Tuesday 20 October 2009

Rwenzururu’s King announced cabinet

Rwenzururu’s King Charles Wesley Mumbere Iremangoma has announced his cabinet on 16th October 2009, three days ahead of 43rd coronation anniversary.


1. Mr Costa Bwambale, Prime minister
2. Ms Loice Biira Bwambale, Deputy Prime Minister
3. Mr Isaya Kyaye, second deputy prime minister and minister in charge of public relations.
4. Rev. Johiada Mutoro Third Deputy prime minister and minister in charge of constitutional affairs
5. Hajji Ibrahim Muhongya, fourth deputy prime minister and minister in charge of state affairs
6. Mr Jackson Mbaju, The Attorney General
7. Rev.Fr Balinandi Kambere, Minister of Religious Affairs and Language Development
8. Mr Tembo Kitsumbire, Minster of Security and Royal Transportation,
9. Mr Erisania Cameroon, Minister of Royal Protocol in the Office of the Obusinga
10. Mr Noah Nzaghale Minister in charge of Cultural Development,
11. Mr Joseph Kule Muranga, Minister of lands and natural resources,
12. Dr Syahuka Muhindo, Minister for agriculture,
13. Mr Moses Kalemba, Minister for clan affairs.
14. Mrs Teddy Walina, Minister in charge of trade and commerce
15. Mr Patrick Nyamunungu, kingdom spokesperson
16. Mr Godfrey Kabyanga, Minister of finance, planning and economic development.
17. Mr Kule Balitazale, Minister of education and sports
18. Mr Pascal Mubi, minister for local administration.

Thursday 15 October 2009

Omusinga hails Museveni on Buganda riots

Mumbere hailed the President Museveni for having spearheaded the restoration of monarchies in the country.

“I thank President Museveni for restoring kingdoms; they can help government to mobilise the population for to engage in development,” he said.

He also commended the President for amicably addressing the recent Buganda riots in which several people died and property worth billions of property destroyed.

Mumbere was Monday launching a commemorative tree-planting campaign in the Rwenzori region, with the planting of more that 1,200 tree seedlings at a royal forest at Rukoki, the district headquarters.

The tree-planting is one of the activities to mark the 43rd coronation anniversary of the Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu slated for October 19th and to be officiated by President Museveni.

He pledged that once restored, the Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu is determined to support government and urged the Banya Rwenzururu to appreciate President Museveni’s efforts to have the kingdoms restored.

“Cultural leaders should respect and cooperate with Museveni because it took him a lot of effort to convince his tot government officers to accept the idea of restoring kingdom in this country,” he said.

Kingdoms were abolished in 1966 during the first Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) government led by former president Dr Milton Obote.

They were restored by the article 246 of the 1995 Uganda Constitution but since then the Obusinga is yet to be recognised on 19th October.

Presiding at Church of Uganda South Rwenzori Diocesan donors' conference and 25th founding anniversary August 30th, the President announced that that he had agreed to recognise the long-awaited Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu and that he would attend the Obusinga 43rd anniversary.

“I assure you RDCs who are here that the people of the Rwenzori will support the NRM government,” he said attracting applause from the audience.

The gathering included Rwenzururu Prime Minister, Constantine Bwambale and the security minister, Thembo Kitsumbire and civil servants led by the Chief Administrative Officer, Giles Kahika.

Mumbere added, “I am not an NRM but I can see that Museveni is handling things well. I hope that when it comes to giving, Yoweri Museveni deserves to be given,” he said but did not explain.

He recalled that when he was still living in America, the NRM government used to facilitate his flight into and out of Uganda and provide him with state house security during his tour of the Rwenzori region.

He said that despite the disagreements with defence minister Dr Kiyonga over the Obusinga, the too used to have top discussion meetings to iron out their differences.
“We discovered that without the two of us interfacing, we were leading the Rwenzori nowhere,” he said.
Now Kiyonga is doing more of my spokesperson’s job and even doing more foreign affairs advocacy than God Frey Kabyanga (the official Obusinga spokesperson).

Mumbere’s announcement exited RDCs Barnabas Bamusede Bwambale (Masaka), David Masereka (Nakasongola) and Captain James (Kasese), who were present at the function.

Captain Mwesigye hailed the Omusinga for spearheading the environmental campaign said it was in line with government’s conservation programmes.

The district chairman pledged the district’s support to the campaign and urged all the people in the region to emulate the Omusinga, who had earlier knelt down in the dust to plant trees at the function

Omusinga launches Rwenzori tree planting

RWENZURURU cultural leader, has launched a commemorative tree-planting campaign in the Rwenzori region, with the planting of more that 1,200 tree seedlings at a royal forest at Rukoki, the district headquarters.

Omusinga Charles Wesley Mumbere, Irema-Ngoma launched the campaign by planting a bark tree and an acacia tree at Rukoki, the district headquarters Monday.

He commended the Kasese District Local Government leadership under rev Canon Julius Kithaghenda, the district chairman, for donating the land.

He said global warming devastating the snow-capped Rwenzori and other areas in the country, which required intensified tree planting in the region.

According to Uganda Wildlife Authority Executive Director, Moses Mapesa, snows and glaciers are receding at a rate of 0.7 Km2 per decade due to increase in temperature rising at a rate of 0.50 C per decade.

“At this rate the snows in the Rwenzoris could disappear in 2025,” Mapesa told The New Vision yesterday.

In his brief to the Omusinga earlier, the District forestry Officer, William Wilberforce Bwambale, said forest cover accounted for only 5,972 hectares or 1.7% of the total district land area of over 3,300 sq kms.

“We in the Rwenzori region should be proud of our good geography that enables us to plant our crops.

“With many trees widely planted in the Rwenzori region, we cannot easily suffer like other areas,” he said.

“I thank President Museveni for restoring kingdoms; they can help government to mobilise the population for to engage in development,” he said.

“Cultural leaders should respect and cooperate with Museveni because it took him a lot of effort to convince his tot government officers to accept the idea of restoring kingdom in this country,” he said.

Kingdoms were abolished in 1966 during the first Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) government led by former president Dr Milton Obote.

They were restored by the article 246 of the 1995 Uganda Constitution but since then the Obusinga is yet to be recognised on 19th October.

Presiding at Church of Uganda South Rwenzori Diocesan donors' conference and 25th founding anniversary August 30th, the President announced that that he had agreed to recognise the long-awaited Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu and that he would attend the Obusinga 43rd anniversary.

Mumbere hailed the President for having amicably addressed the recent Buganda riots in which several people died and property worth billions of property destroyed.

He pledged that once restored, the Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu is determined to support government and urged the Banya Rwenzururu to appreciate President Museveni’s efforts to have the kingdoms restored.

“I assure you RDCs who are here that the people of the Rwenzori will support the NRM government,” he said attracting applause from the audience.

The gathering included Rwenzururu Prime Minister, Constantine Bwambale and the security minister, Thembo Kitsumbire and civil servants led by the Chief Administrative Officer, Giles Kahika.

Mumbere added, “I am not an NRM but I can see that Museveni is handling things well. I hope that when it comes to giving, Yoweri Museveni deserves to be given,” he said but did not explain.

He recalled that when he was still living in America, the NRM government used to facilitate his flight into and out of Uganda and provide him with state house security during his tour of the Rwenzori region.

He said that despite the disagreements with defence minister Dr Kiyonga over the Obusinga, the too used to have top discussion meetings to iron out their differences.
“We discovered that without the two of us interfacing, we were leading the Rwenzori nowhere,” he said.

Now Kiyonga is doing more of my spokesperson’s job and even doing more foreign affairs advocacy than God Frey Kabyanga (the official Obusinga spokesperson).

Mumbere’s announcement exited RDCs Barnabas Bamusede Bwambale (Masaka), David Masereka (Nakasongola) and Captain James (Kasese), who were present at the function.

Captain Mwesigye hailed the Omusinga for spearheading the environmental campaign said it was in line with government’s conservation programmes.

The district chairman pledged the district’s support to the campaign and urged all the people in the region to emulate the Omusinga, who had earlier knelt down in the dust to plant trees at the function.

Friday 9 October 2009

E-Governance Project in Western Uganda Kicks Off

urce:
Marc Lepage [mlepage(at)iicd.org]
Country:
Uganda [UG]
Sector:
Governance
Local government, NGOs, church and IT leaders from the Kasese district in Uganda have launched a project to help give civil society organisations more influence over government planning and development. IICD will help manage the ICT component of this major project funded by the EU.
 IICD facilitated a roundtable meeting to launch the Kasese District civil society project.

IICD facilitated a Roundtable meeting in July to kick-start the project, IICD's first in Western Uganda. Project participants met to identify what information they need and how they will share it. The group agreed that much of the information was already there, but it was often poorly documented and not made available.
The project aims to help both local government and civil organisations build skills to produce quality information on their activities. This will be accessible through the web, regular meetings and trained information officers.
Currently, there is very little information exchange between the two groups. NGOs, for example, have little access to government information to enable them to play a role in planning. Local governments need to build their capacity to produce useful information and make it available externally.
The project is run by the Rwenzori Consortium for Civic competence (RWECO). The project focuses on the sectors Health, Water and Education.

More on this:

Email: mlepage(at)iicd.org

Fight HIV/AIDS with mercy, love, peace and pity – Kasese Deputy RDC



The Deputy Resident District Commissioner, Kasese, has challenged orgnisations dealing with HIV/AIDS to fight stigma, rejection and discrimination that is being inflicted on people living with the disease.

"HIV/AIDS should be fought with mercy, love and pity for the infected and affected persons," he said.

Isingoma was recently closing a two-day HIV/AIDS annual partnership forum organised by Kasese district and funded by the Ministry of Local Government in conjunction with the Uganda AIDS Commission.

The partnership forum took place at Virina Gardens in Kasese town and drew participants from local government, the civil society and the private sector.
Isingoma challenged the participants to strengthen partnership for service providers to address the scourge of HIV/AIDS.

The main facilitator from the Uganda AIDS Commission, who is also the District Health Officer, Kisoro, Dr Assay Ndizihiwe, reported that medical male circumcision reduces the risk of contracting HIV.

"Uncircumcised men are partly responsible for the increasing cases of cervical cancer among women.
According to the Kasese Distinct HIV/AIDS Focal Person, john Thawite, the HIV/AIDS prevalence in Kasese district stands at 11.2% from testing sites in the district.

Thawite said though Kasese belongs to the western region whose general prevalence is 6.9%, there is need for a district-specific sero-prevalence survey to ascertain the specifics of the HIV infections.

He said the forum was organised to strengthen partnership in the fight against the pandemic adding that the fight was the responsibility of every stakeholder regardless of region, race, sex, political or religious inclination.



Sunday 4 October 2009

Government injects some 18bn/= into primary education in Kasese



By John B. Thawite 2.10.2009


Kasese will get close to 900m/= for the Universal Primary Education in the 2009/2010 financial year, bringing the money injected into the sector close to Shs 17.9 billion since the introduction of UPE in 1997.

"This financial year the Government UPE capitation is 889,205,500= and we have already received 202 million for the 1st quarter," the District Education Officer, Douglas Katemba said.

Douglas Katemba revealed this September 30th, in a report to the primary education state minister, Kamanda Bataringaya.

The minister was chief guest at a one-day district education stakeholders' dialogue held at the Kasese catholic Social Services Hall in Kasese town.

The dialogue, which was also attended by officials from the ministries of Public Service and Local Government, was organised by the education department to address the achievements and challenges in the sector and to pave a way forward.

"Since the government introduced the school facilities grant for primary schools, over 7bn/= has been sent to the district," Katemba said, adding that the district had received shs182m from the grant.

This, he said, was in addition to another 750m/= to St Theresa Girls secondary school for the construction  of standard, update and fully equipped library and science laboratories and the numerous scholastic materials to various schools in the district.

He said there were 258 Universal Primary Education (UPE) Grant Aided primary schools with 152.974 pupils  26,318 of them boys and 7,8179 girls and 2,993 government-paid teachers.

Katemba further revealed that there were 162 private primary schools with 25,572 pupils, 18 Grant Aided secondary schools and 16 private secondary schools (34) secondary schools benefiting from Universal secondary Education (USE)
 
"There are also 34 secondary schools with 18,789 students, of whom 14,824 are under the Universal Secondary Education (USE)," he further told the more that 300 guests at the dialogue.

He also said there were 30 private Registered Secondary schools and 10 private licensed secondary schools with an enrolment of 5,694 students (3,192 males and 2,502 females).
 
He said tertiary institutions include Bwera Primary Teachers College offering Grade III certificate to primary school teachers.

Other tertiary institutions include   Katwe Technical Institute (152 students); Katwe Wildlife Training Institute which is the only institution which offers Diplomas has enrolment of 117 students.

Katemba hailed the various education development partners including  Save the Children,  UNICEF, Churches and Mosques Bishop Masereka Foundation, KALI, Irish Aid and Hima Cement Factory only to mention a few
 
But Katemba said the district needed 400 more teachers for the primary schools, more classrooms, latrines, desks, teachers' houses and post-primary education facilities for children with special needs.   
 





Rwenzururu queen discharged



By John B. Thawite, 



HER Royal Highness Nyabaghole Agnes has been discharged after delivering a Prince to Irema-Ngoma Charles Wesley Mumbere, the Rwenzururu cultural leader.

The Rwenzururu spokesperson, Godfrey Kabyanga, confirmed Saturday that the bouncing baby prince left Kampala International Hospital in the afternoon.

Government has footed all the hospital bills, which are worth several millions of shillings," Kabyanga said, declining to divulge the amount of money.

"The baby and the mother are o.k and throughout her labour up to now the Omusinga has kept by her side," Kabyanga said.

He said the prince, who weighed 4.1Kgs at birth and his parents would travel to Kasese and that the prince would be named after eight days in accordance with Bakonzo traditions.

"I am not yet sure when we are coming home because we still want the child and the mother to stabilise," Kabyanga said.

The birth of the prince is a blessing to the kingdom. While we are all anxiously waiting for government to recognise it on October 19th, we also receive another gift of the prince," Kabyanga said.

Presiding at the South Rwenzori diocesan donors' conference August 30th, President Yoweri Museveni said he had agreed to recognise the Bakonzo and Bamba cultural institution, Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu.

"Mumbere has written to me proposing October 19 for confirmation and I have agreed," he added.

Museveni said he wanted to recognise the institution a long time ago, but he could not because of the disagreements between the supporters and the opponents of the institution in the Rwenzori region.


Meanwhile congratulatory messages continue to exchange hands on FM radios, public gatherings and on the internet.

"Your Majesty Omusinga and Her Royal Highness Nyabaghole, congratulations upon the delivery of the Prince. This is wonderful news to all of us. We have reason to celebrate," wrote London-based David Nguru.

Pastor Simon Bwambale Haggai (currently in the Philippines) says in a Lukonzo internet message that the Queen has started off well.

"May the Mountains of the Moon (Rwenzori Mountains" shower the prince, his mother and Omusinga Mumbere with all the blessings," he says.

Ibrahim Asuman Bisiika, a journalist, writes, "People. Let's praise the Lord. But please see attachment for my poetic creation on the issue. Asuman."

"This is a special moment for the Royal Family and the people of the Rwenzoris. Congratulations," says another message.

The Bamba-Bakonzo king will also to mark his 43rd anniversary since he took over the Rwenzururu Kingdom after the death of his farther, Isaya Mukirania Kibanzanga.

Kibanzanga was among the Bamba fighters who led a rebellion against the Toro kingdom, demanding independence in 1962.


The author is the Kasese District Information Officer