In a significant shift in infrastructure strategy, the government will now have renewed focus on the maintenance of existing roads over construction of new ones.

This decision comes amidst reduced allocations of funds and inadequate releases, which have led to a substantial maintenance backlog in the road network across the country.

The Minister of Works and Transport, Gen. Katumba Wamala in a statement to Parliament on Wednesday, 24 April 2024, emphasised the need to prioritise maintenance to preserve and protect the existing road assets.

“This has created a significant maintenance backlog that shall necessitate increased focus on maintenance of the paved road network,” he said.

Katumba Wamala said Increased allocation of resources in the National Development Plan (NDP) IV is crucial to preserving road assets and expanding the road infrastructure stock.

He blamed this on the reduction in resources which has delayed key interventions planned under NDPIII including upgrades to support tourism, oil and gas activities and congestion relief in urban areas.

The NDP III period saw plans for road development, with over 3,500KM of new roads earmarked for upgrading and the construction of strategic bridges.

According Gen. Katumba Wamala, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic shocks, led to a drastic reduction in funding for infrastructure projects.

“Allocations for road development dropped significantly, affecting both domestically funded and externally funded projects. The pandemic disrupted construction activities and land acquisition processes further hampering project implementation,” he added.

Despite these challenges, the Works Minister revealed that the government managed to achieve some success in road development.

“By June 2023, 750KM of national roads had been upgraded to paved standard, albeit falling short of the target of 1,500KM,” he said.

Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) has carried forward debts of Shs215 billion, Shs471 billion, and Shs629 billion respectively, for the last three financial years in the NDP III period.

“Rising cost of construction especially after Covid-19 has led to an increase in key road construction and maintenance inputs such as bitumen, steel, timber and fuel thus increasing the costs of operation,” Katumba Wamala added.

On the Kampala – Jinja Expressway, the minister said that government needs over Shs236 billion to pay the project affected persons adding that right of way will be acquired by the end of December 2024 for section 1 and 2, and section 3 by December 2025.  He revealed that road construction works are expected to start in December 2025.

The Speaker, Anita Among gave an assurance that Parliament will support the allocation of funds to the ministry for  since roads infrastructure is key for development.

“We are going to make sure we prioritise your sector. The number of people who have died due to accidents are so many, ” Among said.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.

Speaker Anita Among has directed the Minister for the Presidency, Hon. Milly Babalanda to present a list of Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) and their deputies and assistants to Parliament for scrutiny.

This followed a statement presented by Minister for Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs, Hon. Minsa Kabanda in response to the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Joel Ssenyonyi who questioned the caliber of some of the recently appointed RDCs.

During the plenary sitting on Tuesday, 23 April 2024, Ssenyonyi cited Gomba Assistant RDC, Yiga Kisakyamukama whom he said undressed in public and hurled insults at traditional leaders.

While chairing the House on Wednesday, 24 April 2024, Speaker Among noted that whereas appointment of RDCs is enshrined in Article 203 of the Constitution, the Minister for Presidency ought to prove that due diligence is performed before their appointment. “We need the qualifications of these RDCs. After you bring that, we will refer it to the Committee on Presidential Affairs,” she said.

She added that the minister must also prove that regional balance was considered in the appointment of the RDCs. Hon. Kabanda said that the matter will be brought to the attention of President Museveni, adding that Section 72 (1) of the Local Government Act mandates the President to appoint a number of Deputy or Assistant RCCs in a district as deemed necessary. “In the financial year 2023/2024, Parliament appropriated salaries for RDCs, Deputy RDCs and Assistant RDCs,” she added.

Ssenyonyi however, said that the minister’s statement was not satisfactory, noting that she did not respond to a concern as to why government continues to recruit RDCs at the same time rationalising government entities.

“In the spirit of rationalisation, how does this make sense? We have 147 RDCs on whom over Shs4 billion is spent, 163 Deputies on whom we spend Shs2.5 billion and you are bringing assistants on whom we will spend Shs2.8 billion and that is just salaries alone,” he said.

Lwemiyaga County MP, Hon. Theodore Ssekikubo called for withdrawal of the appointment of Yiga, saying that based on his behavior in public, there is no need for Parliament to wait for his qualification.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.

The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa has asked the Ministry of Education and Sports to review policies relating to accreditation of universities as a way of guarding quality higher education.

Tayebwa made this call while presiding at the 4th graduation ceremony of King Ceasor University (KCU), on Wednesday, 24 April 2024 at their main campus in Bunga, Kampala.

Tayebwa said that the current guidelines make it difficult for universities willing to teach sciences courses and that this has pushed focus to courses that do not necessarily meet the job market needs. “I request that you redesign the policies on accreditation of universities and review the courses to be offered because many are taking short cuts offering courses where the requirements for accreditation are minimal; they are simply offloading jobseekers to the market,” said Tayebwa.

He added that, ‘there are universities which are half of what King Ceasor University is but are already celebrating charters, yet for us who are running sciences getting a charter is not easy, the requirements are many’. ,” As the chairman of the University’s Board of Trustees, Tayebwa commended the KCU for focusing on science and technology courses cognizant that of the 240 students who graduated in different fields, 109 were students of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery.

The Minister of State for Higher Education, Hon. Chrysostom Muyingo applauded the university for daring to invest in training of medical doctors saying it is not an ordinary task. “Let me single out the school of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences; preparing the medicine graduands you have presented today is no mean feat and I am informed those graduating today spread across 11 countries. This demonstrates that Uganda offers higher quality education,” Muyingo said.

The University Chancellor who is also the founder, King Ceasor Mulenga reiterated the urgency for Africa to utilise technology in education in order to catch up with the rest of the world. “We are very late in technology yet it is a serious enabler. Countries that will succeed tomorrow are those that have embraced technology. Probably after God and food, the next will be technology,” said Mulenga.

The urgency to integrate technology was re-echoed by the Chairman of the University Council, Hon. Chris Baryomunsi who is also the Minister for Information, Technology and National Guidance. “As the minister for digital transformation, the future is technology and this university is focused on harnessing the digital space,” Baryomunsi said adding that, ‘in some Universities abroad, there are computer assimilations used to teach medical courses such as anatomy. Through KCU, we want to take technology to a higher level’.

The Kampala Archbishop, Rt. Rev. Paul Ssemogerere who presided over the day’s thanksgiving mass thanked KCU for targeting the poor who are significantly being funded through the university scholarships.

The university awarded diplomas in Nursing and Clinical Medicine, degrees of Bachelor of Nursing Sciences, Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery.  There were also awards for the degrees of Bachelor of Business Administration, Bachelor of Oil, Gas and Energy Management, Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Agriculture, Bachelor of Computer Forensics and Criminal Investigations and Bachelor of Petroleum Geoscience.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.

Nairobi City County Government (NCCG), in collaboration with the national government and partners, launched the World Immunization Week at Kibera DOS Ground in Kibra Sub County on April 24th, 2024. 

This year’s World Immunization Week, scheduled from April 24th to 30th, commemorates 50 years of the Essential Programme on Immunization (EPI). 

The event in Kenya honors 44 years of providing immunization services since the inception of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI). Immunization stands as a cost-efficient and effective measure to safeguard the health of both children and adults.

World Immunization Week (WIW) is a global healthcare event celebrated annually in the last week of April, between April 24th and 30th. This year’s theme of World Immunization Week is “Humanly Possible: Saving Lives through Immunization,” highlighting the significance of immunization and its contributions to eradicating smallpox, nearly eliminating polio, and ensuring more children survive than ever before.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Health, Kenya.