1,200 Ex prisoners to benefit from entrepreneurship programme in the North.

By
Abalo Irene Otto
Gulu

Uganda Government Prisons in partnership with Advance Afrika a nongovernmental organization working to reunite and reintegrate inmates into the society has launched a three year project about rehabilitation and reintegration of inmates in Gulu to benefit the greater Northern Region with Support from Caritas Switzerland.

Ronald Rwakangi, the Executive Director of Advance Afrika says their vision is to see a society where young people exploit their full potential and promote social enterprise that adds value to society.

The programme is targeting 1,200 in mates from 26 prisons including Lugore, Gulu main prisons, Pece, Erute and Kitgum among others.

He says they chose to work with youth prison in mates because 80% of those in prison are youth between the ages of18-35 years and there are avenues to channel their energy into productive work, their turn to criminal activities and still end up in prison again.

Rwakangi says that if the young in mates who have interest in having a better life are not targeted, it’s challenging for them to start a new life after serving their sentences in jail.

He adds that the prison inmates are a category of people who are vulnerable and some are in custody but they are sorry about what they did and deserve a second chance to live again in the community.

Alobo Sharon, the project officer Advance Afrika, Gulu says their work is about giving the ex-inmates a second chance after leaving prisons by training them in entrepreneurial skills and after one month of reunion and reintegration, they are given start up kits to sustain them as they adjust to their new life.

Steven Ameny, one of the beneficiaries of the project who got support and is now dealing in second hand clothes in Lira town life after returning from prison is not easy but he was able to re unite with his wife and together they used the start up kit given to him by Advace Afrika to start another business within one year.

Ronald Rwakangi however acknowledges the danger their work could cause to those who may take it they are only helping in mates so they should commit crimes and be convicted to benefit but he says that those who are out should utilize the government programmes that come to their areas like the youth Livelihood fund and operation wealth creation so that they are productive citizens.

Ugandans need value and attitude to say motto says UNESCO Secretary General.

By
Abalo Irene Otto
Gulu
Uganda Commission for UNESCO in partnership with ministry of Education, Science Technology and Sports and National Environment Management Authority held a dialogue in Gulu recently on development of the Uganda national policy on Education for Sustainable Development, ESD to engage in discussions and generate consensus on the key issues that will inform and guide the national ESD policy.

The dialogue that was held at Pearl Afrique Hotel in Gulu town was in response to the need to establishing the post 2014 agenda for Sustainable Development Goals after the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs.

According to Grace Amito, the programme Coordinator at Uganda Commission for UNESCO, the dialogue was the third in a series of consultative meetings with stake holders to tap into what the people of Uganda want in the national ESD policy and also assess what has been done in decade of MDGs to transform into the SDGs.

Amito says it is important for every Ugandan to contribute to policy making such that implementation is easy because sustainability is about our daily lives that tackle community behavior and cultural values.

Augustine Omare Okurut, the outgoing Secretary General Uganda Commission for UNESCO however say Uganda has to bring an end to making good policies and not implementing them.

“Saying that Ugandans are good at paper work only should stop. Each one of us is accountable to himself or herself. If we are not organized, history is going to judge us correctly.” Commented Omare Okurut.

Omare adds that the Education for Sustainable Development Programme has been with people already although sustainability should start at individual levels to be able to apply what is taught at school in real life situations.

He says Ugandans need to change their attitudes and behavior so that sustainability that includes the environment benefits the future generation.
“Ugandans need value and attitude to say For God and My Country and begin to love our environment while applying what we learn in schools so that the future generation benefits from our being responsible,” the outgoing Secretary General said.

According to Omare, the people of Gulu experienced water shortage early this month because of lack of responsibility to conserve the environment which led to the dry up of Oitino dam from which National Water pumps and supplies the district which is a question of sustainability.

The team is moving across the country to chat a way forward on what should be included in the national ESD policy formulation before it becomes a working document in the country.

ACHOLI PEOPLE SPEAK OUT ON MASSIVE TREE CUTTING.

By
Abalo Irene Otto
Gulu

Nwoya LCV Chairman, Patrick Okello Oryema has sent a strong warning to illegal charcoal dealers in the district saying they shall continue to implement deterrent measures including impounding and heavily taxing those exploiting the depleting forests in the district.

While in an exclusive interview with our reporter from Nwoya district Headquarters, the chairman noted that they are aware of the illegal charcoal dealers in the district but blamed it on the residents who ignorantly sell off their forests cheaply to the charcoal business men from other districts without considering the repercussions on the environment and agriculture.

According to the interim chairman LC III of the newly created Lungulu Sub County in Nwoya district, about 200 people enter the sub county on a monthly basis to cut down trees for charcoal burning a practice that is widely contributing to the uncertain climatic conditions in the region.

He alleges that most of the charcoal dealers have connections with the district officials which make their work at the sub county level difficult since they are always not given information about such intruders in their area.

During a community dialogue organized recently by Forum For Community Transformation, a nongovernmental organization working to conserve the environment in Nwoya district, the community expressed concerns on the ever increasing number of illegal charcoal burners in their areas and the district’s reluctance to regulate their activities in the forests.

Obwona Peter, one of the participants requested the district to distribute seedlings given to the district in time before the dry season and also make it a priority that the youth are encouraged to plant more trees after cutting since elders no longer have the energy to manually plant more trees to replace the ones cut.

Acholi Muslim Khadi, Al Hajji Musa Khalil speculates that if tree cutting continues at the current rate, Acholi Land will become a bare with short shrubs and tree stumps like Moroto a picture of desertification in the near future.

He appealed to Acholi leaders to unite and have a single voice so that their people are not exploited out of ignorance.

USAID set to monitor implementation of its projects in Gulu.

By

Abalo Irene Otto

Gulu

U.S. Ambassador Deborah R. Malac will be visiting northern Uganda sub-region next week and taking the opportunity to tour U.S. Government funded projects and activities.

Ambassador Malac, USAID Uganda Mission Director Leslie Reed, CDC Uganda staff and Gulu local government officials will visit St Mary’s Hospital Lacor which is a major referral hospital providing PEPFAR supported HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment services in northern Uganda.

The hospital was founded by the Comboni missionaries and is managed by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gulu and offers a vast range of health services. It serves over 250,000 patients annually.

Dorothy Nanyonga, the Information Assistant, U.S. Mission Uganda adds that Malac will also officially handover the renovated Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) – TB Clinic at the Gulu Regional Referral Hospital.

MDR-TB is a more serious form of TB infection. Uganda is one of the 22 countries with 80 percent of the world’s TB burden. About 1 in every 100 newly diagnosed TB patients is estimated to have MDR- TB.

The two day visit to the region begins with the official hand over of the renovated Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) – TB Clinic at the Gulu Regional Referral Hospital and ends with Lacor Hospital.

Lacor Hospital has been receiving PEPFAR funding since 2004 to date with support from USAID.

According to Elizabeth Meassick, the Site Officer, Lacor Hospital currently has 6570 (8% are children) active HIV patients on ART, with only 308 still in Pre-ART care.

She adds that From October 2015 to March 2016, Lacor provided counseling and testing to 5240 individuals.

In the past three years, Lacor one of the largest faith-based hospitals in the Country, which provides comprehensive HIV/AIDS services including: HIV counseling and testing, adult and pediatric ART, PMTCT, VMMC, TB/HIV, and laboratory services has received US$1,095,585 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through Uganda Episcopal Conference.

Media trainer tips journalists on battle after elections

Uganda Media Development Foundation is conducting a three day training of 25 journalists from both print and electronic media across the country on Advanced Multimedia skills and election reporting to tell the post 2016 election stories and play their role as the messenger to the audience they reach.

JB Wasswa, a media trainer on elections reporting told the journalists at Oxford Hotel in Mbarara town that they have to keenly follow the poll battle after elections and arguments of lawyers in hearing petitions before the various courts and report correctly to their audience.

JB Wasswa Adressing Journalissts from Mbarara today

Wasswa says MPs for instance are elected officials who must be monitored at all times. He says Uganda is having poor quality MPs because anybody who has money thinks of becoming an MP and begins to create development by fund raising, paying hospital bills instead of supervising decisions in the other arms of government.

Cue i….JB Waswa on work of MPs………

He castigated the media to get interested in how parliament works to be able to critically discuss issues that are relevant to the community.

This is what Waswa explains on the constitutional mandate of MPs in Parliament.

Cue………JB Waswa on Pay of MPs………

He urged the media to dissect and explore why everybody desires to become a member of parliament in Uganda and how some have become local governments in their constituencies by buying substandard ambulances, pledging to construct bridges, roads, giving money to the community during burials, visits which make them use more money for influence than representing their people for better services in parliament.

JB Waswa suggests that MPs can perform better if they stick to their mandate in Parliament to improve the quality of Service Delivery.

The 10th Parliament shall consist of 458 members representing various categories of people in Uganda including women, workers and special interest groups among others.

The Uganda battle after elections.

Uganda Media Development Foundation is conducting a three day training of 25 journalists from both print and electronic media across the country on Advanced Multimedia skills and election reporting to tell the post 2016 election stories and play their role as the messenger to the audience they reach.

JB Wasswa, the lead facilitator on elections reporting told the journalists at Oxford Hotel in Mbarara town yesterday that journalists have to keenly follow the poll battle after elections and arguments of lawyers in hearing petitions before the various courts and report correctly to their audience.

Wasswa says Members of Parliament for instance are elected officials who must be monitored at all times.

He castigated the media to get interested in how parliament works to be able to critically discuss issues that are relevant to the community.

He urged the media to dissect and explore why everybody desires to become a member of parliament in Uganda and how some have become local governments in their constituencies by buying substandard ambulances, giving money to the community during burials, visits which make them use more money for influence than representing their people for better services in parliament.

Gulu receives citrus seedlings under Operation wealth creation programme.

Gulu receives citrus seedlings under Operation wealth creation programme.

By

Abalo Irene Otto

Gulu

Gulu district farmers are to receive 90,428 citrus/ orange seedlings under the operation wealth creation initiative by the government of Uganda.

On Wednesday,the district received the first batch of supplies to be distributed in the sub counties of Bungatira, Patiko and Palaro with each sub county getting 5,000 budded Citrus seedlings for the selected farmers.

According to Col Acoka Francis Ongom, the Zonal Coordinator for the Operation Wealth creation Programme in Northern Uganda, the seedlings will be enough for the farmers since their more supplies and it will be continues during the rainy season.

“The farmers should not worry because the seedlings will be enough. We shall continue to get more supplies and give to the farmers to help them turn away from subsistence farming to commercial.”

Col Acoka say farmers need to observe good agronomic practices as they were taught by the district before the seed are given to them for their own benefit at household levels.

“Practice good agronomic skills that you were taught so that the seedlings do no die. We are giving the seedlings at the onset of the rainy season so that we do not receive complains of seedlings dying because they were given to people late.” Said Col Acoka.

Operation Wealth creation budget was increased from 203 billion last year to 1 trillion this year.

The program aims to distribute seeds to farmers to eradicate poverty such as maize and fruit trees like citrus/ oranges, mangoes and coffee seedlings.

Meanwhile,Gulu municipality is to miss out on Operation wealth creation programme that is meant to elevate farmers from subsistence to commercial agriculture to eradicate poverty at household levels due to mishandling of the seedlings.

Col Francis Acoka Ongom, the Zonal Coordinator for the Operation Wealth creation Programme in Northern Uganda, told our reporter today that they are continuing to give farmers the seedlings but those in the municipality will not get because they do not have were to plant and in most cases when given, such farmers end up selling or they just leave the seedlings that could have been planted by others to dry.

Col Acoka says the seedlings will be given according to the size and number of people in each of the parishes in the district.

The sub-county receives and stores the seedlings before distribution to the individual farmers who will each get at least 122 seedlings for an acre ready for planting.

According to Titi Paul, the Accountant in charge of the district stores, 1,000 citrus out of the 90,428 given to the district will be given to veterans and some selected women groups will also benefit from the programme as long as they are registered with the sub county chiefs.

Today, Bungatira, Patiko and Palaro are receiving 5,000 budded citrus seedlings each for planting this rainy season. A farmer is given the seedlings after inspection and seeing that they have ready garden for planting.

Click here to Reply or Forward

Allied Saving Society runs with 750 million shillings for clients.

Gulu District Chairman Ojara Martin Mapenduzi castigated the leadership of Allied Corporative Savings and Society for mismanaging their clients’ money exploiting their clients and running away with their money because they did not have capital and professional Human Resource to handle the micro finance institution.

While addressing a press conference on Friday at Northern Uganda Media Club in Gulu town, Mapenduzi revealed that the registered micro finance institution no longer has the capacity to either recover the loans given out to clients or pay those who saved their money with them.

War stated on the institution about five mounts ago on 12 December 2015 when a group of woman refused to leave his office until their 9 million Shillings is given to them which was done after a backing from the district officials.

The top management, Okwera Stephen, Oroma Fiona and a gentleman from Ireland, David Kenan who are co founders without any qualification to run such an institution was found to be in disputes and handling issuing of loans and using the institution resources for personal gains.

Mapendeuzi says he had a meeting with the management of Allied but he was shocked to learn that their bank statement by March 2016 shows only 75,000/= yet clients are demanding 750 million shillings from them as savings.

He says the CEO, David Kenan fled to Ireland with 150 million, Lira also borrowed 120 million from Gulu branch and Kitgum branch also had a problem and 150 million was borrowed for Gulu but never returned meaning all the 420 million shillings were never accounted for from people’s savings.

He says it is going to be challenging to recover the money since there are district officials citing two forest officers already conniving with the management of Allied but they are being investigated.

Allied did not have any start up fund and poor financial discipline that cropped up leading to the down fall of the micro finance institution.

The police are now hunting for Fiona Oroma the finance manager who is in hiding as investigations continue into alleged mismanagement of People’s money.

NURSERY SCHOOL TEACHER SENTENCED TO 30 YEARS IN JAIL FOR MURDERING COLLEAGUE

NURSERY SCHOOL TEACHER SENTENCED TO 30 YEARS IN JAIL FOR MURDERING COLLEAGUE

BY

ABALO IRENE OTTO

GULU

Gulu Resident High court Judge Lady Justice Magaret Mutonyi yesterday
convicted a nursery School teacher of Toto International Kindergarten
Nursery School in Gulu Municipality and sentenced her to 30 years in
jail for murder.

Court heard that Laker Brenda 22 years, the accused teacher on the
26th day of November 2013 at Toto International Kindergarten Nursery
School in Gulu Municipality did an unlawful act and with malice
aforethought cased the death of Lakot Teddy a fellow teacher.

On the fateful day the two teachers were selected to sleep at the
school and prepare food for the graduation day celebration on the 26th
of November 2013 but in the morning, the accused was found unconscious
near the deceased and never offered any explanation as to how the
deceased died.

Medical examinations showed that Lakot Teddy died of multiple organ
failure secondary to shock and toxin or suspected poison.

Prosecution contended that the accused has no valid defense to the
charge and prayed that the Honorable court convicts her as charged.

Murder is contrary to section 188 and 189 of the Penal Code Act.

GULU DISTRICT CONDUCTS SUCCESSFUL POLIO CAMPAIGN WITH 114.7% OF CHILDREN VACCINATED.

GULU DISTRICT CONDUCTS SUCCESSFUL POLIO CAMPAIGN WITH 114.7% OF
CHILDREN VACCINATED.

BY

ABALO IRENE OTTO

GULU

Gulu district has successfully conducted the 3 days polio campaign
that targeted, 93,722 children immunized from the various sub counties
and divisions in the district with a few isolated cases of children
who were not vaccinated because their parents were either busy in the
gardens or away from home by the time the medical personnel went to
their areas.

Dr. Ojok Celestino, the District Health Educator while in an interview
with our reporter from his office in Gulu town says they managed to
vaccinate 107,486 which represents 114.7% of the total number of
children between the ages of 0-5 years against polio including those
from other neighboring districts from Pader, Amuru, Nwoya who were in
the district.

“W e experienced a few isolated cases in homes where the parents were
mostly in the gardens and some parents do not come back till late and
our team have to go back to the area another day. We immunize only
those whose parents are present. We can go to a home and find only
children and just begin to immunize them,” says Dr, Celestino.

Dr. Celestino says the vaccines were adequate but the team experienced
a problem of rationing where some sub counties for instance in Onako
and Paicho where the dosage got finished and they had to get from
other sub counties and those that were far were advised to use the
usual dosage they have at their health facilities.

He says the health workers had a challenge of covering the 2 villages
that was given per staff to cover in 3 days yet the villages are big
with scattered households.

“The villages are extra ordinarily large and each health worker had to
cover two villages within the three days. The vaccines were adequate
but the rationing were not properly done. All in all we managed to
mitigate and were not prevented from achieving our target,” explained
the District Health Educator.

However, the health workers mitigated the challenges and were not
prevented from achieving their target in the polio campaign according
to the District Health Educator.

Dr. Celestino appreciated the community for cooperating with the
health workers and urged those whose children were not immunized to
get to the nearest health facility to have their children under- five
vaccinated to prevent polio outbreak in the district.

Gulu District immunized children against polio from the 1st to the 3rd
of April this year.