As it happened: Uganda Today - Thursday January 31

Jan 31, 2019

The 2018 Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) results are released, with the boys shown to have beaten the girls - and a marked improvement in a number of subjects.

ROLLING NEWS THROUGHOUT THE DAY

Presented by Joseph Kizza

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@joekizza

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5:00pm

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  Good evening!


This is the last post for this live page. Let's check in back tomorrow. Scroll down for earlier updates.

Have a blessed evening!

 

 

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4:55pm

PARLIAMENT: Plenary resumes Tuesday

After today's session, plenary has been adjourned until next Tuesday.

 

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4:40pm

What happened in Parliament today

Jackson Kafuuzi, who represents Kyaka South County, asked the health ministry to investigate the alleged outbreak of Hepatitis B in his area - specifically Ruyonza village in Kyegegwa district.

Speaker Kadaga also directed the Office of the Prime Minister to provide relief items (food and shelter) to victims of Apaa land evictions. She tasked the internal affairs ministry with visiting the area and ensuring security and proper treatment for those with injuries.

Parliament also passed the 'The Security Interest in Movable Property Bill 2018' but deferred the debate on the Kampala Capital City Authority [Amendment] Bill, 2015 to February 5.

 

 

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4:30pm

What happened in Parliament today

During plenary, Speaker Rebecca Kadaga brought up the issue of female genital mutilation, and did not hold back from expressing her disappointment over the low response towards the matter.

"For the last several years, I have been communicating that people in Sebei and Moroto do not listen to Ugandan radios. I have written to the Minister of Information and the President but nothing has been done. There are no schools in some of these communities. The places are not even accessible and they cannot access Ugandan radios yet they are part of Uganda," she told the House.

Earlier, she had met with the relevant ministers, legislators from Sebei region and the country directors of UNICEF and UNFPA to discuss matters revolving around female genital mutilation.

 

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4:00pm

2018 UCE RESULTS: If you did not clear your fees . . .

Oh, forgot something.


In his remarks, UNEB executive secretary Dan Nkorach Odongo talked about the issue of candidates who sat last year's UCE but had not cleared their school fees by the time of the exams.

Odongo said UNEB will not issue these candidates their results, but will give the respective schools the results. For these candidates, only after settling the score with their schools will they be able to receive their results slips.

 

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3:49pm

2018 UCE RESULTS: Senior Five selection

The education minister says that the Senior Five selection process will take place on February 14 and 15 at the Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA) grounds.

That's in two weeks' time from today.

 

 

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3:44pm

2018 UCE RESULTS: Education Museveni hopeful

The Minister of Education and Sports, First Lady Janet Museveni, says that it is "gratifying" that more girls are staying in school.

She adds that she is hopeful that in the coming year or two, parity will have been established.

The minister also underlines another positive from last year's exams: That the rate of absenteeism is declining.

 

 

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3:33pm

2018 UCE RESULTS: Minister Muyingo's complaints

The minister of state for higher education, John Chrysestom Muyingo, thanks all stakeholders for a job well done in ensuring the production of the results of last year's exams, which enabled the release to happen earlier than last year - plus other previous years.

 

But he points out two spots of bother:

One is what he calls the "mistaken belief" that goof results are a preserve for only a few top schools. This is in light of complaints that emerged following the release of last year's PLE results, which indicated that traditional schools had uncharacteristically performed below par.

His second complaint is of the "irresponsible use of social media", as practice he says is "affecting our sector and destroying us".

 

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3:30pm

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  2018 UCE RESULTS: Getting your results


The result lists will be issued and may be collected by schools from the UNEB offices in Ntinda, Kampala starting at around 4pm.

Whoever wishes to access their results can use their mobile phone to do so, and here's how: In your message menu, type UCE, leave a space, type the full and correct candidate index number and then send to 6600

 

 

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3:27pm

2018 UCE RESULTS: More candidates passed, 1825 results withheld

We are told that more 1,000-plus number of candidates passed last year than in 2017. out of the 335,435 finalists that sat in 2018, 152,278 were beneficiaries of the Universal Secondary Education (USE) programme.

The results of 1825 candidates were withheld because of examination malpractice.

 

 

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3:20pm

2018 UCE RESULTS: English, Islamic Education improve

It is revealed that there was an improvement in the subjects of English, Islamic Education and Physics.

But there is still a challenge in the passing of science subjects. Chemistry was the worst done subject.

 

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3:04pm

2018 UCE RESULTS: Luzira candidates

Last year, we learn that 43 candidates registered, but 40 sat for the exams.

Of these, seven passed in Division Two, 20 in Division Three, 11 in Division Four, One in Division Seven and one failed.

 

 

 

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2:59pm

2018 UCE RESULTS: 'Steady decline' in absentee candidates

UNEB executive secretary Dan Nkorach Odongo says that while there was a steady increase in candidature, "happily", there was also a steady decline in absentee candidates.

 

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2:49pm

2018 UCE RESULTS: Boys did better than girls

Generally, the male candidates performed better than their female counterparts.

At subject level, girls did better in English language, "as they have consistently done over the years".

But the boys performed better in all the other subjects, we learn from Okwakol.

 

 

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2:43pm

2018 UCE RESULTS: Candidature increased

The UCE process went on smoothly, says UNEB chairperson Prof. Mary Okwakol.

Candidature increased from 0.9% in 2017 to 3.3% in 2018, she adds.

She says exam results withheld reduced from 4,525 in 2017 to 1,825 in 2018. And of those withheld in 2017, 1,977 were cleared and released.

Meanwhile, we are told that gender parity was nearly reached, with males at 50.4% and females at 49.6%.

 

 

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2:40pm

2018 UCE RESULTS RELEASE UNDERWAY

We are underway at the Statistics House in Kampala.

Anthems, prayers and opening remarks.

 

 

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2:27pm

Violence Against Children report

On Friday, the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, in partnership with UNICEF, WHO and World Vision, will launch the Violence Against Children report and key findings.

This will be at Mityana Secondary School, Namukozi in Mityana district.

The report highlights the extent of violence against children in Uganda and provides findings to address future interventions. The Minister of State for Youth and Children Affairs Florence Nakiwala Kiyingi will be the chief guest at the launch.

 

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2:15pm

Stella Nyanzi to know trial fate on Feb 15

New Vision's Ann Ajuna & Farooq Kasule:


The Buganda Road Chief Magistrate's Court has set February 15 as the date on which it will rule on whether the charges against jailed former Makerere University researcher, Dr. Stella Nyanzi, is defective as she alleges.

Before her trial kicked off in December last year, Nyanzi through her lawyer, Isaac Ssemakadde, raised a primary objection on the charges against her. She contends that the particulars of the charges against her do not disclose the specific offence she allegedly committed, rendering it defective.

"The charge sheet does not indicate the purpose of the alleged indecent communication or a specific period of time when Nyanzi made the post, which is an essential ingredient when it comes to prosecution of internet cases, rendering it defective and incurable," Ssemakadde submitted.

 

Nyanzi is charged with two counts of cyber harassment and offensive communication in regard to her alleged indecent communication against President Yoweri Museveni and his late mother Esiteeri Kokundeka.

Her lawyer insists that her trial should be nullified because the charge sheet appears defective.

 

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2:08pm

BACK HERE

It is only a matter of minutes until the function of releasing the 2018 UCE results starts.

Lots of anxious minds out there.

It's a very warm Thursday afternoon in Kampala.

 

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1:10pm

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  LUNCH BREAK


Will be back shortly.


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12:55pm

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  CHAN 2020 Qualifiers: Uganda to face South Sudan


Start rubbing your hands. I am pretty sure Ugandans will fancy their chances in this duel.


Ugandan football governing body FUFA says Uganda Cranes coach Sebastien Desabre "will be ready to lead the team back to the competition".

 

 

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12:40pm

'I encourage students to turn up for lectures'

Meanwhile, the state of affairs has not been rosy at the top of Makerere hill. A sit-down strike by Makerere Univeristy staff has caused a sluggish start to the second semester.

So it should be unsurprising that the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, has commended the lecturers who have placed work ahead of anything else and gone ahead to lecture students.

 

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12:30pm

Keep the kavera away from Gayaza


Gayaza High School has directed parents and other people not to carry along plastic bags (kavera) to the school premises "in the interest of our cherished environment and in consideration of the human health".

So, if you are a regular there, take note.

 

 

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12:15pm

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  Addressing FGM: 'Cut girls given powerful names'


Additionally, they reportedly find it easier to get married.

 

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11:45am

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  Tackling FGM: There is a budget for schools


The Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga has met with stakeholders in the fight against female genital mutilation.

"Every year, I ask Government to facilitate communication in Sebei region, but I don't know what happens. Everytime I go there, I am told people listen to Kenyan radio stations," she tells the meeting.

"Each year, there is budget allocated for construction of schools in selected communities experiencing female genital mutilation. I have asked the [parliamentary] committee on gender to locate that money.

 

In the same meeting, Sebei leaders have said schools are far from homes, which forces girls to walk long distances of up to 20km - that exposes them to higeher risk of being mutilated. They have also pointed out poor roads which limit utilisation of the few available schools.

On her part, the minister of state for gender and culture, Peace Mutuuzo, has pointed at religious beliefs and the influence of local politicians as reason for the prevalence of female genital mutilation.

She says some politicians use "preservation of culture" as a mobilisation tool. 

 

 

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11:32am

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  Will the merger of electricity agencies reverse sector gains?


OPINION by Denis Kakembo


Reforms to revive Uganda's power sector after many years of neglect and underfunding commenced in the late 1990s. These reforms introduced competition in a sector that world over was traditionally dominated by vertically integrated monopoly state companies such as UEB. Similar to other countries, Uganda did not only liberalise, but also divided the hitherto integrated power supply chain run by UEB into different segments.

 

The natural monopoly components namely transmission and distribution are regulated in public interest. There are two main reasons why countries liberalised their electricity industry. Those with sufficient power production opened up to create competition between existing facilities so as to lower power tariffs while countries like Uganda with insufficient power generation liberalised to attract private sector investment.

(Read full article here)

 

 

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11:10am

COMESA court goes paperless


New Vision's Samuel Sanya:


The Court of Justice of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is implementing a paperless digital courtroom after signing up with CaseLines.

Covering 21 member states, the supra-national COMESA Court, based in Khartoum, Sudan, sits with 12 judges, each from different member states. Seven of this lot are in the First Instance Division and five in the Appellate Division.

What has been happening is that lawyers bring cases to the court from all the member states, incurring considerable time and cost to file applications and send paper copies of evidence to the court.

The new system will allow lawyers to file applications and evidence in a secure environment from their own offices, saving costs of copying and transporting paper files, and at the same time cutting the risk of losing or misplacing files.

According to a press statement, the system supports efficient pre-trial preparation, especially for lawyers supporting clients in different countries. Judges of the COMESA Court of Justice will now be able to work efficiently from their home offices, improving preparation, cutting unnecessary travel and speeding the process of preparing judgment after a hearing.

Nyambura L. Mbatia, the registrar at the COMESA Court of Justice, said: "In line with the UN's SDG 16, one of the objectives of the COMESA Court is to eliminate financial and practical barriers to justice. By adopting CaseLines, the court will become more efficient and processes such as physical filing will become obsolete. This will make a huge difference for our Judges and for litigants dealing with the Court and will bring us closer to achieving access to justice for all citizens of the COMESA Region."

 

 

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11:05am

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  WATCH: Around East Africa


 

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10:56am

World Wetlands Day


 

 

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10:53am

World Wetlands Day


The minister told a press conference on Wednesday of the significance of preserving wetlands.

This year's theme is: Wetlands and Climate Change.

"We have the environmental benefit analysis to quantify the benefits of a program or project of an investor in regard to the cost. As I speak changes in policy regarding use of wetlands are in Cabinet. We are not stopping investment but we need stronger restrictions," said Kitutu.

The theme "underpins the important role wetlands in relation to nutrient and water cycling, climate change mitigation & adaptation, food security, job security".

 

 

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10:50am

World Wetlands Day


That will be this Saturday - February 2.

"We need to protect our wetlands because the impact always goes to climate change as we prepare for the international World Wetlands Day. Construction in wetlands should also stop," says Mary Goretti Kitutu, the minister of state for environment.

 

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10:45am

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  Addressing female genital mutilation


The Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga is meeting ministers in charge of gender, water and general duties (Office of the Prime Minister), legislators from Sebei region to discuss matters revolving around the fight against female genital mutilation.

The country directors of UNICEF and UNFPA are also in attendance.

 

 

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10:37am

Fighting sleeping sickness


It's about concerted efforts - and the World Health Organisation is pulling its wieght in this battle.



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10:25am

Annual Judges' Conferences closes today


The 21st Annual Judges' Conference will close today with a ceremony presided over by Chief Justice Bart Katureebe at 3pm at Kampala Serena Hotel.

During the function, resolutions for effective administration of justice are expected to be made.

The four-day conference got underway on Monday, presided over President Yoweri Museveni. That day, he launched new innovations the judiciary is undertaking this year to improve justice delivery, including toll free lines, performance enhancement tool for officers and an e-payment system.

 

 

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10:19am

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  WATCH: How to make bark cloth


 

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10:11am

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  2018 UCE: The stats


A total of 336,740 candidates registered for the 2018 UCE in 3,658 centres. The number of candidates in 2018 was higher than that of 2017 by 10,528. Of the 336,740 candidates, the education ministry indicates that 45.2% are beneficiaries of the government universal education programme (UPE).

In 2017, 31,338 UCE candidates excelled in Division One compared to 25,610 in 2016. In 2017, 53,665 candidates featured in Division Two while the previous year had 44,614.

 

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10:07am

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  UCE results out today


Exactly two weeks ago, the 2018 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) results were released.

Today, candidates of last year's Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) will know the fruits of their four-year labour when the results of their final national exams were be released.

 

According to a source who did not want to be named, the education minister, Janet Museveni, hosted a team from the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) to discuss the release of the exam results, during which she "guided that they be released on Thursday".

Typically, national exams are released in the morning. This time around, though, the O'level results are set to be made public in the afternoon - at 2:30pm -, according to Patrick Muinda, the assistant commissioner for communication and information systems in the education ministry.

The venue will be the Statistics House Conference Hall in Kampala.

 

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9:55am

Visa applicant dies at embassy


Want to get a US visa?

This could help . . .

 

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9:50am

Visa applicant collapses and dies at embassy in Kampala


More on this story . . .

Okudia's body was collected from the US mission complex by Police and taken to Mulago Hospital for a post-mortem. The US embassy spokesperson, Phil Dimon, issued a statement to New Vision confirming the death of the woman on the embassy premises.

"We can confirm that a visa applicant passed away on the grounds of the US embassy in Kampala on Wednesday, January 30. We offer our sincere condolences to the family and riends of the deceased.

"US embassy personnel provided all the appropriate life-saving measures. Visa confidentiality regulations prevent us from providing additional information," Dimon said.

 

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9:48am

Visa applicant collapses and dies at embassy in Kampala


New Vision's Geoffrey Mutegeki:


A 38-year-old woman Wednesday morning collapsed and died at the US embassy in Nsambya, Kampala after being denied a visa. Both the Police and the US mission named the deceased as Teopista Okudia, a resident of Mutungo in Kampala. The incident is said to have happened at around 10:00am. Okudia reportedly died at the consular section of the mission on receiving news that her visa had been rejected.

"When the embassy denied her the visa, she collapsed dead. We are yet to find out the real cause of death after a postmortem," Luke Oweyesigire, the Kampala Metropolitan Police deputy spokesperson, said.



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9:37am

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  UGANDA PREMIER LEAGUE: Friday's fixtures


We have another two matches coming up on Friday.

Defending champions Vipers SC will be at home against Kirinya-Jinja SSS while Ndejje University will visit Paidha Black Angels in a battle of relegation-threatened sides.

 

Vipers are second on 31 points and will be hoping to close in on table toppers KCCA. Jinja, currently in 11th, will be eyeing a lift with a win. Meanwhile, Paidha are rock-bottom and victory over their most immediate rivals, who are second from bottom, will go a long way in reviving their efforts to fight the drop.

 

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9:25am

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  UGANDA PREMIER LEAGUE: BUL see off Maroons


Meanwhile, in the second game on Wednesday's menu, BUL FC needed to score just once to overpower Maroons at home.

A second victory in their last three matches helped BUL leapfrog Onduparaka FC into fourth place. Maroons are in 12th place - on the fringes of the drop zone.

 

 

#UgandaToday

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9:20am

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  UGANDA PREMIER LEAGUE: KCCA held, but stretch lead


On Wednesday, there were two games in the StarTimes Uganda Premier League.

In the earlier duel, KCCA FC were playing away at Mbarara City in a game that eventually ended in a stalement. Mike Mutebi's side didn't get the maximum three points in a 0-0 result, but a point in the bag helped them pull a little further away from their closest challengers Vipers SC, the defending champions.

KCCA are on 37 points while second-placed Vipers have 31 points.


 

 

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9:12am

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  WATCH: Around Uganda


The 2018 O'level results set to be released this afternoon.

 

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9:10am

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  KIIRA EVS: A quick chat with the brains behind the car


 

 

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9:07am

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  KIIRA EVS: A look inside


Reverse camera, proximity sensors.

Fancy that!

 

 

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9:03am

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  KIIRA EVS: Sh95m. Zero mileage


Would you part with that much for a locally made car?

 

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8:58am

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  KIIRA EVS: Fancy getting one?


The price of a vehicle like the KIIRA EVS is estimated at around sh92m.

Apparently, Kiira Motors is already receiving orders from Ugandans interested in owning Ugandan-made cars.

 

 

#UgandaToday

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8:55am

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  KIIRA EVS: Swift deliveries expected


The Uganda-assembled car, KIIRA EVS, by Kiira Motors Corporation has caused quite some excitement in recent weeks.

The slick black vehicle has had a taste of the Ugandan roads twice before and has got many flashing thumbs-up signs in its wake.

Thursday morning, it was parked right in front of the Vision Group head offices, offering an up-close-and-personal opportunity for us.

 

#UgandaToday

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8:45am

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  Boat registration exercise: The requirements


Pictured below:
The chairperson of Young Generation Senene, Hannington Etyanga (left), signing after registering the boat he operates as his colleagues William Monday and Rajabu Kawugana, and boat enumerator Prudence Mbabazi look on.

 

According to the guidelines issued by the ministry to the enumerators prior to the exercise, boat owners are required to present information on the boat or vessel registration number, cabin crew, landing site/port, district, boat type, propulsion, use, fuel type, material and colour.

Telephone numbers, full company names, identity cards, passports or drivers' licences are among other requirements to be presented by a boat owner before he or she signs the registration form to certify that that is the legal owner of the vessel.

 

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8:40am

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  Boat registration exercise: 'I discovered it had good intentions'


Geoffrey Kabunga, who owns a speed boat at Port Bell, was at first hesitant to register his vessel during the exercise currently underway.

"I dodged registration by escaping to the other side, where large vessels dock, but later I decided to return and seek more information about the exercise.

"After the enumerators explained the purpose of the exercise, I discovered that it had good intentions. I provided all the information they wanted," he said.

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Kabunga is one of the many water vessel owners who had registered by the end of the first day of the exercise, on Wednesday.

"Many of us thought the army wanted to identify boats which do not meet standards and destroy them," he said.

 

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8:35am

What happened on Wednesday

A lot.

And in case you missed it out on the happenings, you can do a quick catch-up HERE.

 

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8:25am

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  What the papers are saying


On the back pages, the lead article is on Nakivubo Stadium, which will be ready to host its first match in November next year, when work on its redevelopment is expected to end.

According to the contractor's (ROKO) project manager Aine Ashaba, work on the stadium is currently on-going and is expected to end next year, following the visit of the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports Janet Museveni at the facility three months ago.

(Get Thursday's e-paper here πŸ‘‰ http://bit.ly/vgepaper )

 

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8:21am

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  What the papers are saying


In this week's BU$INESS . . .


At the start of this year, the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) moved all its offices within the Kampala metropolitan area to its new home in the city suburb of Nakawa. Similarly, telecom giant, MTN Uganda decided to relocate to its new premises in the industrial area on Jinja Road, creating a lot of empty space for rent in Kampala.

Due to the debt service obligations landlords have, rent in most places has been spiralled to as high as $18 (about sh66,400) per square metre, a figure that experts say is scaring away tenants.

(Get Thursday's e-paper here πŸ‘‰ http://bit.ly/vgepaper )

 

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8:18am

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  What the papers are saying


On Page 8, the lead story is on land matters . . .

(Get Thursday's e-paper here πŸ‘‰ http://bit.ly/vgepaper )

 

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8:15am

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  What the papers are saying


Today's New Vision leads with a story that revolves around public transport.

President Yoweri Museveni has directed the State Minister for Transport, Aggrey Bagiire, to organise elections for the leadership of taxi operators across the country. Museveni has also proposed that elections of the governing body of the taxi sector in the country be held on the basis of "a taxi being the elective constituency, represented by one driver and one conductor".

(Get Thursday's e-paper here πŸ‘‰ http://bit.ly/vgepaper )

 

 

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8:10am

Today's inspirational quote

"The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today." - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.




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8:05am

February, here we come!

Everything that has a beginning has an end - and we can say the same about January. I am sure you are glad this 'infamous' month of '50 days' has finally come to an end.

Let's see how the last day of the first month of the year will unfold.

A warm welcome from wherever you are reading this from. I will attempt to keep you updated with some of the things happening around the country.

Don't forget to refresh your page for updates.

 

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8:00am

Good morning


Hello everyone. A new, fresh day has arrived!

 

 

 

8:05amFebruary, here we come!

Ev

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