Kasese Sets Up First Internet Facility

John B. Thawite

15 December 2010
KASESE district is finalising an internet-based, facility, the first of its kind in the Rwenzori region, that will enable the district administration and her stakeholders to electronically share information online.This will enable the district administration to store, retrieve and disseminate various documents among stakeholders in and outside the district, including central government and the donors.
The facility, known as the electronic society (e-society) centre, is housed in the District Information Office. It also comprises an electronic library (e-library) where the district will upload and retrieve its documents including procurement and job application information, development plans, budgets, various reports, minutes of council and departmental proceedings.The facility based and managed by the district, is funded by HIVOS, EU and IICD through the Rwenzori Information Centres Network (RIC-NET) under the RWECO project in the Rwenzori Region.
The e-society and the e-library can be accessed via the district website, http://www.kasese.go.ug, which RIC-NET has also helped reactivate.


"The facility is so far the first of its kind in the Rwenzori region," the RIC-NET programme manager, John Silco Muruga, said at Hotel Margherita in Kasese Municipality on Friday.

Kasese District Local Government Officials Attends Training on District E-Library

The E-Society completed a three days training that was attended by the members from Kasese District Local Government and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Kasese district. The Training registered a daily attendance of 35 people per day.

The main objective of the training was to enhance knowledge on how to use the newly developed Kasese District Electronic library that will boost Information sharing between the Local Government, CSOs and the Citizens in Kasese District and world wide.

The training was facilitated by Software developers from SOLTEC, the Company that was contracted to develop the system and with financial funds from IICD.

The training was regarded successful because all the objectives we accomplished.


Reported by

Bwambale Edwin
ICT Technical Advisor, E-Society Kasese

Training on e-library for kasese District

Some of the heads of departments, Kasese district, attending a training on 1 October on the e-society that is being developed in the district. Photos by John Thawite



Some of the heads of departments, Kasese district, attending a training on 1 October on the e-society that is being developed in the district. Photos by John Thawite





Some of the heads of departments, Kasese district, attending a training on 1 October on the e-society that is being developed in the district. Photos by John Thawite



Some of the heads of departments, Kasese district, attending a training on 1 October on the e-society that is being developed in the district. Photos by John Thawite

E-library trainig at Kasese district Sept 30.

Photo by John Thawite
Technology for its own sake is not useful unless it is used to improve human welfare, a Soltec officer has said.

Erisania Kibaya, the firms executive director said this today while training over 30 participants from Kasese District headquarters and represntatives from civil society orgaidsationss district civil servants about an electronic library (e-library) that is being developed for Kasese District Local Government.

The training, sponsored by the Rwenzori Information Centres Network (RICNET) took place in the District Information Office ICT/e-society resource centre at the Kasese district headquarters.

Farmers earning little from agriculture

By John B. Thawite

THE cultural leader of Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu has called on the Government and development partners to link farmers in the Rwenzori region to markets.

Charles Wesley Mumbere noted that though the farmers were spending a lot of time, finances and other resources in farming, they were earning little from agriculture because of limited market opportunities.

In a speech read by his information minister and spokesperson, Patrick Nyamunungu, Mumbere urged his subjects to revive the culture of constructing granaries to ensure food security in the region.

Nyamunungu delivered the speech at Hotel Margherita on Friday at the closure of a two-day grain business show

Avoid force, Rwenzururu told

By John Nzinjah

THE Rwenzururu kingdom has been cautioned against using force to acquire land for the cultural institution.

“A uniting kingdom of the people around the Rwenzori mountains was not in place until Isaya Mukirania Kyibanzanga I was installed by all the chieftains in the region in 1965.

“Therefore, the kingdom did not have land of its own as an institution,” Omusinga (Rwenzururu king) Charles Wesley Mumbere observed.

He referred to the recent bickering between the Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu administration and an investor over land on Base Camp Hill overlooking Kasese town centre.

Mumbere noted that the institution, which was officially recognised by the Government last year, had 30 acres of land in Kasese town.

He was addressing about 500 guests at his palace in Kasese town at the commemoration of the death of his father, Isaya Mukirania, on Thursday.

Mukirania, who died on September 2, 1966, was the first uniting king of the Bakonzo (Bayira) and Bamba around the Rwenzori Mountains.

Mumbere described his late father as a hero of freedom, unity and peace and called on his subjects to maintain the prevailing peace in the region.

Every September 2, hundreds of Rwenzururu subjects and officials walk over 20 kilometres north of Bwera town to Bulemba hill in Kasese district to pay their respects at Mukirania’s grave.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority has put up a permanent tourist shelter at the place located within Rwenzori National Park.

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BUKONZO WEST CROP LOSS TO WILD ANIMALS

Our organisation spent the month of February interviewing farmers in Bukonzo-West constituency in a bid to ascertain the extent to which wild animals have destroyed crops in the Katholhu, Bukangara and Ruhingo areas during the year 2009 alone.

We interviewed 830 farmers and found out that there is a massive crop loss that runs into billions of Uganda shillings.
KEY OBSERVATIONS:
1. Out of the projected 1.8 Billion shillings worth of harvest, these farmers were only able to get 300 million shillings; which is about 17% of the total projected income from crops.
2. This kind of loss, 1.6 Billion shillings in one year that has continued over the years, is the major factor behind perpetual poverty in this area of Bukonzo-west constituency.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. There should be established a lasting solution to seal off the national park from the crop growing area either by use of an electric fence or acquisition of an excavator machine to deepen and maintain the trench from Lhubiriha to Nyamughasani river.

2. Government should in future consider compensating farmers for crops lost to wild animals in case strict control measures are not put in place immediately.

Compiled by

KARUGHE FARMERS’ PARTNERSHIP