Resident’s strike over poor road.

Resident’s strike over poor road.
By Francis Tusiime 17/11/2013
Kabarole
Angry residents of Harugongo village in Kicwamba sub county Kabarole District this morning went on strike and block Nyabukara-Harugongo road protesting bad conditions of the road.
According to Ronie Kyalimpa the chairman LC Harugongo ,the residents dug a huge pit in the middle of the road blocking a heavy vehicles from accessing the pozzolana sites in Harugongo.
Pozollana is arrow Material for cement production at Hima cement factory in Kasese.
The strike left over 20 Lories parked and stranded at Kyakaigo village.
The resident’s clime that the heavy tracks have damaged their road hampering the transportation of the agricultureral produces to markets.
The chairman explains that each lorry that goes in the mining area is taxed sh 10,000 shillings by the Kabarole District Local government.
Aggrieved residents says the road is in a solely state is making life difficult and yet the generated money
Richard Rwabuhinga the district chairman said the district is planning to work on the road only that they are waiting for sunshine its raining heavily and the road even if it is worked on it will be spoiled by cars.

Kansenene residents decry lack of water

Kansenene residents decry lack of water.

By Francis Tusiime 19/11/2013

Fort Portal

Residents of  Kanseneene village-Rwengaju parish-Busoro sub-county-Kabarole district are crying to Kabarole district Local government to provide them with clean water as the area is suffering with dirty water.

Rwaheru Gilbert co-ordination Kichwamba forum for development and service delivery advocacy group revealed that the area is lacking clean and safe water.

He said residents get water from rivers and natural wales which is not clean and healthy for human consumption.

He said this has caused disease like typhoid among other to  the local residents in the area.

Rwaheru says a village with estimated of a round 200 families survive on dirty water and this has increased expenditure on medicines by the poor local families.

Students in the area also don’t go to school frequently due to poor water since they are  sick all the time of fever and worms caused by dirty water.

Kansenene is one of the village’s  in Rwengaju Model village which was named by president Museveni.

“I wonder how such a model village lacks clean water, there have been promises of extension of gravity water flow but no action has been taken “says Rwaheru

He call on the leaders to come in for intervention.

Tension as Residents threaten to demonstrate over a dilapidated bridge

Tension as Residents threaten to demonstrate over a dilapidated bridge

BY Francis Tusiime 15/11/2013

 Fort Portal

Tension is high in Kiguma and Kyakijara villages, Mugusu sub-county in Kabarole District as residents are scaring to demonstrate if the district fails to work on Kyakijara Bridge.

Rwaheru Gilbert the coordinator of Kichwamba forum for development and service delivery advocacy group and a member to the state of service delivery in Rwenzori region revealed that the dilapidated Kyakijara Bridge connects the two villages of Kyakijara and Kiguma, residents are in misery as they have nowhere to pass.

He said people are an able to cross and access services like health services, school going children are at a risk of collapsing in the river.

The bridge was destroyed by rain.

A number of people has been falling off from the provisional bridge made by the locals and has been saved and survived narrowly death.

Rwaheru also revealed that the local residents use the bridge while caring their produce to Mugusu market, he said now their produce is rotting in the houses.

The farmers who are dealing in perishables and delicate food crops like tomatoes are now rotting in their hands.

The monitor said the leaders have paid a deaf ears to the bridge despite the locals are paying a lot of taxes to the government; he called up on for a serious interventions before the problem goes out of hand.

 

STRENGTHENING MEDIA OVERSIGHT OF UGANDA'S NASCENT GAS & OIL SECTOR ACME TRAINING K'LA OCTOBER 2013

STRENGTHENING MEDIA OVERSIGHT OF UGANDA'S NASCENT GAS & OIL SECTOR

 ACME TRAINING K'LA OCTOBER 2013

Total Oil Company which is engaged in Oil exploration and production (E&P) in Uganda has reiterated its concern and care for the environment, flora and Fauna as it prospects for oil in the Albertine graben in Western Uganda.  While presenting a paper on Total operations in the Albertine graben to a cross section of News editors during a capacity building workshop in Kampala, Total’s Corporate Affairs Manager Ahlem Friga-Noy said her company has high technology drilling machines that are meant to minimize negative impact on the environment. Madam Ahlem Friga-Noy says her company compiled a bio-diversity baseline data bank and what she termed as an avoidance map of key features since oil exploration is being done in an area rich in bio-diversity. Friga-Noy further said that Total is very keen on the local content in a sense that 86% of the people they are employing in Uganda are Ugandans and added that Total is giving away international scholarships with pre-employment contract that binds the beneficiaries to work with the oil company after completing their studies. She further said that Total has also come up with a scholarship program for a few chosen “O” level students in their area of operation. 

Meanwhile, Uganda is at cross-roads over the construction of an oil refinery in Uganda with some experts arguing that the project may not make economic sense in the long run. However, the government of Uganda is determined to build a refinery in Kabale Hoima starting with the initial capacity of 30,000 barrels per day (bpd) which will be up scaled to produce 60,000bpd when the country’s production goes higher.  Reports say, a pipeline to transport finished oil from Kabale refinery to Buloba on the outskirts of kampala will be constructed a distance of about 205Km. 

Addressing the same workshop which was organized by African Center for Media Excellence-ACME in Kampala, Fred Kabanda-a principal geologist and head of regulatory unit Petroleum Exploration and Production department in the ministry of energy and mineral development said the ministry is being restructured to create three directorates of which the directorate of Petroleum will have and upstream,Midstream and downstream departments for effective administration of the nascent oil and gas  sector.  Reliable sources say Uganda’s oil is too waxy unlike that of Ghana and besides, once oil is processed into finished products, it may not be exported unlike the crude oil due to the volatility and insurance expenses involved.    

Kule Alex

The education officer Kasese municipality, Raulesi Turuganya, has emphasized the importance of education intransforming society. Addressing S.4 and S.6 candidates at their end of year party, Turuganya  challenged them to work hard and aim at achieving points that can make them join Universities.

He said that Government and other partners in development have secured scholarships or bursaries at the District and Municipality to benefit students who will excel in their academics.

Turuganya made the remarks yesterday while officiating as a chief guest at an s.6 Farewell party of Mt.Rwenzori Girls School in Kilembe sub-County.

He further stressed the importance of girl Child Education in the district, saying that in the past they were discriminated by their parents who preferred to educate the Boys due to some archaic cultural beliefs .

He advised the Candidates to be disciplined during this Examination Period and refrain from Examination malpractices which could leave them disqualified.

Turuganya also appealed to the female Candidates to say not to amorous Men who are ready to lure them in sexual relations which can expose them to HIV/AIDS.

A Teacher at Mt.Rwenzori Girls School, Lazarous Mathu, advised parents and teachers to encourage candidates to revise hard and engage in group discussions during this Examination period.

Mathu, appealed to the students to be loyal and God fearing.

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN 28th August 2013 BAMANYISA

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN 28^th August 2013 BAMANYISA

The speaker of parliament Rt. Hon. Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga has lamented the increasing cases of violence against children in Uganda particular and the world in general. In her remarks at the National day of prayers at Hotel Africana in Kampala today (Wednesday 28^th August 2013), Kadaga highlighted Child labor, Corporal punishment, and maiming of children as the various forms of violence against children in Uganda. She cited several examples when pupils have been injured seriously and others incapacitated as a result of corporal punishment by teachers at school and or by their parents in the homesteads.

The speaker amused the congregation when she said that some children have been beaten seriously for stealing a piece of meat or 100 shillings.

Madam Kadaga called for revival of African way of bringing up children which used to be a collective responsibility of communities. She further called on legislators to come up with more tough legislation to protect the children against other threats including exposure to pornography which is corrupting their morals. The National day of prayer was purely a children’s function who read the scriptures from the Bible and Quran and even the Master of Ceremony was a kid. The children from different parts of Uganda staged traditional folk songs. Speaking on the sideline, the archbishop of the Church of Uganda Stanley Ntagali urged the children to respect their parents and the parents to take care of their children’s needs physically and spiritually as the future leaders of the world.

 Meanwhile, the speaker of parliament says, a certain government minister stormed her office yesterday shortly after a private members bill to combat rampant corruption in Uganda was tabled in parliament. Madam kadaga says the Minister whom she didn't name had asked her to put it on hold and argued that government was also working on the same or a similar bill in which ill-gotten wealth of corrupt government officials will be confiscated and sold off to recover the stolen money.   

CROSS BORDER DAILOGUE ON OIL AND GAS IN HOIMA

The Minister of state for Bunyoro affairs Ernest Kiiza has said that the Uganda national Gas and Oil Policy-NOGP was deliberately drafted with the aim of expediting gov't effort to eradicate poverty and improve the quality of life in Uganda. While delivery a key note address at the Cross border dialogue on Oil and gas in Hoima, the minister said Oil revenue will be a catalyst to rapid national development through improved services and infrastructure development to benefit all Ugandans. The dialogue which attracted participants from both sides of the Albertine Graben of Uganda and DRC(formerly Zaire), was held at Hoima resort hotel from 12th-14th June 2013. Mr Kiiza says the government of Uganda expects to be getting about 1.4 Billion US dollars annually from Oil at its peak production in a few years to come. The minister told the participants that Uganda and DRC signed an agreement in 1990 and agreed to cooperate in Exporation of hydrocarbons and exploitation of common fields, cross-border exploration works, environmental conservation among many other areas of common interest.
The role of Civil Society Organisations-CSOs in promoting and improving cross border cordial relations was also discussed and a proactive method to address potential conflicts related to oil exploration as well.
The delegation from DRC was led by Prof Francious Dhengo and comprised of Bishop Bernard Bahemuka Amooti of formerly Mboga Zaire.

Some of the issues discussed include; the impact of Oil exploration and production on Biodiversity,tourism, Flora and fauna, cross border conflict resolution like the Nkwanzi island incident  which claimed the life of an expatriate in 2009 after unknown gunmen attack on the island in Lake Albert. Compensation of the people affected and displaced by the nascent oil industry was a burning issue including the people of Kabale in Hoima where the refinery is expected to be built.   The dialogue was hosted jointly by International alert together with Kitara Heritage development agency-KHEDA in conjuction with Kabarole research and resource centre KRC. MPs Alex Ruhunda of F/Portal Municipality and Junjura of Hoima  attended and chaired some of the sessions of the dialogue.