts an annual public survey to identify the top businesses.

Our Mission: Is to ensure that companies and individuals who go that extra distance for their customers get the recognition they so richly deserve.

The bottom line: Consumers Choice Award recipients are NOT selected by a panel of judges, but are chosen by the consumers.

No other award in Uganda measures to the same extent the opinions of consumers and businesses of markets it represents.

Recipients are chosen by consumers: Real Votes. Real Winners.

-

www.consumerschoiceawards.biz

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Everyday Health

Guide to Spotting Counterfeit Skin Care Products.

By Murindwa Keith

U

ganda’s population is approximately forty-five million with well up-to 60% falling between 15-64 years of age. It comes as no surprise that the cosmetics and beauty industry is currently one of the most lucrative in Uganda. We are witnessing a trend where a multitude of business people are rushing to satisfy the ever growing demand for skin care products and women are always being encouraged to try new products.

Counterfeit cosmetics are “fake” products or knockoff goods of another product. Individuals make labels similar to a popular brand’s label and stick it on their packaging. The label looks identical to the authentic label, with only the slightest change being made in the spellings or a few colors here and there. Some Ugandans are aware they’re purchasing fake products when they do. The original products tend to be expensive and someone downtown is selling a replica, we convince ourselves that they’re equally effective.

Unfortunately, we’re wrong. Majority of the skin care products on the market are poor quality, ineffective or manufactured with concerning ingredients. Dr. Ronald Katureebe states that counterfeit skin products are posing a mini epidemic in Kampala. Dr. Ronald Katureebe is a licensed Dermatologist at Kampala Dermatology Skin Clinic.

Kampala Dermatology Skin Clinic specializes in treatment of skin, hair and nails. They offer consultative services, laboratory services and skin products. They also offer surgical services and laser surgery for some skin conditions.

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As Consumers Guide Magazine It’s our mandate to make sure you are using the products that are good for your health and not those that may ruin your life. It’s important to recognize that in July 2018, Uganda National Bureau of Standards’ market surveillance inspectors sampled 249 products for quality; the cosmetics registered a 100% failure rate!

Isn’t that alarming? www.cgmagazine.biz

Everyday Health

Ways to Ensure You Don’t Buy Counterfeit Skin Care Products.

Dr. Katureebe informs us that buying genuine skin care products is good and we can have better results if the buyer is aware of their skin type and what it requires. In order to use appropriate skin care products, we have to realize that different products go for different skins.

Human beings have three skin categories; dry skin, normal skin and oily skin. “People with good skin know that they have a good skin; they rarely get skin issues and we rarely see them here”. Good skin is usually called Normal skin; it has a good balance of oil and water. The pores are barely visible and it has few imperfections. Dr Ronald encourages people with normal skin to visit a specialist from time to time to get advice on products and practices that will maintain their skin and products they should avoid. “Preventive treatment is the best treatment”.

Some people have dry skin. It is sensitive and characterized by allergies and reactions to many skin products. With dry skin; pores are hardly seen, it’s dull, rough and has visible lines.

Because of the lack of water, it tends to crack, peel, and become itchy and scaly. On the other hand, oily skin is shiny, has big pores and pimples. People with oily skins are encouraged to apply skin care products that are labeled oil free or noncomedogenic. Dry skin, needs oil based products. With this information in mind, you are ready to purchase appropriate skin care products, but of course you want to get information about counterfeit skin care products.

Dr. Katureebe

Kampala Dermatology Skin Clinic Plot 27, Bandali Rise, Bugolobi.

Tel:+256 700 729 373 Email: rmkatureebe@gmail.com

Dr. Katureebe appreciates the role of the Ugandan Government and Uganda National Bureau of Standards in cracking the whip on the sale of counterfeit skin products.

He invites the public to read wide and especially to look at the Uganda National Bureau of Standards list for banned skin care products. UNBS released a list of banned cosmetics and this is available for the public to look at. With this information, we should be able to steer away from already identified counterfeits.

He warns the public about the purchase and use of mixed creams. Some people take a variety of cosmetics as well as medications from pharmacies and mix them to come up with creams.

Usually the first outcome of using mixed creams is very good and the consumers get hooked. The danger is that these creams contain drugs that Dermatologists rarely prescribe and people are using them for weeks or months, and eventually they damage their skin. www.cgmagazine.biz

When purchasing skin care products around town, it’s important to check out the branding.

It can be difficult to tell the difference between authentic and counterfeit products. But often a close look at the product label and packaging is all that’s needed to spot a fake.

Watch for misspellings or uneven fonts on the labeling, and double check that product images match what’s shown on the manufacturer’s own website images. Use common sense.

Yeah, common sense!

Well, at times you get to a shop and look around and something doesn’t feel right. Products are exposed to extreme temperatures and this can alter the ingredients’ potency. They could have been in the shelves for a while and are probably expired. The easiest way to tell that a makeup product has gone bad is it’s smell. If you notice an odor in makeup, take it to the bin.

The most important trick in purchase is to trust your instincts. If the advert promises results that are too good to believe or the price is really low; watch your step. Counterfeiters use cheap ingredients and many shortcuts to take that low price and make a big profit. They don’t abide by the authority’s guidelines and their products may not have legal backing of UNBS. Dr. Katureebe encourages us to purchase skin products from places we can trust.

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Everyday Health

The Hidden Dangers of Counterfeit Skin Care Products.

Dr. Katureebe highlights that mixed creams contain a number of ingredients, which are supposed to be used only following prescription by a medical specialist. Ingredients like Topical Steroids; these are creams like MCG, Candiderm cream, Betaderm and Lucem which are medicines for rash and other skin diseases. Topical steroids are put in mixed creams to treat rashes and disease. A user gets addicted to the mixed cream because every time they stop using it, the skin diseases tend to return. Extensive use causes skin to lighten, become thin, lose immunity and develop acne. Hydroquinone is another dangerous compound that is being added in mixed creams. Hydroquinone is a skin lightening compound that is rarely used in prescription.

Dermatologists prescribe products containing hydroquinone to patients that are suffering from diseases that darken their bodies. It’s prescribed to be applied on the dark areas or scars only for a short time. Prolonged application of bleaching creams containing hydroquinone can ruin your life as it has a side effect that causes the buildup of a compound that causes a condition called exogenous ochronosis. Exogenous ochronosis is characterized by presence of dark patches on one’s face; people that are faced with this condition are locally referred to as “Namakulas”.

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On the other hand, the ingredient list may mention the ingredients used to make the product, but it never mentions the conditions in which it was manufactured. During the manufacture of some of the makeup cosmetics, ideal sanitation measures are ignored. The places are appallingly filthy. The bacteria in these facilities makes its way into the skin products and with time onto your skin.

Some counterfeit makeup contains paint thinner. This has been added to some lipsticks and is known to contain lead and mercury.

Paint thinner can cause irritation to the eyes, nose and throat. Mercury and lead can cause heavy metal poisoning and it has long term effects like insomnia and miscarriages.

So before you deep your lips into lipstick, take care. Counterfeit makeup can contain arsenic. Arsenic is rat poison. The unsanitary factories in which fake make up is made host lots of rats. It’s speculated that these facilities are loaded with lots of rat poison to kill the rats and it gets its way into the products. Your eyelids could fuse together if you apply an eye product carrying samples of Arsenic. Continued exposure to make up containing Arsenic will cause drowsiness, headache, diarrhea and in extreme cases cancer.

“There’s been some evidence that it’s a carcinogen and can cause cancer especially if used for a long time” Dr Ronald Katureebe confirmed. He notes that “medically, hydroquinone can be used to certain percentages less than 4% but with mixed creams it goes up to 8-10%” “Initially the effect is good and your skin lightens up but this is a danger”. Unfortunately, Dr. Katureebe emphasizes that the condition called “Namakula” is permanent; there’s no known medical cure for it!

Dr. Katureebe seeks to bring skin doctors to light. Dermatologists are licensed medical doctors who go further to study skin, hair and nails. A dermatologist will examine you, do lab tests on samples of your skin, take a history and offer treatment just like doctors do with illness. “Not everyone who calls themselves skin doctor is a skin doctor”. Dermatologists usually work with in medical facilities. Uganda has always had few dermatologists because this specialty has not been taught in Uganda at post graduate level until lately when Mbarara University of Science and Technology offered it. Uganda has less than 10 Dermatologists and as such there is a big void which has been attacked by many “skin doctors”. Before you apply any exciting skin products it’s best you get the opinion of a specialist.

Mercury is another dangerous compound that is used to make mixed creams. It’s also a carcinogen. Dr. Katureebe notes that while these harmful ingredients are being used to make mixed creams and counterfeit cosmetics we will never find them listed amongst the ingredients. It’s always a “business secret”.

In conclusion, Dr. Ronald encourages Ugandans to embrace safe skin lightening if they are not comfortable with their skin tone.

Dermatologists have safe medical cosmetics that will help you improve your skin. That’s a sure way to avoid the side effects of counterfeit skin care products!

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Technology

World’s First Laptop with Two Screens Launched

by Chinese Tech Giant Lenovo.

By Our Technology Correspondent

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hile at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, Germany, Lenovo launched the Yoga Book C930. The company claims it’s the world’s first dual screen laptop which will be available at the end of September 2018.

The dual-screen Yoga Book C930 on display.

Lenovo launched the world’s first laptop with two screens late August 2018 as it looked to continue momentum from a recent rebound in PC sales.

The Yoga Book C930 is a Windows device with the following features: ■■ Two screens with a digital keyboard, ■■ One screen that turns into an e-reader, ■■ A Bluetooth pen to write on the screen.

How to Share Your Location with Loved Ones So They Know You’re Safe.

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our phone can be used to share your location with anyone momentarily or indefinitely, depending on the tool you use. The best tools are Google Maps, iMessage and Facebook.

Consumers Guide Magazine has compiled these tools to avoid the “text me when you get home,” conversation we often have.

When I share my location, my friends and family know I’ve made it home after a long drive. Also, I’m in full control, so I can turn off the sharing whenever I want.

There are lots of options for doing this, including using Google Maps, Facebook Messenger and Apple iMessage. Here’s how to do it with each of those. If you’re riding in the back of an Uber or stuck in traffic or you’re in a new city on a business trip, for your loved ones and colleagues to know you are safe, you can share your location using either of the tools below.

Google Maps: ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■

Open Google Maps on your phone.

Tap the menu button on the top-left of the screen.

Tap “Location Sharing.”

Choose how long you want to share for.

Choose who you want to share with.

Confirm that you’d like to share your location.

Send the message.

Facebook Messenger: ■■ Open Facebook Messenger on your phone.

■■ Start a conversation with the person or people you want to share with.

■■ Tap the + button on the left-side of the screen.

■■ Choose Location ■■ Tap “Share location for 60 minutes”

iMessage.

■■ Open iMessage on your iPhone or iPad. ■■ Start a conversation with the person or people you want to share your location with.

■■ Tap the “i” button on the top-right of the screen.

■■ Choose “Share my location” ■■ Choose to share for an hour, until the end of the day or indefinitely.

What they’ll see: For each of these, the other person (or people) will receive a link or a map that shows exactly where you are. If you’re in a place you shouldn’t be — maybe lost in a city — they’ll know that. If you’re in traffic and are running late, they’ll be able to see that, too.

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Electronics

Choosing the Right Power Bank to power your Smart phone.

By Felix Oketcho

Smartphones have become dependable companions in our day today life. This is due to the connectivity they provide. One of the most popular connectivity apps for smartphones is the instant messaging app WhatsApp. This works over the internet connection and can make use of Wi-Fi to ensure it doesn’t eat into your data plan.

It’s acknowledged popularity and reliability in service provision to the user does not go without challenges.

There are two challenges that are the most common and they are somewhat connected to each other. These are Battery and Overheating. A lot of battery issues are caused by charging with a charger of improper amperage, where the battery is either charged too fast or too slow or the device being too powerful, with too high of a drain, for a dinky 3000 mAh battery. Overheating is usually caused by the battery being overcharged or a faulty processor getting too hot.

are rated on their ampere-hours, measured in milliamps to create nondecimal numbers. The mAh ratings denote capacity for power flow over time. LithiumIon and Lithium-Polymer batteries are the most common rechargeable cell types found in Power Banks Power banks are very popular these days.

They have even left the gazetted places they are licensed to be traded and now hawked in broad daylight by vendors in almost every street in urban centres and places where public commuters park. They are imported in the country in all shapes and sizes to give a variety to the buyer to choose. Here is a huge variance in the cost of different ones.

Simba Telecom Engineer Martin (not real name) provides few options for our readers to consider when buying genuine durable power bank. He says it’s good to look at a power bank brand name to guarantee its durability for instance Samsung has long term durability. He also adds that Knowing the different specifications affects its performance in the way you use it.

Consumers guide therefore Guides you to buying

What does this call for?

This calls for the need to purchase the right power bank that constantly supply power to the phone to avoid unwarranted blackout or cause abrupt stoppage amidst serious conversation or discussion.

Portable Power Banks are comprised of a special battery in a special case with a special circuit to control power flow. They allow the user to store electrical energy (deposit it in the bank) and then later use it to charge up a mobile device (withdraw it from the bank). There are a number of power banks in the marketplace sold in open bazaar streets and retail arcade shops.

They demand maximum scrutiny when it comes to choosing the right power bank for your smart phone.

Power Banks common to mobile devices

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“Size and weight are an important consideration when buying a power bank, especially if you are going to use it when travelling.”

Electronics

the best power bank. There are many different points to consider when buying a power bank.

Here are our key selection points: •

•

Match the charge capacities: One of the most important points to consider when buying or selecting a power bank is the capacity required. Think about what needs to be charged because a tablet takes more than a smartphone and so forth. Also some smartphones take more charge than others. To find out, take a look at your smartphone specification. The battery capacity will be given under the battery area. The charge is measured in mAh. This means milliamp hours. So a thousand mAh battery would supply 1000 mA, i.e. 1 A for one hour. Older phones probably had capacities of under 1000 mAh, but modern ones can be up to 3000 mAh. For example an iPhone X has a battery capacity of 2716 mAh, etc. To provide a complete charge the power bank capacity must be slightly more than that of the device to be charged - it is always best to have a bit extra to make sure the device gets a full charge. It is worth noting that the batteries in tablets have much larger batteries, so you’ll need a much bigger power bank if you are to charge a tablet.

Power bank output charge current:

•

•

When buying a power bank it’s important to think about the rate at which it can deliver charge. This affects the charge time. You can gain an idea of what is needed from the chargers that are provided with the device. Many small USB devices only expect a charge current of about half an amp, phones may take about an amp, and tablets around 2.5 amps. If anything has a fast charge capability then it will take more current, possibly 3 amps. With more devices having this capability it is worth taking note. Normally the power banks will say what current they can deliver. The lower the maximum current it can provide, the longer it will take to charge the device. Some larger power banks have multiple outputs and each output will be specified and often written on the power bank. However, be aware that if a device has multiple outputs then it may not be able to deliver the maximum current to all the outputs at the same time. So if you want to get fast charge times, then buy a power bank with a high output current. If the phone or device cannot take the maximum current, don’t worry, it will only take what it can handle.

Number of ports: Early power banks only had a single output port, but with people using them more and more and wanting to charge multiple devices at the same time, many of the larger power banks come with two and sometimes more ports. Just check that the output current capabilities for each port - are they enough? Also remember that if multiple devices are charged at the same time, the power bank may not give the maximum current to each port, there may be an overall maximum current output which will be shared between the outputs, slowing down the charging of the devices.

Size & weight: Size and weight are an

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Electronics

•

•

•

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important consideration when buying a power bank, especially if you are going to use it when travelling. The greater the capacity of the power bank the larger and heavier it will be.

Lithium-ion vs lithium polymer: There are two main battery technologies used with power banks: lithium-ion and lithium polymer. Although very similar in most respects there are a few minor differences. Lithium-ion is their high power density, lack of what’s called the memory effect (when batteries become harder to charge over time), and their significantly lower cost than lithium-polymer. Lithium-polymer batteries are generally more robust and flexible, especially when it comes to the size and shape of their build and they tend to last longer. They are also lightweight, have an extremely low profile, and have a lower chance of suffering from leaking electrolyte.

Some power bank specifications will state whether they are lithium ion or lithium polymer, but not all.

Charging connectors: Although the output on power banks is almost universally a USB Type A - the large USB connector that is used to interface with USB chargers, flash memory drives, etc, the connector used to charge the power bank is different. Typically it is a micro-USB, and occasionally a mini-USB, but some recently have incorporated a lightning connector so it can be charged by an Apple charger, with an Apple lead, reducing the number of different leads needed.

How to charge the power bank: It is worth remembering that you will

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need to charge the power bank itself. The larger the capacity, the longer it will take. If you only have a 1 amp charger and the power bank has a capacity of 5000 mAh, then it will take five hours to charge - well a little longer because not all the charge that enters the power bank is converted to stored charge, there is an efficiency factor of possibly 80% or more, so it will take longer.

Leads: When buying a power bank, don’t forget the leads. Not all power banks come with leads, either for charging devices from the power bank, or for charging the power bank itself. Especially the budget power banks may not come with leads, assuming you will provide your own.

One word of warning when taking large power banks on flights. In view of the exceedingly high power density levels, and the issues that were experienced with a certain type of mobile phone resulting from issues with its lithium battery, some airlines are quite vigilant and will only take a certain number and size of lithium based batteries, including power banks. So beware when taking very large power banks on flights on your travels.

Power banks are particularly useful items to have, especially if you use your smartphone tablet or other device a lot. It is not always possible to get to a source of power to charge from the mains, so having a portable power bank is an ideal solution.

As there are so many power banks on the market, it is helpful to understand the issues so you can buy the best power bank for your application.

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Statutory Mandatory Series (PPDA)

PPDA to unveil online procurement in January 2019.

By Felix Oketcho

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s government agencies struggles to deliver timely service to the public, Public Procurement and Disposal of Public assets Authority (PPDA) in its role as oversight body of public procurement is in final preparations to unveil online procurement hence kick start the inaugural handling of procurement electronically.

This is under the electronic government procurement project that is set to be unveiled in January 2019. PPDA Executive Director Benson Turamye says,eGP comes at the time when government is making a move to digitalize all its bodies in upholding its promise on governance.

“When fully functional,eGP will see a migration away from the hand delivery of bids to government agencies. All procurement processes will be handled online, right from posting of bid notices to upholding bid/tender documents and finally making payments to suppliers,” Turamye explained.

With at least 60% of government revenue spent on public procurement there is likely hood that this system will save close to 20 percent of the money lost annually. “eGP will ensure transparency by allowing technology rather than people to do some of the processes, eliminating the interface between suppliers and public procurement and disposal entities which has been one of the most common medium that has allowed corruption to flourish,”Turamye said.

“When you open up and take the process online, the temptation to pay people in the system for favours becomes harder. This makes it cheaper for the service provider given that all bids are available online and will be looked at fairly and transparently,” he added.

But Florence Nakyeyune PPDA e-Procurement Manager says through electronic procurement system government be able to save 10 to 20% of the entire size of the development budget but said countries that have embraced this system have substantially saved30% of public expenditure in public procurement therefore reducing the cost of procurement for both the government and service provider.

Nakyeyune however explained that the

PPDA Boss: Benson Turamye

system will be rolled out in phases particularly starting with ten procuring and disposal entities namely National Information and Technology Authority of Uganda (NITA-U), Ministry of finance, Ministry of water and environment, Kampala Capital Council Authority (KCCA), Uganda National Roads Authority,(UNRA) Civil Aviation Authority(CAA),Jinja District local government,Mpigi District local government and National Social Security Fund.

However Nakyeyune says PPDA shall continue to carry out sensitization and hands on training to stakeholders in procurement sector, departments and entities in order to give them skills they need to properly put correct data and information into the system.

Benefits of online procurement Turamye says the general public will so be able to access all the planned procurement plans of each government department, successful bids, and the cost of the bids, blacklisted bidders and the database of the registered service providers. The time between placing an advert calling for bids and evaluation takes about three months. To government, this is quite a long time as it is the entire first quarter of the financial year. “Through e-procurement this time can be reduced to much less than two weeks hence reducing on the rampant delays in public procurement as the time between putting in the request for bids and actual awarding of the contract will definitely reduce, ”Turamye said.

He adds that the system will also enhance adoption of procurement enhanced planning and decision making will be inevitable which should be a solution to this area. With the introduction of e GP,PPDA joins other government agencies such as Uganda Revenue Authority which adopted e-tax projects and the Uganda Registration Services Bureau that started the process of computerization.

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Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin and Marx’s Theory of History

By Plutocrat Andrew

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ou probably don’t think about Marxism when you think about Bitcoin. To most people, Marx stands out as a historical figure who didn’t like private property and capitalism. Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency with the ability to encourage markets by breaking down the worldwide barriers, doesn’t seem like it has much to do with him. You may think Marx wouldn’t like Bitcoin. If Marx were around today, he would see Bitcoin as an excellent example of his Theory of History in action; a global system, with roots in the crisis of capitalism, that will bring the world closer to his utopian ideals.

What many people don’t know about Marx is he admired capitalism as a creator of wealth.

While he despised the way that it abused the labor of the proletariat (working class), he saw it as a necessary step on the way to socialism and, eventually, communism. He believed in historical materialism, which claimed that society was shaped by physical conditions at certain points in history. These physical conditions would create an environment for revolutionary changes in human society. If this seems confusing, the best analogy I can draw is with Darwin’s theory of evolution.

Just as the Origin of the Species sought to explain how biological creatures change over time as a result of their environment, Marx sought to explain the process behind humanity’s economic evolution. Marx admired the work of Darwin and thought that his (Darwin’s) work created a foundation that he could build on.

From his letters:

One does, of course, have to put up with the clumsy English style of argument. Despite all shortcomings, it is here that, for the first time, ‘teleology’ in natural science is not only dealt a mortal blow but its rational meaning is empirically explained.” Marx’s history of class struggle outlines 6 stages of history, each one creating the foundation for the next. They are primitive communism, slave society, feudalism, capitalism, socialism, and communism. There is an interesting parallel between how Marx describes the transition from capitalism to socialism and what we are seeing today with the adoption of Bitcoin. As I said before, Marx believed that capitalism was a fantastic tool for increasing production and development. You can attack his beliefs as much as you want, but there is no denying that Marx was brilliant when it came to forecasting the consequences of trade.

From The Communist Manifesto: “Modern industry has established the world market, for which the discovery of America paved the way. This market has given an immense development to commerce, to navigation, to communication by land...as industry, commerce, navigation, railways extended, in the same proportion the bourgeoisie developed, (and) increased its capital.”

“Darwin’s work is most important and suits my purpose in that it provides a basis in natural science for the historical class struggle.

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Keep in mind that this man is writing in 1848, a time when the “world market” barely existed. Marx carries the consequences of the global spread of capitalism to what he believed to be their logical conclusion: “In place of the old local and national seclusion and self-sufficiency, we have intercourse in every direction, universal interdependence of nations. And as in material, so also in intellectual production.

Cryptocurrency The intellectual creations of individual nations become common property. National one-sidedness and narrow-mindedness become more and more impossible, and from the numerous national and local literatures there arises a world literature.”

Marx never explicitly outlines how capitalism becomes socialism. Nor does he give a timeline for when it will happen. All that he leaves readers with is a certainty that this revolution will happen and that it will occur at a time when capitalism has spread across the entire globe threatening the clarity of national boundaries and ownership of intellectual creations. While there are obvious real world uses for Bitcoin, only the most ardent supporters of the protocol will claim that the technology in its current state is the best option for conducting everyday transactions.

Buying products with BTC can be clumsy

“Darwin’s work is most important and suits my purpose in that it provides a basis in natural science for the historical class struggle.

One does, of course, have to put up with the clumsy English style of argument. Despite all shortcomings, it is here that, for the first time, ‘teleology’ in natural science is not only dealt a mortal blow but its rational meaning is empirically explained.” and time consuming. Prices change by the minute. Conversion to fiat can be burdensome. Secure storage is a vexing process for those who are not computer savvy. Convenient storage is risky.

So why has there been a steadily increasing rate of adoption? My hypothesis is that people around the world are excited about Bitcoin because of the promise that it holds as an alternative to the existing economic and political structure. To many users, Bitcoin isn’t just an alternative currency or money transferring system. It is a representation of their distaste with the world economy we are living in.

Recently, there have been arguments that the Bitcoin community is a “rich, white, male disaster”. While there is truth to this statement, it is also an editorialized simplification. A more measured analysis of the data reveals a different conclusion. An excerpt from an old blog post says; “The results so far from the 2014 community survey suggest the community is now only about one quarter libertarian, matched by a quarter liberal, and a quarter more left-wing, with a few smaller groups of other political identities. When asked to choose a political label, we get responses from all four quadrants of the political compass.”

And when discussing the idea that Bitcoiners are wealthy: “On the contrary, during my ethnographic research a far more common background story is one of precarious living arrangements, economic uncertainty, and limited opportunities.

Bitcoiners rarely talk about how many bitcoins they have, instead focusing on when they first heard about it, when they first got involved, and how they feel about the project. They do not talk about their stash as an asset, but rather as a shared interest. When the cruder financial implications are discussed, they are usually framed in terms of empowerment and escape, the plans for buying a house, raising a family, or gaining the economic freedom to focus on some other project.”

The same blog post paints a picture of the average Bitcoin user as an everyday person frustrated by what Marx would describe as the “uninterrupted disturbance of all social conditions, everlasting uncertainty and agitation” that distinguishes our modern “bourgeois epoch”. These people are not attracted to Bitcoin because they want to buy drugs or get rich quick. They are human beings frustrated with the instability of our modern society. They are captivated by a system that just might offer hope for a better way. This mentality can be traced back to the very inception of Bitcoin.

While Satoshi never actually outlines his mission for this technology in the Bitcoin white paper, the note embedded in the Genesis block (the first block in the bitcoin blockchain) hints at what he/she/they wanted to accomplish with Bitcoin.

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Cryptocurrency “Jan. 3, 2009: The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.”

The 2008 worldwide collapse was a monumental failure by the financial sector and the governments that oversee them that ended up having global consequences that hurt the financially vulnerable people of the world more than anyone else. Economists decided the best course of action to fix this situation was a bailout for banks, the same institutions that helped cause the crisis.

Judging by the Genesis Block note, Satoshi took issue with this course of action, and he viewed the cryptographic reliability of Bitcoin as a tool to stop this reliance on human agency. Satoshi had political motives as well. While he did not see Bitcoin as a necessary and sufficient tool for creating a better world, he believed it was a start. From the Cryptography Mailing List: “Yes, (we will not find a solution to political problems in cryptography), but we can win a major battle in the arms race and gain a new territory of freedom for several years. Governments are good at cutting off the heads of centrally controlled networks like Napster (the music sharing platform), but pure Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks like Gnutella and Tor seem to be holding their own.”

And here, again, we come back to Marx.

If Bitcoin does end up becoming part of a larger global revolution, its decentralized nature is exactly what Marx predicted. He did not believe in the proletariat’s ability to organize themselves effectively. From Phillip Gasper’s The Communist Manifesto: A Road Map To History’s Most Important Political Document: “Marx and Engels (his co-writer) never speculated on the detailed organization of a future socialist or communist society. The key task for them was building a movement to overthrow capitalism. If and when that movement was successful, it would be up to the members of the new society to decide democratically how it was to be organized, in the concrete historical circumstances in which they found themselves.”

And so the Bitcoin economy finds itself nine years into this social experiment, with no central authority or backing, but nonetheless a growing global community guided by nothing but the collective belief that there is a better way for the world to go about the ordinary business of life. Should it succeed in changing the way we all interact, historians and economists could very well be forced to re-evaluate their criticisms of a man that long ago predicted the evolution of human trade.

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The Man Behind Bitcoin Explaining Bitcoin to a luddite is like explaining the plot of an action-drama movie. One of the most interesting aspects is the superhero-like protagonist: our system’s very anonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.

Satoshi Nakamoto is thought to be a pseudonym for the unknown “Father of Bitcoin”; in Japanese, Satoshi Nakamoto roughly translates to “thinking clearly inside the foundation.” His preference for privacy is his hallmark. He used e-mail addresses and web-sites that were untraceable. In 2009, he produced his famous white paper in flawless English and invited interested developers to assist him with improving his code, written in C++.

In April, 2011, considering his work strong enough to pass onto others, he announced he was “moving onto other things” and has not been heard from since. Nakamoto’s desire for pure anonymity has been understood and should be respected; we live in a world where disruptive innovation that challenges the interests of governments and big business is eradicated.

Just ask Julian Assange, Edward Snowden and Kim Dotcom, or the creators of e-Gold, who were charged with money laundering and the operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business. Human nature is what it is. We love a great masked crusader story, and some consider it natural to seek the truth, no matter the consequence. Many publications attempted to discover the man behind Bitcoin, including The New Yorker, Fast Company and Vice Magazine. All failed, and the question remained: who is Satoshi Nakamoto? We ended up with a few clues: according to his Peer-2-Peer foundation account details, he is a 37-year-old male (as of 2011), living in Japan. His choice of language was English, but his spellings and colloquialisms shifted from American to British, meaning he could be more than one person.

His posts and responses to emails came at random times, with no discernable patterns, meaning he could be in different time zones.

What we do know is that Satoshi is highly intelligent, economically and mathematically brilliant, well-versed in cryptography, a capable (but not expert) programmer, and likely has a background in academia, as his white paper is written in an academic style.

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Cryptocurrency Given what happens to disruptive innovators in today’s world, Satoshi Nakamoto had good reasons to stay anonymous. The developers who worked alongside him, and the community that flourished with his gift, respected this desire. Even if it wasn’t personal safety he was concerned about, and it was modesty, or dislike of attention, or just plain old personal preference, his desire for privacy was always stated. It was his wish. In the end, his identity should only matter to those who are looking to bring him down or hold him accountable to the actions they consider detrimental to their own way of life. Apart from being unkind and disrespectful, it is simply dangerous to expose people of this magnitude. The Bitcoin community respected this wish from the start. ‘We didn’t dig much; rather we understood his/her/their desire and, understanding the uselessness of gossip, we turned our focus to Nakamoto’s incredibly innovative concept instead As Eleanor Roosevelt famously said, “Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, and small minds discuss people.” Bitcoiners are idea-driven people.

It has been said that the catalyst for the ‘reinvention of digital cash (a.k.a. Bitcoin) was the horrific 2008/2009 worldwide financial crisis5.

Confidence in fiat (government issued) currencies came into question with practices like quantitative easing by the American Federal Reserve and other central banks, private or public reserves, or governments themselves.

Our need for Bitcoin

However, some of us are awakening to the dangers of our current financial and banking infrastructure and policies, understanding that the systems we have in place are not sustainable, practical or beneficial to the advancement of humankind. The entire financial system seems, in oversimplified terms, to accrue a disproportionate share of all wealth to the richest and best connected. Niall Ferguson, in his book “The Great Degeneration”, explains that, since the 1970’s, real income (income adjusted for the effects of inflation over time) for the ever-shrinking middle class has gone unchanged at best and decreased at worst, according to how you crunch the numbers.

Essentially, quantitative easing is economics lingo for ‘let’s create more money, thereby devaluing all existing money ever-so-slightly (this is what inflation is), and retain the newly minted money for our own use’ - usually to spend on propping up the economy. You can see how that would appeal to governments and central banks the world over. However, the public was soon witnessing an all-out global recession, and it hit home. Humans lost their houses, their pensions and their dignity, while the indifferent and egodriven ultrarich “banksters” and instigators in the global meltdown collected their bonuses and watched their companies collect trillions of dollars in bailout funds. The complete lack of respect for the non-rich became more visibly apparent during this time. What is wrong with these ultra-rich people? Our lack of respect for each other seems to have reached a pinnacle.

Some of the world’s most brilliant minds are attracted to Bitcoin; even if they don’t particularly support it, they are intrigued by its development and growing pains. We live in a world where people can simply vanish for speaking out against infrastructures, institutions, or governments we consider damaging to ourselves, our environment, and our way of life. Most discussions about Satoshi Nakamoto occur when explaining the Bitcoin story to new adopters: “You mean we don’t know who created it? How is that possible!” Yes, it is neat, isn’t it? When we agree with the intrigue of the anonymous creator and get back to the benefits of Bitcoin, the topic eventually disappears from discussion, and this is where the real magic begins. We humans are truly incredible beings.

We are so very capable of moulding the world around us into what we desire. We accomplish incredible feats by focusing our attention and power into what needs to be done – individually and collectively.

In the western capitalist system, most wealth generated through the computer and internet eras has accrued to the wealthiest 1% and 0.1% of individuals, whose real incomes and wealth have risen up to 10 times in that same period. For example, if your family was moderately wealthy in the 1970’s, chances are you and your brood are now ten to one hundred times richer today, while your middle class brethren, on average, haven’t budged.

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Cryptocurrency Our system simply cannot continue as is without a very large number of people realizing that this is grossly - systemically - unfair. Where we once had a thriving and prosperous middle class, we now have an alarmingly large swath of society trapped as poor and working poor, alongside a stagnant middle class. There is potential and power in each one of us, but the fruits of our labours are being systematically sent to the the top, so the rich and ultra-rich can do whatever the rich and ultra-rich do to feed their collective materialism and ego.

Thankfully, however, there are incredible human beings who choose to dedicate their time, energy and resources to pursuits other than materialism and ego.

The Bitcoin community is filled with these types of individuals: people who work to build sustainable infrastructures so we may live in a win-win environment and support the matters in our lives that are of true significance: the environment, which sustains our physical bodies; safety and freedom from fear, which sustains our emotional and spiritual wellbeing; and access to knowledge and the pursuit of purposeful work, which sustains our incredible minds and souls. The systems we knowingly or unknowingly choose to engage in now, immensely limit our potential as individuals and society as a whole. They do not support the development of great minds.

Distraction from Work Part of the problem with our current global culture is the power of the media to distract us from the work that we need to accomplish to create win-win environments. We live in a world where Cardi B’s I Like It video and Drake’s KeKe Do You Love Me (In My Feelings) song is our top trending topic; where we riot violently over lost premier league games and not over the inclusion of toxins in our personal care products, dangerous policies, or horrific acts of genocide or war that rage all over the world. Is it that we don’t care?

Or is it that we are so distracted by the latest gossip that we are literally amusing ourselves to death? Because we are feeling the pressure of our broken economic system(s), it’s becoming impossible to ignore the promise of something like Bitcoin.

This innovation offers an alternative system -

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one that is a decentralized, network-based, cooperative way to transfer any amount of value, to anyone, anywhere, at anytime, and for a fraction of the current costs.

In a world where Western Union is the most recognized logo, you can imagine the possibilities for cost-savings! The true potential of this innovation is for the 6 billion of the world’s poorest: the underbanked. But, remember, we are distracted. Out of over 50 people I personally polled, most people could not actually explain or define Bitcoin, but they could tell me all about how “the Governor of the Central Bank has issued warnings against Bitcoin”, how “Bitcoin’s CEO committed suicide”, and how “their neighbor got robbed and he’s now bankrupt.” Like it or not, the majority of people are still convinced by 30-second television bits that focus on the 1% of “bad” news. And why would these news clips focus on anything else? Traditional journalism, after all, is geared towards selling copies, written by non-experts in the fields they generally report on, to a population of media consumers who expect ‘bread and circus’ from their media: shiny scandals, controversies, and flashy doom and gloom headlines; if it bleeds, it leads.

Bitcoin challenges our current infrastructure and, on the whole, could stand to rewrite the rules on wealth distribution and wealth transfer. The hyper-powerful and ultra-rich owners/executives of both the financial sector and media do not support anything that challenges their position. They are afraid of Bitcoin heralds and a disruption of their power base. There is a lot of work that needs to be done to reverse the trend of wealth inequality, and distractions will always try to deter us. However, we must remain in constant effort to convert small minds to great minds and unleash the incredible potential in all of us. Focus not on what is served, bleeding, on the platter of conventional media, but instead seek to find true innovation and help improve the world in whatever way you can.

Written By: Plutocrat Andrew andrew@caramarket.com

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Agriculture

GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL POULTRY FARMING

The house should have a water way with a steep slope to allow rain waste to run off and have a good overhang.

The house should be at least 1.8 - 2.0m high so that a person can stand upright when inside. Need for litter like coffee husks and wood husks.

The housing must allow the fresh excreta (chicken droppings) to be removed from underneath.

Poultry housing

Rat proof: all chickens sheds to keep away rats and dogs and cats even birds which eat the chicken feeds and bring in fleas and even diseases.

Are you engaged poultry farming as a business? This how you can improve on your business to get maximum profits. Poultry farm house is a basic requirement for poultry farming, short of that you may not succeed as thought out to be.

Housing of Chicken (Layers) The purpose erecting a poultry shelter or housing is to protect the birds from dogs , cats, snakes, rats and pests and thieves and to keep out mice ,rats and birds from eating valuable poultry feeds and transmitting diseases.

Basic requirements for the building include: ■■ It should be rain proof ■■ It protects chicken from direct sun shine ■■ It should be not be subjected to flooding, meaning it should be designed and constructed slopping a little a bit.

■■ Easy to clean ■■ It must have a solid door with a cock, ■■ Positioning of the house is an important consideration in order to protect poultry from wind, rain storms and prevailing wind to cool the house in warm climate like in districts that experience too much sun shine like Karamoja.

Outside the house:

To do this, ensure the floor is made of concrete and the chicken wise holes are so small for rodents to get in. preferably ½ inch by ½ inch.

Do not over crowd the chicken and floor space should be as follows; Chicks between 0-6 weeks old should be accommodated in 10-12 birds per m2, meaning the floor size 2m x2m per 100 birds.

Pullets - 16 weeks old, 5-7 birds per m2 floor size 2m x2m per 25 birds. mnm2, floor size 5mx2m per 25 birds However the birds that are in laying in cages, the floor space may be 12-15 birds per meter (M2.

Cage size for 3 layers ; 40cm long x 30cm wide x 45 cm high,.

For five layers: 50cm long x 30cm wide x 45cm high.

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Agriculture SELECTING EGGS FOR HATCHING

■■ Chickens are sensitive to aflatoxins - never use rotten maize while making feeds.

Improved nutrition can raise the average number of eggs laid per clutch by 100%.

Fertilized eggs are live and successful hatching depends on how they are taken care of from laying until setting.

The broad end of an egg has air sac through which the eggs breathes. Egg should be stored with the broad end facing upwards. The egg shell is porous (has little holes which if blocked may suffocate the embryo)

Feeding poultry (FEEDS) ■■ Chick mash should be used for chicks of 0 to 8 weeks of age.

■■ Growers’ mash should be used for pullets up to 18 weeks of age.

■■ Layers’ mash should be used for birds of 18 weeks to 76 weeks of age.

■■ Use recommended feed troughs e.g.

Naivasha feeders.

■■ Fill the trough 1/3 to ½ full for a full day.

■■ Feed once or twice a day.

■■ Always buy feeds from reputable feed, stockists or manufactures.

■■ Always mix the micro-nutrients (amino acids) first before mixing them with the rest of the feeds.

To prevent rotting, eggs grow slowly (fertile), eggs that are more than 14 days old should not be used for hatching.

POULTRY FEEDING –DAILY FEED REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH GROWTH.

Farmers should maintain the right feeds quantities for chickens at each stage of growth as indicated here: An egg laying chicken requires 130 -140 gm of feed per day.

A chick requires a minimum of 60g per day –if they finish their daily ratios, give them a fruit and vegetable cuttings to ensure they feed continuously.

■■ Young chicken which are about to start laying eggs should be fed 60g for two and a half months and then put on layer diet (140g per day). Supplement the feed with vegetable cuttings, edible plants leaves and fruit peelings in addition to their feed ratios.

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Note For practical purposes, it is good to allow free lib for chicks and free feeding for the older birds. If the feed trough are appropriate and feeders are filled to appropriate levels. Birds will consume just enough and may not over eat.

In a poultry enterprise, cost of feed constitutes 80% to 90% of total costs. It’s important that feed wastages should be avoided wherever possible.

Very Important To improve on the feed quality, farmers making their own feeds should always have it tested to ensure the feed is well balanced.

Biyinzika poultry farmers has modern feed testing equipment that contest all nutrients and even the quality of the raw material used.

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Vaccination Program AGP

Vaccine

Mode of Administration

Remarks

Day 10

Gumbolo (1st dose)

Drinking water

Repeat after a month

Day 18

Gumbolo (2nd dose)

Drinking coater

3 weeks

New Castle disease (1st dose)

Eye drop or drinking water

3 weeks

Fowl Pox

Using web

8 weeks

New castle (2nd dose)

Drinking water intramuscular injection

18 weeks

Fowl typhoid

Eye drop or drinking water

19 weeks

New Castle (3rd dose)

Drinking water

De-worming

Repeat every 3 months Repeat every 3 months

Note: Never vaccinate sick chicken.

Kuroilers

Hatchability The Kuroiler will not brood or sit on their eggs.

However, when their eggs are put in the incubators or hatchery, they produce a good hatchability results, meaning majority of these eggs will hatch about 80% and above compared to local ones.

Benefits of keeping kuroiler bird (chicken) Kuroiler chicken grow faster Perhaps this is the biggest advantage of the Kuroiler birds. They grow faster. The best thing is that without any special commercial feeding. They can put on weight very quickly in scavenging environment while feeding on leftovers of food, grass, termites and many other kinds of food.

If a farmer is able to supplement the Kuroiler feeding with some commercial feeding or even locally available feeds such as yellow maize, soya and even chicken mash the Kuroiler birds can really grow well.

Get more eggs with Kuroiler bird.

The Kuroiler birds produce at least 150-200 eggs per year compared to the ordinary birds which produce about 40 eggs per year.

This is a reason which Kuroiler hens has been billed as the biggest poverty eradicators in the whole of East Africa.

A farmer is able to increase their production fourfold without any costly investment in feeding and housing.

It should be noted that unlike the local chicken the kuroiler hens do not brood i.e. they do not sit on their eggs. So if you want Kuroiler chicks you will need to invest in an incubator.

Get more meat with Kuroiler Kuroiler chicks will mature in 10 weeks compared to other ordinary birds which can take as many as months before they mature.

At maturity, the Kuroiler chicken will weigh up to 3.5 kg which makes them better than boilers which generally weigh 2.0.kgs to 2.5kgs at maturity.

Selecting quality chicks Get the best genetic possible. Try different breeds ‘then determine which works best for your area.

Try different hatcheries /farmers if the one you are using is not providing quality chicks find a new one.

Quality chicks should be ■■ Dry with long fluffed down ■■ Eyes should be bright and active ■■ Lively and alert ■■ Navels should be completely healed ■■ Legs should be completely bright and waxy to the touch.

■■ Free of deformities Arinda Nicholas Practicing Farmer, Animal Scientist – Rupin University (Israel), Bachelor-Animal Husbandry (MUK) Tel: +256 702 072 216 E-mail: arindanicholas90@gmail.com

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Sports Lake Victoria Serena Opens International 18-Hole Golf Course

By Phillip Corry

T

he dream has come true for home and visiting golfers in the country with Lake Victoria Serena Golf and Resort Spa launching their links course with the Serena Johnnie Walker Golf Open at Kigo, Lweza.

“The dream has come true to play golf on an 18-hole championship-like course in Uganda” were the opening remarks of Anthony Chege, the general manager of Kampala Serena Hotel during a recent launch of the Serena Johnnie Walker Golf Open at Kigo. This comes at a time this picturesque course with the finest fairways and greens has up-graded to an 18 hole championship course from nine holes. Upon this back ground, the course will host its first major open teeing off on the 3rd October with the professionals for 54 holes over three days before the main event on the 6th October 2018. Close to 180 golfers including the professionals are expected to take part and is an invitational tournament.

“Serena Hotel has been a great supporter of golfer over the years in Uganda and the region. This private investment will profile that Uganda has the best course that meets international standards. There is a bold plan as well to bid and host international tournaments like the Sunshine tour,” Chege added. Great prizes that will be at stake and will be won based on the different handicaps of players. The Lake Victoria Serena Golf course captain Moses Matsiko, also the managing director of Pinnacle Security concurred; The vibe is right. The whole East Africa is eager to play golf at the breath-taking Lake Victoria Serena Golf Course. We are ready to host golfers from the region at arguably the best facility on the land. I thank all the sponsors who have come up to contribute generously towards this noble cause. The total package for the professional golfers reserved is Shs 25M which could increase to $10,000(sh37.6m) and at least two top pros from Kenya will be invited for their 54-hole event, coming three days before the main do.

“On behalf of Johnnie Walker, we are delighted to be part of this partnership. The brand embodies excellence.

We are the headline sponsors of this championship that every golfer is keen to be part of We remain the leading icon of progress in the world. We are honored to be part of the launch of this world class facility,” UBL’s head of Whisky Portfolio, Annette Nakiyaga remarked. Besides golf, the facility also has quite other interesting activities that will give the visitors a worthwhile visit, ranging from romantic picnic cruise, Maisha spa as well as the marina & lago restaurant, as testified by the resort assistant golf manager, Shabiba Mbaziira. The 45,070m Marina can accommodate up to 24 boats, each with a service station for electricity. The tournament will be largely invitational.

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It’s Castle Lite Uganda Open at Entebbe Open

By Phillip Corry

E

ntebbe Club, the oldest club in East Africa is the center of focus this month as they host the prestigious 76th Uganda Golf Open. Nile Breweries under their popular brand Castle Lite, have sunk a total of 400 million into this annual tournament that brings the crème de creme in local and the regions best amateur and professional golfers.

The 68th Ladies Amateur Open will tee-off first from September 12-15 whereas the main event the 76th Amateurs Open will be played from September 18 -22.

The 13th Professionals Open that runs September 25-29 will have a kitty of about Shs 188m ($50000) courtesy of Castle Lite.

“This is the biggest that Uganda Professionals Open has had,” a smiling Innocent Kihika, the Uganda Golf Union president stated before announcing other tournament sponsors recently Time Cop, Ernest & Young, Barclays Bank, Britam Insurance, CBA Bank, Jumia Food and Serena Hotel in video adverts.

In a new twist, there will be a nearest to the pin contest and the hole-in-one challenge on every day of the competition.

And like at the Masters at the Augusta, there will be a new Par-3 contest to launch the Amateur Open on September 18 and it is as well the only event with the longest drive contest.

The putting challenge as well as the chip and putt competition, is restricted only to the Ladies Open. The Pro-Am event prior to the Professionals Open has been maintained but it will be played in team format (3 Amateurs and 1 Pro). Top 2 amateurs and the pro’s scores considered will incur donation of Shs50000 to charity.

Sports

Castle Lite Ug Open Tournament itinerary September 12-15: 68th Ladies Open September 18-22: 77th Amateur Open September 24-29: 13th Pros Open

Professional winners 2017: Stephen Ferreira (POR) 2016: Joshua Seale (RSA) 2015: Muthiya Madalitso (ZAM) 2014: Deo Akope (UGA) 2013: Vincent Byamukama (UGA) 2012: Dismas Indiza (KEN) 2011: Dismas Indiza (KEN) 2010: Jean Hakizimana (RWA) 2009: Richard Ainley (KEN) 2008: Dismas Indiza (KEN) 2007: Dismas Indiza (KEN)

AMATUER champions 2017: Ronald Rugumayo (Uganda) 2016: Ronald Otile (Uganda) 2015: Ronald Otile (Uganda) 2014: Willy Deus Kitata (Uganda) 2013: Peter Ssendawula (Uganda) 2012: Phillip Kasozi (Uganda) 2011: Rogers Byaruhanga (Uganda) 2010: Brian Mwesigwa (Uganda) 2009: Peter Ssendawula (Uganda) 2008: George Olayo (Uganda) 2007: Nicholas Rokoine (Kenya)

LADIES roll of honour 2017: Angel Eaton (Tanzania) 2016: Flavia Namakula (Uganda) 2015: Flavia Namakula (Uganda) 2014: Flavia Namakula (Uganda) 2013: Angel Eaton (Tanzania) 2012: Angel Eaton (Tanzania) 2011: Flavia Namakula (Uganda) 2010: Flavia Namakula (Uganda) 2009: Jasper Kamukama (Uganda) 2008: Melissa Nawa (Zambia) 2007: Mary Karano (Kenya)

The Rise & Rise of Rugby in Uganda.

By Deus Bugembe

R

ugby first came to Uganda in the colonial rule when the British imposed all they could on their colonies. The game had only been discovered the previous century in 1823 when an English school boy called William Webb Ellis in the middle of a football game, picked up the ball and ran with it. His name got inked in the game`s history as the World Cup has come to be known as the Webb Ellis trophy.

In Uganda, as the colonial masters went about with their policies, they spared some time to introduce rugby and Uganda played its first international game which came against Kenya in 1958, three years after the Uganda Rugby Football Union (URFU) had been formed. Before all this came into play, a rugby club which has revolved over time came into shape. Initially, it was called “Uganda Rugby Football Club”. Later it became “Uganda Kobs Rugby Football Club”. Its name was then changed to “Kampala Kobs Rugby Football Club”. The game has existed since the early 1930`s. The team has played against some of the worlds best teams including the British Lions, Wales and South Africa.

Fast forward to the sixties and seventies, the game kept growing with many intellects joining. The former president Idi Amin Dada also passionately played the game. The game`s colonial roots meant traditional schools were always going to be the easiest avenue from which to place rugby grassroots. The likes of Namilyango College, St. Mary`s College Kisubi and Kings College Budo led as they produced the best players.

SIDE BETS

■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■

Nearest to the pin.

To be played every day of the competition.

Hole-in-one.

Shall be played on all par-3 holes every day.

Longest drive.

Only Amateur Open.

Putting challenge.

Shall only be played for the Ladies Open.

Chip & Putt competition.

Chance to chip 3 balls to green and putt once (restricted to the ladies)

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Sports In the 90`s local rugby switched gears with the player base growing and the international games came in fast and thick with Kenya becoming a regular opponent. The year 1997, is perhaps the greatest year in the history of Uganda rugby, the year saw Uganda become officially a member of the World Rugby Governing body. Three years a continental rugby body called Confederation of African Rugby was formed, automatically adding Uganda as a member too.

A league was formed in 1991 and Heathens were the first ever Champions at the expense of Kobs (Kampala Old Boys). A string of clubs formed and more institutions have taken up the game. If 1991 was the peak, then 2007 can pass as the epitome when Uganda emerged Africa Champions in Madagascar.

It is the greatest achievement in Uganda rugby. 2009 also saw the Lady Rugby Cranes become the first Ugandan side to participate at a World Cup when they took part in the Dubai Rugby. Rugby might not be as popular as football but it’s undeniable the future preaches hope and greater heights. In the early 90s, the Schools` league, Uganda`s biggest player brewer, had the same traditional schools dominating until Hana Mixed popped from the blue to dislodge the status-quo. They opened doors for another outcast in Kololo S.S, leveling the playing ground in the process.

To date, there are over 70 registered clubs in the country both female and male. There all sorts of programmes like Tag trust and Get Into Rugby budding in youngsters for the future. More rugby grounds have been set to supplement Kyadondo, Legends, Makerere, Jinja, Mbale, Gulu, Kitgum, Lira rugby clubs.

The last two years (2016&2016) have seen the Rugby Cranes Sevens win back to back African Championships; this year had the lads making history when they played at Rugby Sevens World Cup in San Francisco, USA where they finished 19th out of 24 sides. The 15s national side has also played at Africa`s elite level since gaining promotion in 2015.

However, despite the rise all looking glossy, local rugby still has hurdles to overcome.

Player welfare issues still remain a constant in the media. For a contact game like rugby, injured players need insurance but it has not been the case here. The game is amateur.

Sponsors are hesitant let alone a few who have given the Uganda Rugby Union full support. In a nut shell, rugby deserves to be in a better place but only time will tell.

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Upcoming Sports Events •

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Africa Rugby Sevens championship in Tunisia – October: Uganda is out to defend their continental title this October. Straight from a World Cup experience in the USA, Uganda are favourites after cementing their prowess in the shorter code of the game.

Tennis China Open, Beijing; Japan Open, Tokyo (7 Oct) Baseball Start of MLB play-offs Golf Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, St Andrews (7 Oct) Motor sport British Rally,Deeside(7 Oct) Rugby union Championship: Argentina v Australia, South Africa v New Zealand Youth Olympics Buenos Aires, Argentina (18 Oct) Athletics Chicago Marathon, US Formula One Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka Horse racing Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Paris Motorcycling Thailand Moto GP, Buriram Cycling Tour of Turkey (14 Oct) Football Uefa Nations League (13 Oct) Golf British Masters, Tadworth (14 Oct) Super League grand final, Old Trafford Cycling II Lombardia, Italy Football Uefa Nations League (16 Oct) Tennis European Open, Antwerp: Kremlin Cup, Moscow; Luxembourg Open; Stockholm Open, Sweden-21 Oct Table tennis Para World Championships, Slovenia (21 Oct) Cycling Tour of Guangxi, China (21 Oct) Golf Andalucía Masters, Sotogrande (21 Oct) Chess World Youth Championship, Halkidiki (1 Nov) Table tennis World Cup, Paris (21 Oct) Formula One US Grand Prix, Austin Horse racing Champions Day, Ascot Motorcycling Japanese Moto GP, Motegi Tennis Swiss Indoors, Basel; Erste Bank Open, Vienna; WTA Finals, Singapore (28 Oct) Wrestling World Championships, Budapest (28 Oct) Golf HSBC Champions, Shanghai (28 Oct) Darts European Championships, Westfalenhallen (28 Oct) Gymnastics World Artistic Championships, Doha (3 Nov) Motor sport Spanish Rally, Salou (28 Oct) Rugby league First Test: England v New Zealand, Hull Formula One Mexican Grand Prix, Mexico City Motorcycling Australian Moto GP, Phillip Island Tennis Paris Masters, France; WTA Elite Trophy, Zhuhai (18 Nov)

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