LOOKS LIKE GOVERNMENT POSITION ON THE BANNED REVENUE POINTS IS NOT CLEAR

THESE EARTH BRICKS USE WOULD BE FERTILE AGRICULTURAL SOIL!

STATEMENT ON THE CREATION OF 25 NEW DISTRICTS

Local Government Administration in Uganda is premised on the policy of Decentralization through devolution which seeks to bring social services such as health, education, roads and water closer to the people.  This is the very essence for the creation of districts which Uganda Local Governments Association’s (ULGA’s) considered opinion can only function if the appropriate parameters and adequate resources for the new districts are availed.  This is mainly because creating more districts results in an increase in administrative costs amongst the many other requiments that come with the establishments.

The Association remains concerned that in the wake of things, most of the districts that started operating in July 2010 such as Agago and Ntoroko are still faced with inadequate staffing and management capacity with as low as only 7% of the approved structures.  More so, some new districts have no headquarters, others have departments with no offices, no electricity nor the necessary tools and equipment to fully function as service delivery centres.

An analysis by ULGA on the progression of the division of the national cake overtime shows that funding to the local government sector has continued on a downward trend from 25% in the 2005/06 financial year to 17.6% in the 2011/12 financial year.  The human resource levels have remained at 55% with some new districts having only 10% staffing, five years after government approved filing of the structures up to 65%.  This si compounded by the low levels of local revenue generated.  The new taxes; local service tax and local hotels tax have failed to yield significant revenue leaving Local Governments to depend on Central Government transfers for their financing by up to 97% in some cases.  This has continued to limit their autonomy and discretionary powers, which are necessary ingredients of devolved power and responsibility.

Given the status quo, ULGA therefore calls on Central Government to seriously consider the recommendations of the on-going holistic review of Local Government financing, once finalized by the Local Government Finance Commission (LGFC) before the rush for more districts is embraced.

We also call upon the Parliamentary Committee on Local Government and Public Service to critically review the proposal for creation of new districts and make realistic recommendations to the August House as they will determine the future trend of service delivery to our communities.

Odok Peter W’oceng

PRESIDENT ULGA

Gertrude Rose Gamwera

SECRETARY GENERAL ULGA

CONGRATULATIONS TO ENGINEER PETER SEBANAKITTA UPON BEING RE-APPOINTED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UNRA

On behalf of the Old Boys of St Mary's College Kisubi, I wish to congratulate Engineer Peter Ssebanakitta on being Re - appointed Executive Director Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA).  We are happy to see him once more in that position.  We want to pray for him because the challenges are many, yet those who are waiting to see his Authority delivering are many, hence there are no short - cuts but to meet the challenges.  As a fellow Lourdalian at SMACK, I must say, we are proud of his achievements, and wish to request that Mr. Ssebanakitta endeavours to find more time to add to the efforts of SMACK Old Boys.  May be he can give a lecture on challenges of Executives in Uganda, and many Old Boys would gladly embrace the opportunity.  The young ones at school may also benefit from his advice on how to be relevant when they get to the world of work.
I take this opportunity to wish Engineer Ssebanakitta the best while delivering remains the key word.
William Kituuka Kiwanuka.

Ssebanakitta re-appointed UNRA boss

 Richard Wanambwa

Posted  Sunday, November 11  2012 at  02:00

Works and Transport Minister Abraham Byandala has reappointed Eng. Peter Ssebanakitta as Executive Director of Uganda National Roads Authority.

According to an October 31, 2012 letter, Eng. Byandala wrote notifying Eng. Ssebanakitta of the renewal of his five-year contract under similar terms and conditions as the previous one.

“I am pleased to inform you that you are re-appointed as the Executive Director of the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) in accordance to Section 20 (1) of the UNRA Act,” Eng. Byandala wrote.

The letter which was copied to the Permanent Secretary and Eng. Byandala’s junior ministers says the appointment would run until October 2017. Eng. Ssebanakitta, on Friday, acknowledged receiving the letter and said he was ready to continue with his work. He promised increased vigilance and supervision on both existing and yet to be constructed roads in the country.

“It is true I have received the letter redeploying me in the same position and I must thank the ministry and UNRA board for entrusting me with this responsibility once again,” Eng. Ssebanakitta said.

rwanambwa@ug.nationmedia.com

Engineer Ssebanakitta joined the Ministry of Works and Transport in 1981 as a pupil engineer, Ssebanakitta worked in various positions rising to the rank of Commissioner for Roads before joining the Road Agency Formation Unit as the Maintenance Division Manager. He later became RAFU's Engineering Division Manager before he was appointed as the Executive Director of UNRA in July 2008.

His 27 years of experience span across road maintenance management, road development projects management and planning in Uganda's road sector. During his five year tenure as Commissioner for Roads in the Ministry for Works and Transport, Eng. Ssebanakitta was responsible for the management of development and road maintenance activities on the national roads as well as developing and coordinating policy for the district, urban and community access road network countrywide. And as RAFU's Engineering Division Manager, he was responsible for the management of all upgrading and rehabilitation projects on the national roads network. In an earlier interview, he claimed to 'have intimate knowledge of both the national roads network and the road industry in the country'.

At a press briefing held at UNRA offices on October 1st 2008, Eng. Ssebanakitta revealed that his organisation was carrying out a programme dabbed 'Operation No Pot Holes'. "UNRA is currently on a countrywide programme to seal all potholes and edge failures on all national bitumen (tarmac) roads," he said.

In addition to the repair of existing roads, UNRA is also undertaking a comprehensive road upgrading programme. This entails upgrading of roads from murram to tarmac, reducing corners and slopes, increasing width and redesigning of humps.

Eng. Peter Ssebanakitta brings to UNRA a wealth of experience and knowledge of the road sector. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering from Makerere University and a Masters of Science in Highway Engineering from the University of Birmingham in UK. Joining the Ministry of Works and Transport in 1981 as a pupil engineer, Ssebanakitta worked in various positions rising to the rank of Commissioner for Roads before joining the Road Agency Formation Unit as the Maintenance Division Manager. He later became RAFU's Engineering Division Manager before he was appointed as the Executive Director of UNRA in July 2008.

His 27 years of experience span across road maintenance management, road development projects management and planning in Uganda's road sector. During his five year tenure as Commissioner for Roads in the Ministry for Works and Transport, Eng. Ssebanakitta was responsible for the management of development and road maintenance activities on the national roads as well as developing and coordinating policy for the district, urban and community access road network countrywide. And as RAFU's Engineering Division Manager, he was responsible for the management of all upgrading and rehabilitation projects on the national roads network. In an earlier interview, he claimed to 'have intimate knowledge of both the national roads network and the road industry in the country'.

ABOUT THE NEW SCHEME

By Joel Ogwang

THE Government is to engage private contractors to help raise $1b (sh2.5trillion) to develop over 1, 900km of roads geared at stimulating tourism, agriculture and oil and gas sectors across the country.

Under the new contractor-facilitated financing scheme, contractors will express interest in road projects and source for their funding from any financial institutions.

The scheme seeks to fast-track development of 20 out of the 44 priority roads to be worked on this 2012/13 financial year.

The roads will be upgraded from gravel to tarmac.

Construction is expected to be completed within a period of three to five years from commencement. Their development will last between six to 36 months.

A Design-Bid-Build project delivery strategy will be adopted for road projects for which designs are ready whereas the Design and Build approach will be adopted for road projects where designs are not yet ready.

How it will work

The Government will enter a memorandum of understanding with shortlisted firms to confirm their relationship in respect of financing and implementation of the works.

It will also enter into a conditional commercial contract with the winning tenderer conditioned on loan agreements being signed between the state and the winning contractors’ financiers.

The contractors will, in turn, negotiate with the finance ministry on interest rates and repayment periods, says Dan Alinange, the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) publicist.

"It is a new thing we are trying-out. Under this arrangement, the contractor will price the road per kilometre and we (UNRA) will value the bid based on the cost of the road," he says.

"The contractor and financier who offer the best deal will win the tender and go ahead with the road works. The finance ministry will pay the financier over time".

The shortlisting of firms for the works will be conducted in accordance with the public procurement procedures contained in the Government of Uganda’s Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act, 2003 and will be open to all bidders from eligible source countries.

To close corruption loopholes, the process up to the signature of the loan agreement will involve negotiation, cabinet approval, parliamentary approval and Attorney General’s legal opinion of the loan.

This will be followed by signature of the loan agreement between Government and the contractors’ financiers.

The project works will then commence immediately after the loan becomes effective following signature of the loan agreement and commercial agreement.

How UNRA was doing the bidding In the past, UNRA was taking unsolicited offers from contractors, notes Eng. Peter Ssebanakitta, the executive director.

"Now we are opting for a structured way of taking proposals," he says. Proposals calling for expression of interests have been advertised in the local media. However, no contractors have submitted their proposals.

"But we will start receiving them (proposals) by October. Contracts will most likely be given out early 2013."

Roads financing in Uganda

Traditionally, Uganda has relied on direct budgetary allocations to fund infrastructure developments but scanty tax revenues have meant the country’s road network remains poor, stifling growth in east Africa’s third largest economy.

For example, Uganda has only 3, 500km out of a total 20, 000kms of national roads under tarmac/ paved, while the rest are in bad to poor condition.

District, urban and community access roads are not any better.

However, the continued prioritisation of the roads and transport sectors, with over sh1trillion injected in the sector in the last three national budgets, has raised public appetite for better roads, yet it is not wholly quenched with quality roads.

One reason roads experts advance for this predicament, is the continued funding of road works off the consolidated fund, a norm adopted from the colonial times.

Experts argue that state funding of roads does not ensure reliability, timeliness and adequacy at a time Uganda hopes to transit from being a third-world/ low developed country into a medium-income status.

They also note that even when monies are ring-fenced for roads, they are susceptible to budgetary cuts due to the ever-changing government priorities and competing demands from other sectors.

“With funding of roads from the consolidated fund, we can’t get better roads easily,” says

Eng. Dr. Michael Odongo, the Uganda Road Fund (URF) executive director. “Countries are moving away from this source of funding because it has many challenges.”

The low road sector funding, too, threatens the realisation of the five-year National Development Plan as bad roads increase the cost of doing business, limits marketing and mobility of factors of production and, ultimately, infringes on the gross domestic product.

Economists assert that quality roads would leverage Uganda’s stagnated annual economic growth threshold of 6% over the past decade.

“This (Uganda) is a small economy and if we’re to wait for tax revenues to come in so that we develop these roads, it may take time,” says Alinange.

Why the new scheme

The contractor-facilitated financing schemewill come as sweet music to financial institutions, contractors and the Government, with its after-effects trickling down to road users who are starved of quality roads.

Ssebanakitta argues that with a poor investment climate in Europe beckoning, Africa is turning out to be a favourable investment hub for international investors, adding that one such sector that will benefit was roads and transport.

“In the past, we were getting ad hoc proposals of contractors who want to use their little money which didn’t measure up to the size of work they had. This meant projects lasted longer than the agreed time,” says Ssebanakitta.

“Now they have Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) where they can get money and we pay over time or through road tolls. PPP leverages innovation.”

The off-budget financing of roads will ensure road projects are kick-started and concluded within the contractual period, with the Government paying the financiers later-on.

Right now, there is a limitation to what extent the finance ministry can finance the roads budget against other sectors.

UNRA estimates that a minimum of $1b will be raised under the scheme.

“We have about 1,918km of roads which need to be built to spur development around the country,”says Alinange. “We think this is a step in the right direction.”

While the new scheme, as appealing as it is, will be open to all contractors, winning the lofty tenders won’t come cheap, says Ssebanakitta.

BAD GOVERNANCE TO MAKE ME FAIL WITH BLOGGING!

It is hard to believe that this is my 3rd blog!  And, I am not sure whether I will be able to blog given the forces that are blocking me from using the facility.  The 1st blog address is:http://www.williamkituuka.blogspot.com
The 2nd is: http://www.goodgovernancepractice.blogspot.com

And now, this is today's development.

Who ever is behind blocking my efforts, my prayer is simple:  Let God change his heart.
William Kituuka Kiwanuka.

THE WRITING I WISH PUT ON MY GRAVE

If there is an opportunity for a decent burial for William Kituuka Kiwanuka when time comes (you know in countries like our some people just disappear and their bodies cannot be traced), I would love the writing below put on my grave.  As you are aware, death is a sure deal for all living, it is a matter of time!

I am a crusader for Good Governance. My mission is to contribute to the promotion of Good Governance and more specifically Democracy ideal for Uganda.

Evidence of bad Governance in Uganda:
1. Removal of Constitutional Presidential Term Limits
2. Failure to release findings of a number of Commissions of Inquiry
3. Political decisions prevailing over economic sense like in the case of creation of new districts
4. Continued depreciation of the Uganda Shilling
5. Out right refusal to grant what the people of Uganda want in the name of Federal Local Governance.

CORRUPTION IN UGANDA

By Francis Kagolo      
                                               
Uganda tops in corruption among the five countries under the East African community (EAC), a report by Transparency International has revealed.

The Eat African Bribery Index 2012 launched Thursday afternoon in Kampala ranks Tanzania and Kenya in second and third positions respectively.

Burundi was ranked fourth as Rwanda continues to record the best record in fighting corruption.

 A total of 9,303 respondents, mainly urban based and aged between 30 to 49 years, were sampled across the five countries in the survey conducted between March and May this year.

 Consequently, Uganda registered the highest bribery levels with a percentage value of 40.7%, while Tanzania had 39.1%, Kenya 29.5%. Burundi, the worst ranked country last year recorded a significantly lower index of 18.8% this year.

 With an aggregate index of 2.5%, Rwanda remained the least bribery-prone country in the region.

 In Uganda, police remains the top most corrupt institution followed by the judiciary, tax services and the land services sectors.

 Also vulnerable are the registry and licensing services, city and local councils, the health and education sectors.

Discussing the findings, anti-corruption experts attributed the problem in Uganda mainly to inadequate political will to fight corruption coupled with low salaries for civil servants.

IF THERE WAS GOOD GOVERNANCE IN UGANDA, GERMANY WOULD SURELY INVEST
Source: The New "DE Magazine Deutschland" E6 1/2012

In the article: Businesses wanted.
Business in Africa is good for big corporations like Siemens and Daimler, but German SMEs hesitate to invest.  Taking stock of the situation.

African nations account for only 2% of Germany's foreign trade.  The Federal Government's Concept for Africa would like to see the better utilization of opportunities for economic cooperation and an increase in the number of German businesses with subsidiaries in Africa, which currently total about 600. 
However, to date, most small and medium sized businesses have preferred to invest in Asia.  This may be because Germans expect high levels of certainty and transparency.  According to British risk consultants Control Risks, who analyze global business risks in foreign countries, the number of unsafe countries is particularly high in Africa.  Exceptions are Senegal, Botswana and Ghana.  High growth rates area attractive in South Africa, Angola and the oil rich Nigeria.  A study by the German - African Business Association (Afrika - Verein - AV) on market opportunities for German SMEs is now advising businesses to consider Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania as well.

Museveni's Shs1.5bn Mercedes Benz Rattles Opposition

The UPC Vice President, Joseph Bossa has blamed President Museveni for spending the tax payers’ money to enhance his person comfort, ignoring issues that greatly affect the lives of Ugandans.

Bossa wondered how Museveni would find it to buy a Mercedes Benz estimated at Shs1.5bn yet most Ugandans continue to live under deplorable health conditions coupled with poor quality education.

He said a president who cares about the people he is leading would have no reason of buying such a car when the people don’t have medicine in hospitals and many Ugandans spend nights without a meal.

Museveni appeared in a sleek Mercedes Benz during the 50^th Independence Anniversary celebrations last week, causing a huge public debate.

The UPC strongman observed that Parliament should ensure the presidency budget is itemized, saying this will put an end on extravagancy.

Bossa separately challenged Museveni to come out and explain to the nation the location of the old presidential private jet.

“We want to know whether it was sold up, parked or whether he is using it as a toy at his home,” said Bbosa.