DENUNCIATION OF APPOINTMENT AS PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR (Haji Badru Kendo Wegulo)

PRESS RELEASE: 15th September, 2001

Last night I was shocked to learn from Uganda Television and WBS that I Haji Badru Kendo Wegulo, National Chairman UPC and Chairman Party Representative Council (PRC) and member of the Presidential Policy Commission (PPC) had been appointed a Presidential Advisor by Lt. General Museveni. This morning I have with horror and consternation read a report on page three of the New Vision Newspaper titled "Wegulo Appointed Museveni’s Advisor". It is reported that I have been appointed as one of the "new special Advisors on Political Affairs".

I wish to state categorically that no one has ever approached me and asked me whether I would be prepared to serve as Museveni’s political advisor or otherwise. I wish it to be known in no uncertain terms that if I had been approached and asked to serve as Museveni’s advisor my answer would be an unequivocal "No" to such a suggestion and or overtures.
Accordingly, I wish to inform Lt. Gen Yoweri Museveni that I reject his so-called appointment with the utmost contempt it deserves.

Every sane person knows that I have been at the forefront, as a leader in the UPC, of opposing the 16 years of terror, misrule, corruption, plunder, dictatorship, and genocide perpetuated by Museveni’s regime. I and millions of other Ugandans have tremendously suffered under Museveni’s oligarchy.
Museveni should be reminded that he personally ordered my arrest together with Professor Rubaihayo in 1994. Our crime was that we had signed a UPC Manifesto on the Constituent Assembly Elections advocating for a democratic Constitution.

The office of political advisors in Museveni’s government is used to squander taxpayer’s money and bribe political opponents and silence them. It is public knowledge that the so-called advisors do not actually render any advise on any national matter. They are conscripts who are bribed into acquienscence and thus silenced.

This attempt to conscript me is part of Museveni’s terrorist attack on the UPC. In these dying moments of the NRA/NRM regime we expect many more such terror attempts at our leaders and members. UPC shall resist them.
If Museveni’s needs advise and I believe he desperately does, then he should heed the advise consistently given to him by the UPC to stop harassing the opposition, to open up political space, and to allow multiparty political activities. He should dismantle his so-called Movement System and pave way for a genuinely open competitive multiparty political system in Uganda. He should stop the politics of manipulation, bribery, intrigue, plunder, war, genocide, aggression, terrorism, nepotism and cronyism.

I appeal to all members of PPC, PRC, and the entire membership of Uganda Peoples Congress, all peace loving Ugandans and all friends of Uganda not to accept to be lured and conscripted into the selfish service of Lt. Gen. Museveni in any capacity. Instead every one should intensify the political efforts and struggles to free Uganda from the shackles of Museveni’s dictatorship. I have said all this.

FOR GOD AND MY COUNTRY
HAJI BADRU KENDO WEGULO

World celebrates world habitat day, while jiggers plague Ugandans

 Moses Amone

Uganda on Monday October 1, 2010 will join the rest of the world in celebrations to mark, World Habitat Day. According to the official United Nations website, the idea is to reflect on our towns and cities and the basic right of all, to adequate shelter. So it is against the back drop of these ideals that it chose the theme for this years celebrations as Better City, Better Life to highlight our collective vision of a sustainable urban world that harnesses the potential and possibilities, mitigates inequalities and disparities, and provides a home for people of all cultures and ages, both rich and poor. 

In Uganda, the celebrations are set to take place in Wakiso district, but if it were my place to decide, I would have shifted these celebration to Mufumi Village in Nabijingo Sub-county, Bugiri District or if not any where, but around Busoga region. Why some may ask? The people in this area have for a longtime been in dire need, for proper housing facilities, since they are cruelly plagued by jiggers. 

These celebrations come at a time when major media houses have been running a number of sad and mind boggling news articles clearly portraying how jiggers have gravely ravaged, tortured, maimed, stigmatized, and contributed to illiteracy and to a sad extent led to death of humans, both children and the elderly around Busoga region in this twenty first Century.  And truth be told this infestation is mainly caused as a result of poor hygiene which to a larger extent can only be traced to people living in deplorable dwelling conditions, poor housing and accommodation facilities like houses that are dusty, with cracked floors and walls which in part is a result of sharing of accommodation facilities with animals and poultry which carry the jiggers. 

Historically speaking, the jiggers’ problem in Busoga region may be tracked as far back as the colonial days when colonial masters found it difficult to spread their activities within the region as a result jiggers. And the worst scenario was witnessed in 2008 when Honorable Members of Parliament seating on the committee for Food Security and Population Forum, employed under hand methods by demanding the immediate arrest of all Ugandans living with jiggers. At this rate one was bound to imagine that soon or later they would demand the arrest of all Ugandans that suffered any ill health. But at a time when world leaders are stressing the need for Developing countries, especially in Africa to meet their desired Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s), one wonders why people in Uganda should still be dying as a result of jiggers and if the government is truly interested in achieving her MDG’s? Because I don’t believe arrest alone would provide a solution to this menace. 

Reading the statement by the Honorable Minister of Health to Parliament on, The Problem of Jiggers in Busoga Region, the minister clearly pointed out that Jiggers infect people who leave in houses with dusty, cracked floors and walls. Now that the ministers know this and the media houses have clearly portrayed these to be some of the conditions in which these jiggers affected Ugandans leave in, what plans has the line ministry that is; Lands, Housing and Urban Development, done to help save Ugandans from this plague? Speaking cheek in tongue, it is sufficed to say that the Ministry has no clearly laid out housing policy for this nation, and without a clearly laid out housing policy, all government policies aimed at abetting the number of deaths in the region which have occurred as a result of jiggers will only come to naught.  

Against this background therefore, it is important to note that before the Ministry of Health can call upon the local leaders to sensitize and mobilize the public on need of prevention and control of these jiggers or the call for arrests of all Ugandans living with jiggers by MP’S, the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development has to first secure and guarantee proper housing facilities for such people as those living in Mufumi village and other affected and surrounding villages in Busoga and the country as a whole. For instance they may either choose to borrow a leaf or partner with Habitat for Humanity which has been able to provide low cost housing to a number of people living within poor communities in Uganda. 

Once this is achieved, the work to be done by the other line Ministries like Health, Education and the community leaders will have been simplified. For as long as people have proper housing and better standards and conditions of living, it is bound to minimize the spread and carriers of jiggers, avoid stigmatization which has led to a total drop and reduction in the number of school going children enrolled for UPE. This will also improve health and lifestyle which will encourage a sense of belonging and patriotism. And in the long run is bound to culminate into a productive community living a Better Life for the betterment of this country.

Transparency in Labeling is key, to Increased Domestic Coffee Consumption

Moses Amone

Uganda is currently witnessing a growth in the coffee shop sector and an increase in the number of different coffee brands, on offer at different supermarkets and retail outlets, such as; Good African Coffee, Star Café, Zigoti Coffee, Elgonia One Café, Masaba Coffee, Elgon Coffee, Nguvu and so much more. This trend is making coffee a fashionable drink and coffee shops the best meeting points offering an alternative to the regular beer bars, hence increasing on domestic coffee consumption.


But despite these positive attributes, it is important to note that domestic coffee consumption in the country is still at its very low and is estimated at about 0.8% of the total production in the country, a very dismal figure indeed given the quantities produced. These dismal figures according to research have been attributed to a number of factors, but the major ones can be pegged to the negative perceptions as relates to coffee and health and a lack of transparency in labeling (coffee mark of quality)

In order to curb these negative perceptions and help boost domestic coffee consumption, there is need to lower resistance to coffee drinking, which will act as a step to predispose existing coffee consumers to drink more coffee and non consumers to try out the product. Consumer education about coffee products can only be successful and efficient if it is coupled with a campaign to lower resistance to the product.


It has been noted that coffee consumers in the country always have difficulties in identifying and understanding the characteristics and contents of the coffee products offered in the market. This in most cases has led the consumer to drink a poor cup of coffee either because they bought the wrong product or used a preparation system that was not compatible to the product they bought. This lack of understanding about coffee products and unclear labeling of these products creates a confusion that is detrimental to consumer satisfaction and curtails the growth of the coffee market.


Based on the above findings, this therefore calls for a campaign aimed at educating consumers about the type and qualities of coffee available on the market. This campaign should be able to emphasize positive coffee and health attributes and its main focus should be to explain to consumers what is found inside the packages offered by retail outlets, for instance the type of product; roast and ground (R & G), soluble coffee, ready to drink coffee beverages, etc. presence or absence of non coffee products for example sugar, chicory and added flavors, etc. and the preparation system adequate for each product. At the initial stage, this campaign should aim at having proprietors of the coffee roasting establishment, label and more so providing directives on how to make a good cup of coffee, written on each packaging material of the coffee they produce.


This is important in that, in some instance consumers have been found to perceive other grades of coffee to be inferior to others, which may not necessarily have been the case. In line with this, it would be important to let consumers know that coffee being a product of great value, it comes in different forms as compared to its close substitutes. For example it would be important to explain to consumers that R & G is not necessarily an inferior grade of coffee as compared to instant coffee, as some consumers have perceive it to be but there major differences in terms of texture (fines & roughness), flavors, color etc. is simply for the benefit of the kind of satisfaction that each individual consumer may seek to derive from the final cup of coffee.

By so doing, this campaign will be able to address the issue of different coffee recipes for example espressos, cappuccinos, mocha, latte etc. and how they can be prepared, as well as the curiosities about the product. But most important of all, this campaign will put to rest the lingering doubts and questions related to coffee and health. Hence in the long run this will help boost the sector in terms of expansion of the tax base, employment generation and economic development.