Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Buganda Kingdom Prime Minister, Charles Peter Mayiga has decried that fact that few Ugandans are insuring their crops and livestock against weather-related hazards. Mayiga’s concern is that the government-subsidized weather index agricultural insurance premiums by 50 per cent but just a handful of farmers have …
Read More »NEMA calls for removal of tax on gas to save forest cover
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The National Environment Authority (NEMA) Executive Director Tom Okurut has called for the removal of the tax on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to encourage its use among Ugandans, instead of cutting forests for charcoal and firewood. LPG was exempt from taxation in 2006. But the …
Read More »Training of health workers on rapid HIV recency testing starts in Tooro
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Health has started training health workers on the new measures aimed at combating HIV/Aids. According to Geoffrey Taasi, the Program Officer HIV Testing Services at the Ministry of Health, the “Rapid HIV Recency Assay”, is aimed at establishing where new infections are …
Read More »Uganda, Zambia deny Huawei helped spy on political opponents
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Uganda and Zambia on Friday denied a report that employees of Chinese telecom giant Huawei had helped them spy on political opponents. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported this week that Huawei technicians helped the two African governments intercept communications and social media activity of their …
Read More »Celebrate a forgotten martyr in mama Mary Luwum – Archbishop Ntagali
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda Stanley Ntagali has described Mama Mary Luwum as a pillar of faith who left a great tribe of people in Uganda. Archbishop Ntagali said Mama Mary Luwum was an intercessor, a person of courage, reconciler, counsellor and pillar …
Read More »Barcelona and Bayern confirm Coutinho loan move
Madrid, Spain | AFP | Barcelona have an “agreement in principle” to send Philippe Coutinho on loan to Bayern Munich, both clubs confirmed Friday. Coutinho was left out of the squad for Barca’s La Liga opener against Athletic Bilbao on Friday, with club director Guillermo Amor confirming the Brazilian is close …
Read More »Employees express mixed reactions on NSSF bill
FILE PHOTO: NSSF Headquarters Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A cross-section of employees and employers has expressed mixed reactions to proposals by government in the National Social Security Fund Amendment Bill, 2019. On Tuesday, the Minister of State for Children and Youth Affairs, Florence Nakiwala Kiyingi presented the Bill to …
Read More »Uganda’s safe houses are not torture chambers- Tumwine
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Minister of Security Gen. Elly Tumwine has reiterated that safe houses, wherever they exist in Uganda, are only used for intelligence work and not detention and torture of suspects. The affirmation follows a heated debate from which the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga …
Read More »Gov’t to license marijuana growing companies
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda has said Government plans to issue licenses to marijuana growing companies. Several companies have already started growing medicinal cannabis in Uganda, although Government has in the past denied the reports. In June, an Israeli Firm, Together Pharma Limited reported its first …
Read More »Parliament moves to investigate Lwamayuba, Kyengera safe houses
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga has directed the Human Rights Committee of parliament to investigate claims about the presence of safe houses in Lwamayuba and Kyengera where several Ugandans are reportedly tortured. She issued the directive after Latif Ssebaggala, the Kawempe North Member of Parliament …
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