Governance

Road carnage; what needs to be done to save lives on Ugandan roads?

Road carnage again recently grabbed media attention in Uganda, after separate crashes in Fort Portal and on Mbale-Tirinyi road left 28 people dead on the same day, on Wednesday 4th May 2022. Wizarts Foundation on Thursday 12th May 2022, assembled a panel that brought together government, bus drivers, civil society, media and the public to discuss steps being that should be taken to reduce accidents and improve first response to casualties of road accidents in Uganda. Reports in the media …
Governance

Does Uganda need a minimum wage to cope with rising cost of living today?

There is a steady but consistent rise in the cost of living in Uganda, fueled by the recent rise in prices that is making it unbearable for majority workers to have decent lives. On Thursday 19th May 2022, Wizarts Foundation hosted a Twitter space to discuss the strategic direction of the Government of Uganda, in protecting and promoting the rights and welfare of vulnerable workers. This discussion was intended to bring together government duty bearers, academic and former finance Minister …
Governance

Contextualizing efforts to address staff gaps within Uganda’s health sector

KAMPALA: The Daily Monitor recently reported that government, owing to financial constraints, is currently unable to address acute shortage of health workers in Uganda. The report quoting the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Health, Dr. Diana Atwine, was published  just days before Hon. Amos Lugoloobi, Uganda’s State Minister for Planning, tabled to Parliament the annual budget estimates for the Financial Year 2022/23. This came at the height of public debate on reported funeral costs of the Late Rt. Hon. …
Governance

Breaking the barrier to Women economic empowerment in Uganda

KAMPALA: Uganda has over the years, grappled with different socio-economic barriers impeding gender inclusion and Women economic participation in the country. Government in efforts to narrow this gender gap, through Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP), launched in 2015, sought to improve the income and contribution of Women towards Uganda’s economic development. Though some strides are seen to be made towards empowering women economically through UWEP, a 2018 report by the Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) found that the program, …
Governance

War reparation, truth telling & dialogue in Teso, Lango and Acholi Sub-regions

Ahead of the imminent launch of the repayment of war claimants in Acholi, Lango and Teso sub-regions by President Museveni on 26th March 2022 in Soroti, attention is being drawn towards conflict victims being at the centre of the nation building process in Uganda. Article 50(1) of the 1995 Constitution of Uganda as amended states that: any person who claims that a fundamental or other right or freedom guaranteed under this Constitution has been infringed or threatened, is entitled to …
Governance

Media practice and the urge to curb Uganda’s growing inflation

On Tuesday 22nd March 2022, Hon. Matia Kasaija, the Minister for finance, planning and economic development issued a media statement on Uganda’s rising inflation, explaining that the current hike in commodity prices are due to forces external to the country, temporary and that government on its own, can do little to deal with the problem. Shocks in prices for essential goods and services in Uganda are currently being experienced for cooking oil, laundry bar soap, fuel, education services and transport …
Governance

Parliament’s failure to censure Jim Muhwezi and the implications on MP independence

In the wake of multiple  accounts of torture, while in State custody, by survivors including the dissident author Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, Opposition Members of Parliament led by the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Mathias Mpuuga saw it fit to censure the Security Minister, Hon. Jim Muhwezi. Specifically, Hon. Mpuuga cited the Minister’s inaction despite widespread reports of torture, some of which were tabled by Hon. Mpuuga in the Minister’s presence. Ultimately, the motion to censure the Minister failed as it lacked …
Education

Navigating fees dilemma in the wake of schools reopening

The COVID-19 pandemic has battered the Ugandan economy, with lockdown measures instituted by government to mitigate community spread of the virus affecting access to basic social services like health and education. Although government of Uganda moved to reopen all sectors in January 2022 to reverse the downturn caused by the pandemic, the effects of COVID-19 are coming back to affect people’s livelihoods. In the education sector, the National Planning Authority projected that 30% of 15 million leaners in Uganda were …
Governance

What the Public Records say about Capacity of Parliament to check illegal detention in Uganda

The recent account of Kakwenza Rukirabaishaija’s torture ordeal in State custody, has intensified public debate on whether illegal detention and torture in Uganda is institutionalized or rather isolated actions of some errant officers within the security forces. Kakwenza has written, tweeted and narrated his own experience with the security forces in Uganda. The author’s account is one of many testimonies by survivors of torture in Uganda, that casts doubt on the familiar claim that the government does not condone torture. …
Governance

Media Practice & Accountability for Torture in Parliament: Reflections on the 10th Parliament

On February 3 2022, a number of opposition legislators led by the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Hon. Mathias Mpuuga, walked out of the House. This was in protest of government inaction in response to evidence of torture by State actors. The Leader of the Opposition requested the Deputy Speaker Rt. Hon. Anitah Among to suspend the House until the government presents a statement on the plight of citizens in State detention and have experienced torture. These demands, from …
Governance

UPDF in Congo, what do news consumers need to know?

In war, truth is the first causality and Uganda’s incursion into DR Congo (DRC) is no exception; given that until today, details of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) established between the two neighboring states to allow Ugandan troops cross into Eastern DRC in pursuit of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) is yet to be made public by both governments, undermining need for timely, credible and transparent information to the public during situations of conflict. Geopolitical analysts have urged media consumers …