Elizabeth Agiro
4 July 2009
Kampala — IN what he depicted as a business deal gone bad, international evangelist Benny Hinn reported having made a sh4b loss on his recent visit to Uganda, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Just like a businessman would blame a diving economy on consumers' dwindling expenditures, Hinn blamed poverty in Africa for the poor revenue collected from the three crusades. Yet, he said, it cost him an estimated sh2b to organise the crusades. One wonders why anyone should be made to pay to listen to the Word of God.
Likewise, the Ugandan government lost sh10b in unpaid rent for its building in Bugolobi which, until 2006, housed the clothes-making company, Apparel Tri-star. This money accumulated over three years. But the man in charge of managing the property, Albert Balibawo of Uganda Property Holdings Limited, blames the loss - highlighted in the 2005-2007 Auditor General's report - on the Ministry of Finance.
However, billions of shillings worth of fake goods have been seized from traders and importers over five years, saving the Government several billions in lost taxes. The goods are labelled high risk, which include food, building materials and electrical equipment.
Meanwhile, President Yoweri Museveni has defended the government's takeover of Kampala city, arguing that only the administration of the city's affairs would go to the government. Consequently, the Buganda government accused the central government of trying to grab Buganda's land, but disguising it as administering the city, a position the Democratic Party shares. In fact, Buganda officials have denied having agreed to the expansion.
Also opposing the government's plans is a senior political science scholar at Makerere University, Aaron Mukwaya, who has advised the Government to stop splitting the country into smaller districts. Uganda currently has 80 districts and should Cabinet approve 12 more, it will push the number up to 92. Mukwaya argues that the move alienates civil servants from the people. But the commissioner in charge of local governments, Patrick Mutabaire, said the new districts come about because people demand for them.
In the education sector, it turns out one primary school in Kamuli District inflated its pupil enrolment by 450, stretching the number of pupils to 550 instead of 100, something that has been going on since 2005. Considering the Government pays sh3,500 per child per term in the Universal Primary Education system, Matuumu Primary School has received sh19m for the ghost pupils for over five years.
In a sh100b drive, the Aids Information Centre wants to ensure that every Ugandan knows their HIV status so that they are better equipped to fight the virus. Currently, only 2.5 million Ugandans know their status, while one million of the population live with the virus. Prevalence rates have stabilised to 6% and 7% in recent years, up from 5% a few years ago. The fishing community around Kyoga and Kwania lakes, however, fear checking their status due to stigma. They prefer witchdoctors.
"We have the powers, but we are not tempted to use them because we are not selfish. We take many factors into consideration, otherwise it would raise bitterness in the public. "
Parliament Speaker Edward Ssekandi while addressing Kenyan National Assembly Tribunal members responsible for reviewing MPs terms and conditions of service. He said MPs have not increased their salary in the last 10 years for fear of being labelled selfish.
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