𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐄𝐖𝐒 𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐏

Issue 175
AFTERNOON 𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍
𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 12, 2023
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🇺🇬 More Opposition members willing to serve Government – Mao
📌While addressing journalists on Tuesday, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister, also Democratic Party President Nobert Mao said that more members from the Opposition are willing to serve in the Government. Mao said that talks between the Government and some Opposition figures are ongoing.

🇺🇬 Equating honorary doctorates to academic qualifications is ‘laughable’ – National Council for Higher Education
📌 Saulo Waigolo, the Public Relations Officer at the National Council for Higher Education has said it is laughable for holders of honorary doctorates from various universities to request that the doctorates are equated to academic qualifications. Waigolo says that a number of people with honorary doctorates from different universities in and outside the country have been presenting their awards to be equated as academic qualifications which he described as ‘laughable’.

🇺🇬 URA seeks Ugx 1 billion for staff health insurance for HIV and Covid-19
📌 The Commissioner General Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), John Musinguzi, while appearing before Parliament’s Finance Committee on Wednesday January 11 appealed to Parliament to avail the Tax Body with Ugx 1 billion for the treating their staff of Covid-19 and their families with HIV/AIDs in Financial Year 2023/2024. During his submission, Musinguzi said among the unfunded items include Ugx500 million required to fight Covid and another 500 million for the treatment of staff and their families with HIV & AIDs because their insurance covers don’t cater for these ailments.

🇺🇬 Rights activist calls for arrest of bar proprietors hosting minors
📌Dr. Sarah Bireete, the Executive Director of Center for Constitutional Governance (CCG) called upon Security to arrest all bar owners defying the child protection law by allowing minors into their bars. Bireete, who was addressing the press yesterday, appealed to parents and guardians not to abdicate their role as sole child protectors.

🇺🇬 Pastor, lawyer sentenced to two years in jail for fraud
📌The Buganda Road Court Chief Magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu has sentenced Pastor Sirajje Ssemanda of Revival Church in Bombo and lawyer Arinaitwe Jimmy to two and a half years and payment of Ugx405 million fine, for defrauding over 5,000 victims, including 400 private school owners and parents of vulnerable children of over Ugx4 billion. Using their organisation, Hands Across the World Initiative, Pr Ssemanda made false promises to obtain for them scholarships, trips abroad, and connections to Operation Wealth Creation.

🇺🇬 Over Shs 292 billion spent on tackling Ebola outbreak in Uganda -WHO
📌The World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Uganda, Dr. Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam has said that $80 million (about Shs292, 188,191,440) was used to tackle the latest Ebola outbreak in affected districts in Uganda. He says the funding was earmarked by a number of donors including individual countries and United Nations agencies that made contributions to various initiatives including surveillance, contact tracing, and treatment.

🇺🇬 Government procures equipment for Atiak Sugar Factory
📌The Executive Director of Uganda Development Corporation (UDC) Dr. Patrick Birungi, has revealed that Government is already in the process of procuring equipment meant to mechanise the operation of the Atiak Sugar Factory in Amuru and Lamwo districts by March. The sugar factory was installed with a capacity to crush 1,650 tons of cane per day and about 60,000 metric tons of cane annually.

🇺🇬 RUKUNGIRI: RDC closes seven money lending companies
📌 The operations of seven money-lending businesses in Rukungiri town have been suspended by the Rukungiri Resident District Commissioner’s office for not having the requisite documents. Wilberforce Ahimbisibwe Ongom the Rukungiri Deputy Resident District commissioner named the affected money lending services as Hobro financial services, Motivate financial services, Ituli establishments, Uguka financial services, Hard cash microfinance limited, Royal Orient financial Services Company limited, Kedcof services limited among others.

🇺🇬 SHEEMA: Security guard shoots and kills colleague
📌A security guard on Wednesday shot and killed his colleague at Thunder World security services Ltd in Sheema District. The deceased, John Wakulira, 56, hails from Kyaggwe in Mukono. The suspect, Kule Jokim, 23 who hails from Bunyangabu, is on the run.

🇺🇬 BUDAKA: Residents reap big from Operation Wealth Creation cows
📌Residents in Naigoya cell and Bwase ward in Budaka District have expressed gratitude for the cows given to them by the Operation Wealth Creation team. According to Wamujwa William and Maulo sam who were given a cow each, their livelihoods have improved through selling milk.

🇺🇬 RUBIRIZI: Nyamirama road construction underway
📌The construction of Nyamirama road along Katerera School is ongoing and once completed, the road will easily link residents to the nearby Rubilizi main road. The Local Council chairperson, Agubashongorera Sylvester calls upon people living near the road to plant grass on the edge of the road.

🇺🇬 MBARARA: Ankole Industrial hub graduates 235 of first intake
📌 Ankole Industrial hub, a Presidential development project in skilling the youths on Monday graduated 235 youths in its first intake on Monday. The State House comptroller Ms. Jane Barekye urged the youths to create wealth by applying the skills in the four sectors of the economy in commerce, agriculture, industries, service and ICT.

ACROSS BORDERS
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🌍 Rwanda denies claims of refusing to host DRC refugees
📌The Government of Rwanda has denied allegations that President Paul Kagame said that Rwanda will no longer offer refugee to people fleeing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In a statement on Tuesday night, Government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said Rwanda had no intention to expel or ban refugees, accusing the Media of misrepresenting President Kagame’s remarks. “What the President addressed was the blatant hypocrisy in criticising Rwanda which simultaneously gets the blame for state failure in the DRC [DR Congo], and is then expected to accommodate those who seek refugee from the consequences of that failure,” Makolo tweeted.

🌍 MALI: Three soldiers, 7 Jihadists killed in clashes
📌Three soldiers were killed and five wounded in clashes with jihadists in central Mali on Tuesday, the Army said. The clashes erupted after several attacks against the security forces using improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The fighting between the towns of Mopti and Segou also left seven jihadists dead, the Army added.

🌍 Ghana faces highest Inflation in two decades
📌The West African gold, oil and cocoa producer is battling its worst economic crisis in a generation. December’s inflation reading in Ghana is the highest since April 2001, when it was at 59.7%. Prices rose the most in the category of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, up 82.34% year-on-year. Ghana approached the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in July to ask for financial help after soaring prices and economic hardship spurred street protests.

🌍 US, Russia clash at UN meeting over involvement in Africa’s internal conflicts
📌The United States has accused Kremlin-backed Russian military contractors of interfering in the internal affairs of African countries and “increasing the likelihood that violent extremism will grow” in the Sahel region, which is facing increasing attacks, an allegation Russia denied. The US Deputy Ambassador Richard Mills lashed out at the Wagner Group at a UN Security Council meeting onJ West Africa and the Sahel on Tuesday. He accused the paramilitary force of failing to address the threat of armed groups, robbing countries of their resources, committing human rights abuses and endangering the safety and security of UN peacekeepers and staff.