Category «News»

No money for midwives’ salaries

Government has confirmed that it will not be able to provide the Sh84 billion for midwives wages. The announcement is bound to affect the functioning of health center IIIs and IV’s. This has been confirmed by the state minister for planning Matia Kasaija. Kasaija says this financial year government is focused mostly on infrastructural development and not health. However, members of the civil society on maternal, new born and child health say they are not going to stop pushing for the release of that money. The executive director of the White Ribon Alliance Robina Biteyi says cases of maternal mortality have slightly gone up due to limited funding at health center III and IV’s.

Great Lakes leaders to meet in Kampala

The deteriorating security situation in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo continues to draw the attention of the regional leaders. The recent attacks resulted in the death and injury of Peace Keepers from the Force Intervention Brigade. Uganda is now set to host the Extra- Ordinary Summit of the International Conference on Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) Heads of State and Government this week. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the conference is to be held in Kampala on 5th September. A statement from the ministry says that Uganda as chair of the ICGLR, felt it was very urgent to convene an Extra-Ordinary Summit composed of eleven member states, namely: Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of …

No more refugees from DR Congo

The army has downplayed reports that more Congolese refugees have entered the country through the western border points in recent days. According to the spokesperson for the Rwenzori region Lt. Ninsiima Rwemijuma, the latest case of refugees recorded was about a week ago when a group of about two hundred entered the country. Meanwhile, he says fighting continues to rage on in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, maintaining that the Ugandan side is keeping a keen eye on the situation, although he says the border area remains largely peaceful. Uganda is now home to thousands of refugees who fled fighting between the DR Congo government forces and the M23 rebels in the Eastern part of the country.

Matembe tips Kadaga on presidential ambition

The Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga should concentrate on redeeming the independence of parliament before considering contesting for presidency. The advice is given by the former ethics and integrity minister Miria Matembe. Matembe was this morning commenting on the ongoing calls from the public for the speaker to stand for president in 2016. Matembe says the situation in Uganda does not favor anyone who is opposed to the style of governance that is currently being used. She says what the country needs a fundamental change is caused by the people themselves. Kadaga has been linked to ambitions for the country’s top most job, though she has not yet commented on the matter.

UCC explains delayed sim card blocking

The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) is still carrying out re validation of unregistered sim cards. This comes after the deadline for registration of sim cards expired on Saturday. The communications regulator had given a directive to the telecom companies to switch off all unregistered customers by September 1st. However, a number of these cards remain on air. UCC spokesperson Fred Otunnu explains that some registration forms are still under scrutiny and cannot be switched off before being validated. He says the exercise may take about one week. Meanwhile the Uganda Human Rights Network for Journalists vows to continue opposing the exercise labeling it illegal. The network’s national coordinator Wokulira Sebaggala says government has not given citizens assurance regarding safety of …