Money Lenders Kicked Out of Kikuube

KIKUUBE – Kikuube local government together with the office of the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) have ordered all money lenders (Bank Etambula) operating in the district to stop operating their business in the district over their continuous habit of cheating poor people.

This order follows increasing complaints from the public, mostly women who accuse money lenders of confiscating their property illegally.

The complaints triggered an operation headed by Kikuube district boss Peter Banura and the Resident District Commissioner, Amlan Tumusiime which saw five women regaining their properties that had been confiscated by money lenders (Bank Etambula) in Buhimba town council, Kikuube district last week.

The women included; Agnes Tuhaise Baganda 45, Katusabe Muhereza 64, Kaahwa Yasinta and Olva Kiiza 44 years.

Properties belonging to these residents of Buhimba town council had been confiscated by a money lender identified as Johnson Kagoma, while Sanny Kanturaki’s property had been confiscated by Francis Ayeranga.

Tuhaise says that in 2019, she borrowed six million from Kagoma and used her three acres of land with a house on wall plate level valued at Shs 30 million as collateral.

https://thecooperator.news/district-chairman-vows-to-revive-cooperatives/

I started paying the loan as we had agreed, however after paying Shs 3 million in 2020, Kagoma refused to take the balance from me and decided to take my land claiming he had bought it.

“Kagoma started hiding from me whenever I would go to pay him; I went to his father and begged him to talk to his son to accept his money but my plea fell on deaf ears and when the period they had agreed to pay the loan elapsed, the man fenced my land and denied me access to my gardens,” Tuhaise explained.

She added that she moved in different offices including police and court but she did not get any help adding all offices she went to seek help, they told her that Kagoma is untouchable.

Another victim Muhereza borrowed Shs 200, 000 and used her one acre of land as collateral. She claims that when she started to pay, the money lender refused to take the balance of the money from her on the grounds that she had delayed to pay.

Muhereza explained that last year, her son who was fighting to ensure that she regains her land was arrested by police accusing him of trespassing.

In 2017, my child fell sick and I went to Kagoma and borrowed Shs 200, 000 to take my child to hospital and I was supposed to pay him Shs 60,000 every month for five months.

Within five months I had paid him Shs 315,000 but this man claimed that he was still demanding me interest amounting Shs 400, 000, I agreed to pay this money; however, when I got the money to pay him, he refused to take the money claiming the agreed date had expired.

Muhereza claimed that the man forced her out of her land and fenced it and denied her access to her land and house.

Kaahwa and Kiiza each borrowed Shs 500, 000 from Kagoma and used their plots of land as collateral. The duo claimed that they repaid all loans with the interest but the money lender refused to return their agreements and claimed ownership of their land.

All the victims of Kagoma expressed concern that Kagoma is untouchable adding that they moved to different offices seeking for assistance in vain.

“I want to tell you Mr. RDC, this man has bribed most of the officers, when you go to police to report a case against Kagoma instead of helping you, police turn against the complainant and they arrest him or her,” Kaahwa said.

Another victim, Sanny told the district officials that she borrowed Shs 1.5 million from Ayeranga last year and used her plot where her small house is as collateral.

According to Sanny in February this year, she paid all the money but Ayeranga refused to return her agreement and took possession of the plot and house.

I was forced to seek your intervention RDC after begging this man to give me my plot agreement several times and he refused. I thank you RDC, today I am very happy that you have restored my hope by rescuing my land which Ayeranga had confiscated.

It was this sudden story of the poor women that forced the district leadership of Kikuube to intervene and allowed the vulnerable women to regain their property.

RDC Tumusiime, explained that the women were evicted from their land and house without any court order.

He vowed not to tolerate such impunity and called on money lenders to use legal means of recovering their money instead of confiscating people’s property illegally.

“We have returned all the property these money leaders had confiscated from the affected women and I ask the money leaders to take the district security committee to court instead of disturbing these women. We agreed as the district security committee to rescue them because as you have heard from them, they have moved to different offices and nobody would listen to them,” RDC said.

RDC Tumusiime also suspended all the activities of money leaders in the district adding that most of them operate illegally without a license.

He warned all local council 1 chairpersons in the district against stamping on any money lending document of Bank Etambula. He threatened that any LC1 Chairperson who will be found stamping for any Bank Etambula will be arrested and prosecuted.

“The Chairperson LC1’s connive with money lenders to cheat the poor people, They take advantage of ignorant and needy borrowers and they force them to sign a sales agreement, instead of a borrowing agreement. After a short time, money leaders make u-turn and they claim ownership of the property of the borrowers. This is unacceptable, you can’t take someone’s property worth Shs 30 million for Shs 6million and Shs 500, 000!” he said.

Peter Banura, the Kikuube district boss said, that the district leadership will not allow this kind of cheating and urged people who have lost their properties to money lenders to report to the district to find a way of dealing with cheaters.

Johnson Kagoma, the accused money lender and resident of Kakooge, Buhimba town council, Kikuube district, asked Kikuube leaders to back off his property which he claims were genuinely acquired.

He said that he has all documentary evidence pertaining to how he acquired the land after undergoing due diligence from the victims, neighbors and local leaders and vowed to take legal action against the district leaders and RDC.

He vowed not to relinquish even an inch of the land saying the leaders can offer part of their family land to the said victims if they feel concerned.

Narbert Alibankooha of Narbert Alibankooha & company advocates said that currently the money lending business is regulated under Tier 4 Microfinance Institutions and Money Lenders Act 2016.

He noted that under this act, it only allows registered companies to carry out the business of money lending; adding individuals who engage in the business of lending money, do it illegally.

“All that money lending without being licensed is illegal and the borrowers are not supposed to pay interest to the lender,” he said.

Tier 4 Microfinance Institutions and Money Lenders Act 2016 was enacted after the business of money lending in Uganda became a risk as money lenders would end up taking over securities pledged for the money borrowed; the interests would be exorbitant and quite often compounded; and the borrowers would be forced to sign sale agreements and sign transfer documents in favor of the lender as part of the security for accessing credit.

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Farmers Worried About Unpredictable Weather

GULU – Farmers of Paicho Central Kal Growers Cooperative Society Limited, [PCKGCS] in Paicho sub- county, Gulu district are expecting low yields of beans this season, following a prolonged dry spell.

The farmers said last season they got low yields of beans and groundnuts because their crops were affected by sunshine and hailstones.

The sub-county has for the past three weeks gone without rain. This has caused fear among the farmers, who say their beans, which have already started flowering, might not produce much.

Josca Lacaa, a member of PCKGCS, said last season she planted an acre of beans which could have given her three bags if the weather conditions were favorable. However, the crop was greatly affected by sunshine and hailstones.

“I still plan to harvest it, but I don’t expect to get a full bag,” Lacaa said.

https://thecooperator.news/extremely-hot-weather-hinders-alternative-feeds-project/

Besides beans, she also planted an acre of groundnuts which would give seven sacks under good weather, but is sure she will not get more than two bags after harvesting.

Lacaa who planted an acre of beans this season, is now afraid of a repeat of the poor harvest, following the absence of rain.

“The rain is really affecting us and we cannot progress with these kinds of poor harvests because when the crops start flowering, the rains disappear,” Lacaa said.

“Now the rains have disappeared and the leaves of my beans have started yellowing,” she added.

Margaret Atoo, another member of the cooperative, planted two acres of beans in June but she is equally worried that the inadequate rain will affect its yield.

“If the rains return now and are well distributed, then the crops can improve, otherwise, we might register losses like last season,” Atoo said.

Simon Opiro, the chairperson of the cooperative said he planted 3 acres of beans but the sun is going to affect the quantity of harvest.

“With adequate rain, I can get at least 3 bags per acre, but because of the unfavorable weather, the best I might get will be two bags per acre,” Opiro said.

In March this year, officials from Uganda National Meteorological Authority (UNMA) advised farmers to start using the Weather Information Dissemination System (WIDS), an application it developed together with Makerere University to help people individually monitor weather changes.

To access weather information through the application, a user needs to either type *255*85# on any mobile phone and respond to prompts, or use a phone or computer connected to the internet and browse http://www.wids.mak.ac.ug/wids/, and respond to questions as those sent to their mobile phone.

However, the application seems to be working in reverse. In June this year, the information provided by WIDS forecasted that from June, July and August, there would be an increased likelihood of normal with a tendency to above normal rain or enhanced rainfall conditions over the northern and eastern parts of the country, while the remaining areas are expected to receive near-normal conditions.

Farmers have however said, they have not been receiving rain for the past three weeks, and fear that the prolonged drought might affect their crops like it did last season.

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Faith Leaders Call On The Gates Foundation To Drop AGRA

SOUTH AFRICA – In August 2021, an alliance of African faith leaders delivered a powerful message to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: “Stop promoting failing and harmful high-input Green Revolution programs, such as the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).”

At a virtual press conference, the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI) released its public letter to the Gates Foundation, which it sent two months ago with 500 signatures from African faith and farming communities. They have received neither an acknowledgment nor a response from the Foundation.

“Faith leaders are witnessing the negative impact of industrialized farming to the land and in their communities and have come together in this letter to say to the Gates Foundation: please re-think your approach to farming in Africa,” says SAFCEI Executive Director Francesca de Gasparis.

Farmers and faith leaders speaking at the press conference urged donors to shift their funding to more effective and sustainable approaches such as agroecology.

https://thecooperator.news/action-against-hunger-unveils-farming-projects/

Crucial challenge at a critical time

Their call comes at a critical time. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 66% of people (724 million) now suffer moderate to severe food insecurity, up from 51% in 2014, according to the State of Food Insecurity report recently released by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

As food insecurity increases, intensified by the ongoing crises of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations is convening a Food Systems Summit in September to address global failures to reduce hunger in line with commitments made in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The summit, which is led by AGRA President Agnes Kalibata, is mired in controversy, accused by farmer groups of promoting the same kinds of industrialized agricultural development that have failed to address the hunger crisis.

The letter to the Gates Foundation detailed the negative impacts that industrialized agriculture has had on the land and in the communities of faith leaders from around the continent.

At the press conference, presenters emphasized the need for the Gates Foundation and other donors to break with the current agriculture agenda and instead invest in more regenerative, agroecological approaches.

“Farmers have become wary of programs that promote monoculture and chemical-intensive farming. They have lost control of their seeds. Now, they say they are being held hostage on their own farms,” says Celestine Otieno, a permaculture farmer from Kenya. “Is this food security or food slavery?”

South African agroecology farmer Busisiwe Mgangxela reiterated that farmers practicing agroecology “do not feed the soil with chemicals, we feed it with organic matter and fertility from other companion plants.”

As the letter details, input-intensive monoculture agriculture damages ecosystems, threatens local livelihoods, increases climate vulnerabilities and undermines smallholder farmers engaged in more sustainable methods of production.

Fletcher Harper, director of GreenFaith, an international network, was direct: “The plan of displacing millions of small holding farmers, using an industrial monoculture approach to farming, lacing the soil and water supplies with toxic chemicals and concentrating ownership of the means of production and land ownership in a small elite is an immoral and dangerous vision that must be stopped.”

AGRA in the crosshairs

Anne Maina, national coordinator of the Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya (BIBA), highlights the negative impacts and lack of accountability of AGRA. Launched in 2006 by the Gates Foundation in partnership the Rockefeller Foundation, AGRA set goals of doubling crop productivity and incomes for 30 million small-scale farming households while halving food insecurity in 20 focus countries by 2020.

As Timothy A. Wise from Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) documented in a report last year, the deadline has passed, and productivity has improved only marginally, poverty remains high and the number of “undernourished” people in AGRA’s 13 focus countries had increased 30 percent by 2018.

BIBA and other groups engaged with AGRA demanding evidence to counter these findings, but Maina says they received no substantive answers. Even AGRA’s own 2020 Annual Report offers little convincing evidence of success.

According to SAFCEI, another insidious aspect of the Gates Foundation’s efforts in Africa is the foundation’s attempt to influence and restructure seed laws. “80% of non-certified seeds come from millions of smallholder farmers who recycle and exchange seeds each year,” SAFCEI reports in its press statement at the event, “building an ‘open-source knowledge bank’ of seeds that cost little to nothing but have all the nutritional value needed to sustain these communities. In contrast, the approach supported by the Gates Foundation threatens to replace seed systems diversity and the agro-biodiversity system that is critical for human and ecosystem health and replace it with a privatized, corporate approach that will reduce food systems resilience.”

SAFCEI director de Gasparis is clear on the social and environmental stakes: “What African farmers need is support to find communal solutions that increase climate resilience, rather than top-down profit-driven industrial-scale farming systems. When it comes to the climate, African faith communities are urging the world to think twice before pushing a technical and corporate farming approach,” she says.

Summarizing the demands of African faith communities, Rev.Wellington Sibanda, intern resident minister in South Africa, says, “We can’t keep quiet as faith leaders. We call on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to shift its funding into agroecological farming.”

Cecelia Heffron, media coordinator at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy is the writer of the article.

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Lack of A Moisture Tester Failing Farmers In Gulu

GULU – Lack of a moisture tester is throwing a wet blanket over the profits of a group of farmers in Gulu district.

A grain moisture tester/meter is a tool that helps to determine whether or not a commodity is at a safe moisture content for storage or processing.

Members of Bed Ki Gen Adak Farmers’ group in Owor sub-county said the group of 30 members that started last year, have already registered losses due to inability to determine the required moisture content of their harvests.

Vicky Opira, a member of the group told theCooperator that last year, she lost at least shs 300,000 because she overdried her rice harvest, and it ended up breaking during hulling.

“I had 10 bags of rice which weighed 700 kilograms. But when I went to hull it, I ended up with only 500 kilograms because the rest got broken,” Opira said.

https://thecooperator.news/shea-butter-processors-decry-poor-post-harvest-handling/

According to Opira, she normally determines the moisture content of her grains by biting and paying attention to the sound it makes; however, she says the method has proved to be inadequate.

Simon Loum, the chairperson of the group said, it is hard for the farmers to maintain the correct moisture content of grains, when they plan to sell months after harvest.

Loum revealed that in 2020, they planted groundnuts and waited till March 2021 to sell when the price had gained, but the 12 sacks of groundnuts developed molds, and the buyer they had got from Kampala rejected it.

“They buyer had agreed to buy each kilogram at shs 2,200 but he rejected the whole produce. We ended up selling locally at Shs 1,500 a kilogram. We got on only shs 600,000 instead of shs 1,000,000,” Loum said.

Knowing the correct moisture content of produce seems to be a countrywide problem among farmers. In March this year, Kenya rejected maize from Uganda on claims that it had aflatoxins, a cancer-causing poison released by molds.

Loum said since the group lacks a moisture meter, they manually check if their harvest is dry by biting it, or put a particular grain in a glass container, and add dry salt to it.

“When one shakes the contents and salt sticks on the grains, then it means the grains are wet, but if the grains and salt remain separate, then it implies that the grains have dried,” he said.

Loum revealed that although they were trained that the correct moisture content of peanuts is 7.5 %, sunflower 9.0%, maize 13.5%, beans 14.0%, sorghum 14.0%, millet 14.0% and soya beans 13.0 %, they can only determine the correct percentage moisture content by using a moisture meter, not by biting into a grain, or shaking it in glass bottle.

“These crude methods have also made our seeds lose viability,” he said.

According to Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), over drying grains using excessive temperatures can stress the kernels of grains, causing cracks and loss of viability, and represents a loss in the value of the crop at sale.

The food security agency cites that 10-tonnes of grain with 15% moisture content weighs 340 kilograms less at 12% moisture content.

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APG Gives the Government A 7-day Ultimatum

ACHOLI – Acholi Parliamentary Group (APG), an umbrella body of all Members of Parliament from Acholi sub-region have given a one-week ultimatum to the government to investigate and arrest invaders who are brutalizing and destroying houses of locals in the contested Apaa area.

The invaders, more than 200 people believed to be hailing from Itirikwa sub-county in Adjumani district, have in the past three weeks invaded the villages of Oyanga and Acholi Ber villages erecting makeshift structures, attacking and destroying the houses of the people who live in the area.

The group in their attempted eviction of the people, mostly attacked the Acholi community and injured a 21-year-old man identified as Denis Akera from Oyanga village.

Addressing the press over the weekend, Hon. Anthony Akol, the Chairperson Acholi Parliamentary Group (APG), says that the one-week ultimatum comes after a seemingly low interest by the government to solve the Apaa land dispute.

Akol claims that last week, Police released 29 suspects who were picked up in an operation in the contested area but were released under unclear circumstances.

Akol, also the Kilak North MP says that despite the government’s strong and strict intelligence and security network, people armed with bows and arrows, pangas among others still move in large numbers, invade and attack people from their own homes attempting to chase them away.

According to Akol, they are disappointed with how the government is handling the situation in Apaa even after the committee instituted by President Museveni two years ago to investigate and find a lasting solution to the matter submitted their report and nothing has yet been done.

Akol says that with what has been transpiring since 2016 from the violent clashes that continued to June 2017 where 14 people were killed and 20 injured, no one has been arrested and brought to justice.

https://thecooperator.news/locals-demand-training-from-uwa-to-drive-away-elephants/

Martin Ojara Mapenduzi, the Bar-dege Layibi Division MP says that if within the one-week ultimatum the government doesn’t drive back the invaders out of Apaa and a clear plan for a lasting solution to the dispute that has claimed lives of more than 20 people, they are going to mobilize the people to defend themselves since the government can’t do so.

“And so, if within the one-week ultimatum, the government doesn’t respond, we will conclude that the government doesn’t care about the people of Apaa and we sit and see what to do”says Mapenduzi.

Mapenduzi blames individuals from within the Madi community who are trying to take advantage of the situation to grab land. There are some individuals in Adjumani district who are taking advantage of the ongoing disputes to grab land.

According to Mapenduzi, since 2012 when the first violent clashes erupted in Apaa, no one has been arrested and jailed and yet people continue to lose lives, properties and sustain injuries.

Besides the demand for investigations, Mapenduzi says Acholi Parliamentary Group wants the rights of the people in Apaa respected, protected and observed.

“For how long must people suffer for the government to understand that enough is enough, how many people have to lose their lives for the government to realize that it’s actually beyond? This is unacceptable and so, we expect the government in the next one week to take action and bring the culprits to book but also the people of Apaa deserve protection, and if the government cannot protect them, they will have to protect themselves. We don’t in anyway support violence and lawlessness and that’s why since 2012, we have been pleading for our people to be protected by the state because it’s their responsibility and so we are giving one week to see whether the state cares”

On Wednesday last week, Anita Among, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament directed that security in Apaa be boosted, the invaders driven out of the contested area.

Francis Opong, a resident of Oyanga sub-village in Apaa says in the past four days, a number of more than 50 Madi language speaking people have continued to invade the area and erect makeshift structures next to the homes of the Acholi community.

Roselyn Aciro, a resident of the same area says that they have lost confidence in how the government is handling the dispute. She says they have lost lives, properties worth millions to their attackers from people from Adjumani.

What next?

There have been a number of legal attempts to end the dispute in the contested area measuring 320 square miles home to over 13,000 people which is claimed by Uganda Wildlife Authorities’ East Madi Wildlife reserve.

In 2012, the high court in Gulu gave an injunction halting security, local government and Adjumani district from any other interferences in the contested area. But the leaders in Acholi sub-region say that court ruling is not being respected and followed.

Akol, says that they are considering filing a case of contempt of court in the Gulu based high court since interferences by security, and Adjumani district local government have continued.

According to Akol, invasions, attacks, and security brutality has continued in the area with more than 20 people losing their lives. One of the most recent one was of one, Labista Opio, a driver of Canter truck registration number UAU 932G who stages and resides at Lacor center in Gulu City who was shot dead by a UWA ranger some meters away from the security checkpoint in Apaa for allegedly carrying unspecified sacks of charcoal from Apaa market headed for Gulu City.

“What we have decided to do is to file an application so that we handle Adjumani district and the Ministry of Local Government for contempt of court because a court injunction has been given that you should never interfere with the lives of the people in the area until that issue is sorted out in court and there has been no ruling, therefore what they are doing there is in contempt of court” says Akol.

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Nwoya District Receives 5000 Doses Of FMD Vaccines

NWOYA – Nwoya district production department has received 5000 doses of the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccines from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries.

The disease which mostly affects cloven hoofed animals including buffaloes, cattle, sheep, goats among others was first confirmed in Atwomo village, Patira parish, Purongo Sub County before further spreading to Todora village in Anaka Sub County and later in Nyamukino and Bidati villages in Lungulu and Anaka Town Council respectively.

It has so far left 18 cows, mostly calves dead, and at least 323 having contracted the disease.

Emmanuel Okwir, the Nwoya district Veterinary and Production’s Officer says the doses were given to the district on Friday last week following a requisition placed a month ago.

Okwir says that the delay in supply of the vaccines was because the vaccine was not available given the outbreak of the disease which has also hit other parts of the country.

Okwir says that the vaccination exercise will be launched next week targeting the areas worst hit by FMD.

“We are not going to vaccinate all the cows in the district. We will only target the villages that are the most affected by foot and mouth disease (FMD).”

https://thecooperator.news/nwoya-under-attack-by-the-foot-and-mouth-disease/

Recently, Frank Tumwebaze, the Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries ordered a quarantine, banning the movement of animals at risk from within and around the districts in a bid to prevent the spread of FMD.

Jacob Lony Ocen, a resident of Akwongo village, Patira parish, Purongo Sub County says that he lost two of his calves to the disease.

Ocen says that efforts to try and get the vaccines were futile because most of the veterinary shops in Purongo and Anaka Town council didn’t have them in stock.

“When I tried to buy the vaccines locally from the veterinary shops here in Purongo and even Anaka, I failed because none of them had it.”

Stephen Ojok, a resident of Bidati village in Anaka Town Council says three of his cows have contracted the disease and when he attempted to buy vaccines in Gulu City, he was charged shs 200,000 for what used to cost him shs120,000.

Okwir, says that he has received several calls from farmers complaining about the high prices of the vaccines coupled with the distance they have to travel to access them.

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Equity Bank Kenya Breaks Silence On DP Ruto’s Loan Allegations

KENYA – It was a dramatic Monday in Kenya when the country’s Deputy President William Ruto was barred from his flight on an unknown mission to Uganda.

Kenya’s local media reported that immigration officials insisted that Ruto had to get clearance for his travel to Entebbe from the head of state, Uhuru Kenyatta.

This sparked social media reports claiming that the travel ban is political and intended to weaken Ruto’s ambitions from taking on the country’s top leadership.

https://thecooperator.news/sasra-gets-new-ceo-after-mwaka-john-left/

Others added that Ruto’s relations with the current President Uhuru Kenyatta have turned sour despite the duo being close allies both in 2013 and 2017 presidential victory.

Also, Ruto linked the recent travel ban to political humiliation terming it as cowardice of his foes.

He added that his visit to Uganda had nothing to do with politics, confirming that he even helped a businessman to acquire a loan from Equity Bank Kenya to put up a vaccine factory in Matuga-Wakiso district.

“While in Uganda a month ago, the president of that country invited me to the launch of a vaccine factory facility being built there. The proprietor of that facility has been to this very office (Ruto’s office) where you are interviewing me. He needed help to be introduced to Equity Bank because he was looking for a loan of Kshs 15BN ($150million). I made only one phone call telling the bank that there is some East African here who needs your help to acquire financing for a factory in Uganda. You could consider helping him. That is why when the factory construction was being commissioned in Uganda, he insisted I go and witness it. So, what is wrong with that?” Ruto on a YouTube channel explained his July travel in Uganda.

“I also told them that for us to achieve the East African Federation, they need to have a branch in Uganda.”

According to the Daily Monitor, in a story posted August 3rd,2021 it notes that, the visit, which saw the Deputy President attend the unveiling of a vaccine manufacturing facility, was the fifth in the last six years.

However, in a media statement released on 4th August, 2021, Equity Bank Kenya distanced itself from the ongoing Ruto’s political saga.

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Locals Demand Training from UWA to Drive Away Elephants

AMURU – Amuru and Nwoya Districts of Northern Uganda have for long been affected by wild animals mostly elephants which stray from Murchison Falls National Game Park.

At least a handful of people have lost their lives to attacks by these wild animals with over 100 getting injured in the process of driving them back to the game parks.

The most recent tragedy was registered in Lakang sub-county, some 100 km West of Gulu City where a 60-year-old woman, identified as Esther Akwongo was crushed to death and two others identified as Denis Odora and a teenager Brian Okello lost their legs and suffered dislocated hips after being attacked by the elephants on 07thJuly, 2021.

The elephants which first invaded the villages of Bana, Lajalula and Padolo B in May this year have also destroyed more than 25 huts and 1000 acres of food crops from the gardens of at least 250 people in Lakang sub-county.

In Nwoya district, the sub-counties of Lii, Anaka, Lungulu and Got Apwoyo are some of the most affected areas by elephant invasions.

https://thecooperator.news/fishing-community-on-lake-albert-cries-for-help/

Residents of villages most prone to the invasion by elephants now want the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), which is in-charge of protecting and preserving wildlife in Uganda to train and equip members of the community on how to drive away the elephants when they invade them.

William Okia Manaci, the Local Council 1 (LC1) Chairperson Bana village, in Lakang sub-county, Amuru district says, annually elephants invade the area destroying crops and injuring people yet they get slow intervention by Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers to drive away the wild animals.

Okia says training members of the community mostly youths, equipping them with the basics such as gumboots, torches, rain coats among others would help in driving away the wild animals before they can destroy their crops, attack and even kill members of their community.

According to Okia, the consistent invasion by the elephants has left several people in his village homeless with no food to eat because their crops that they had hopes of harvesting in three months were destroyed.

Irene Amony, a resident of Lajalula village also in Lakang sub-county says that the continuous invasion by the wild animals, not just elephants has left them in panic and fear for their lives and their crops.

Amony who lost 1 acre of millet and maize and a quarter acre of potatoes says she’s not sure about how she will feed her family as a widow.

Anthony Oringa, the Lakang sub-county chairperson says they have recorded cases of invasions by buffaloes and lions too in the past two years.

Oringa says, in 2020, more than 240 acres of food crops mostly rice was destroyed by buffaloes and 13 cows were killed by lions in Lakang sub-county.

Training youths from the sub-county to scare and drive away the wild animals would help save our lives, our animals and crops.

Justine Oryema, a resident of Lajalula village who is a brother to the injured Denis Odora who was attacked and injured along with his son Okello, says they have been hearing the government talking about demarcating the borderlines for the game parks and community land to finally settle the conflict between the wild animals and humans but which might not come soon.

Besides training the youths, Oryema wants Uganda Wildlife Authority to consider recruiting some of the youths from the communities to help in driving away the wild animals in case they invade them because most times, the rangers take far too long to intervene even when informed.

“If UWA rangers who were based in Adjumani district came to our rescue when we first reported the invasion of the elephants in June,2021, we wouldn’t have lost our mother, Akwongo”. Oryema narrates.

Justine Ajaji, the Chairperson of Lii sub-county in Nwoya district says for their case, more than 200 youths were trained some two years ago and materials such as gumboots, vuvuzelas, rain coats among others were given to help them scare and drive away the elephants.

However, the youth groups eventually dispersed due to lack of motivation from Uganda Wildlife Authority.

Ajaji observes that for example in Lii sub-county, there’s a ranger post with only three rangers serving the three parishes which are prone to invasions by the elephants.

“If UWA can recruit young men to work as rangers in these areas, it would be very feasible because they understand the dimensions and the areas better than the rangers who are posted in the range posts.”

Charles Tumwesigye, the Director Operations, Uganda Wildlife Authority attributes the delay in intervention of the rangers to the recent history of violent attacks against them by the community members. Locals from Amuru and Adjumani districts have since 2015 been embroiled in disputes over land which has left at least 10 people dead in violent clashes.

Tumwesigye explains that the areas stretching from Murchison Falls National Game Park via Kilak, Atiak to Nimule in South Sudan are in the pathways of the elephants for decades.

“We will continue to experience invasions of elephants if the boundary lines are not demarcated and fenced,” he added.

According to Tumwesigye, they are currently understaffed and lack finances to carry out training, facilitate or motivate the youths trained as scouts in mostly Nwoya and Oyam districts.

Martin Magara, the State Minister for Wildlife, Tourism and Inequities says that following a board meeting held recently, community members surrounding game parks will be trained and others recruited by the Uganda Wildlife Authority to prevent massive destruction of crops, or lives of animals and human beings but also support local economy.

“It’s now a policy agreed upon by the board of directors of Uganda Wildlife Authority and government that in the subsequent recruitment to follow, the communities surrounding the game reserves and those from families affected by the invasion of wild animals should be considered first, so we will not only train community members but also recruit people permanently by UWA.”

According to Magara, the government is looking for resources to fence all the game reserves and parks in Uganda which is being done in phases due to lack of finances as well as the huge coverage areas.

Uganda has a total of ten national game parks, 12 game parks covered by Murchison Falls National Game Park believed to be Uganda’s largest national park measuring approximately 3,893 square kilometers (1,503 square miles). The Park is bisected by the Victoria Nile from East to West for a distance of about 115 kilometers.

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Action Against Hunger Unveils New Farming Projects

KIKUUBE – Action Against Hunger, a global humanitarian organization has unveiled four farming projects worth shs 5 billion in Kikuube District Local Government (KDLG) which will focus on food security in the refugee hosting sub-counties and other areas.

Racheal Bona, the Team Leader for Action Against Hunger in Kyangwali Refugee Camp in Kyangwali sub-county, Kikuube district said, the project dubbed Multi Sectoral Integrated Humanitarian Projects is funded by the French and Swedish Embassy and the German government too.

Speaking during the projects’ inception meeting for the district leaders and technical staff, Bona explained that the one-year projects, whose implementation kicked off in April, 2021 aims at addressing the issue of food insecurity in the district.

She said that the farming projects will support refugees and host communities in the district who have land to engage in food production.

“The farming projects will look at equipping the farmers with modern farming skills and providing them with quality inputs,” she said.

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“Basically all these projects are coming on board to address the issue of food insecurity challenges. We are looking at how we can support the people who moved from Congo and joined the camp in terms of production even with their small land. But also to look at how to work with host communities who have big chunks of land and they are not unitizing it due to limited skills. Basically, we are bringing on board skills and inputs for both of them to benefit.”

Kikuube district Chairman, Peter Banura expressed excitement about the projects, adding that once implemented, it will help families produce enough food.

He said that Kikuube has fertile land which can allow farmers to produce enough food and get surpluses to improve on their household income once they are organized.

“I am happy to have such projects in our district, the projects are going to organize our farmers to engage in modern farming which will enable them have enough food for their families and this will help us to do away with the challenge of increased malnutrition among children and pregnant mothers,” said Banura.

Banura, called on development partners operating in the district to work closely with the district local government to push for the development and well-being of the communities.

Without mentioning specific organizations, Banura expressed concern that some Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have not formalized their operations in the district.

He said that such organizations are making it difficult for the district leadership to benchmark their projects’ impact on the community.

He further said, the district is ready to work with all development partners and warned such organizations against working in isolation from the district.

Nicolas Kiiza, the Secretary for Production and District Workers Councilor, called on their implementers of the projects to properly utilize the funds to ensure that it services its intended purpose.

He noted that organizations get funding to help the local communities but some time end up not reaching the beneficiaries due to the implementers who put the money to their personal use.

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Skyrocketing Transport Fares Paralyze Western Uganda

MBARARA – In a nation address about Covid-19, President Museveni last Friday eased restrictions on public transport relieving Ugandans from the burden of the lockdown.

Analyzing the Covid-19 situation, President Museveni allowed public and private means of transport to operate at 50% capacity.

Focusing at the souring conditions caused by the pandemic, those in public transport especially motor riders thanked the President for considering them as Covid-19 continues to bite.

This news was also celebrated by other people in different business sectors as they can now transport their merchandise that had become dead stock in their stores.

“Of course, vehicles cannot move where there are no people or goods to transport, meaning that opening public transport also opens our businesses to operate normally in town,” says Ivan Tumwesigye who runs a phone accessories business in Mbarara town.

He however, lamented that people in the transport business are taking advantage of opening public transport especially the bus and taxi operators to exorbitantly increase the travel prices which has left travelers with no options but in despair.

“How could you transport this box from Mbarara to Bushenyi at shs 10,000, then charge a passenger shs 15,000 a place where it was only shs 5000? They are unnecessarily increasing the transport fares just because they want to compensate for the short time, they’ve spent without earning,” explained Tumwesigye.

Millicent Atwine, another traveler stuck on Mbarara-Kabale road says she was asked to pay shs 20,000 to Nyamukana, Ntungamo a place where she used to pay only shs 5000.

Also, from Mbarara-Ishaka, transport is shs 15,000 then Mbarara-Kabale is shs 40,000 while from Mbarara to Kampala the charges range from shs 60,000 – shs 80,000 depending on the kind of bus boarded.

Speaking to Anthony Kihembo, the General Manager Global Buses, says the increased transport fares have been deliberately agreed upon to adhere to the presidential directives of carrying 50% of the passengers.

Kihembo says the increased prices are meant to cater for the empty seats and meet the fuel costs on the road.

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“You know reducing the number of passengers does not cause a reduction on fuel and the distance remains the same so the passengers we carry have to pay for the remaining empty seats such that we can also save some money to buy fuel and other maintenance costs as you know that these vehicles have been parked for some good time and anything can happen while on a journey,” Kihembo explained.

He confirmed that its true some passengers will fail on the transport charges but thanked the President for considering to resume their businesses such that they can earn a living for their families.

“The President allowed us to transport half of the people to control spreading of the disease. We have also decided to multiply the fares by two where it was shs 100,000 it is now shs 200,000 . This will stop most people from travelling because they are poor, they have not been working but they need to report back to their businesses so the situation is still not good for the wananchi,” Kihembo says.

Farouk Matovu, in charge of defense in Mbarara taxi park asked all taxis and buses in Mbarara and other routes to abide by the presidential guidelines not to risk being banned from operations.

“We are observing all the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Washing facilities are there and no bus or taxi is allowed to enter the park without a sanitizer,” says Matovu.

He asked travelers to remain patient hoping that the situation on the road will normalize as the government continues to manage the pandemic.

“We cannot risk taking full capacity of passengers. The disease is still around so let it first get sorted then we shall begin our businesses as usual,” he said.

Away from transport, Mbarara is almost full to its capacity as the business fraternity reported to attend to their businesses which have been closed for almost a month under the directives of Lt Col James Mwesigye, the Resident City Commissioner (RCC).

Despite the first address of the President, allowing small businesses, shops, food stores and supermarkets to operate as they observe SOPs, Mwesigye retaliated that business people in Mbarara violated the SOPs thus ordering them to close.

Security operatives led by the army and police commanders were seen on a daily basis beating, impounding vehicles and chasing whoever would try to sneak to town.

The second presidential address on Friday, also restored the traders’ hopes in Mbarara as the president continued to allow some businesses like saloons, restaurants and hotels to operate as they observe SOPs.

He continued to suspend public markets which he claimed that they attract many people with a risk of spreading the novel Covid-19.

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