I HAVE ALL THE TIME WONDERED WHETHER A MINIMUM WAGE CAN MAKE SENSE IN CURRENT UGANDA

The unemployment levels in Uganda cannot favour the enforcement of a minimum wage legislation.  What Government can do is advise on a worthy pay to employees, short of that, the employer would remain open to peace talks with a prospect employee over what the employer imagines he can afford at the end of month.  In the circumstances, enforcement of the minimum wage can only be a ritual.

William Kituuka Kiwanuka

Minimum Wage: Good Cause Or Economic Pariah?

Lauded by progressives and rejected by most economists, minimum wage laws are somewhat of a hot button topic. Does the social cause of fighting for a livable wage make up for the negative impact that economic theory states minimum wage imposes?

TUTORIAL: Economic Indicators

A Brief History
It can be beneficial to understand the origins of minimum wage laws. Federal minimum wage laws have been around for over a hundred years. New Zealand and Australia were the first countries to enact a national minimum wage, followed in the early 20th century by Britain and the United States.

In the U.S., President Franklin Roosevelt spearheaded the federal charge for the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that was passed in 1938. The law mandated a minimum 25-cent-per-hour wage, in addition to setting the maximum amount of hours most employees could work per week at 44. Interestingly enough, the Supreme Court struck down a Washington, D.C. minimum wage law in 1923. The court decided it was actually unfair to workers since they would not be able to set a value for their own labor.

Many countries have minimum wage laws, and some have historically relied on binding collective bargaining, rather than legislation. Over time, labor unions have been one of the strongest proponents of fighting for increases in the minimum wage.

Having been woven into the fabric of modern society, minimum wage impacts a large percentage of the workforce. As of early 2012, about 70% of the 1.4 million minimum wage earners in the U.S. are full-time workers, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The first U.S. minimum wage increase in over a decade was passed in 2007, raising the minimum wage from $5.25 to the current rate of $7.25 per hour. (For more on increases done by other countries, check out 7 Years Raising The Minimum Wage.)

The Case for Minimum Wage
Advocates support the minimum wage primarily because of market mechanisms that produce drastic income inequality and the social motive to help those that need it the most. Specifically, minimum wage is seen as a tool to fight poverty and provide a way for workers in low-earning jobs to have a self-sustainable standard of living.

Additionally, it is believed that a sustainable minimum wage reduces the cost of social welfare programs that might otherwise have to assist low-income workers, and that these individuals are dissuaded from potentially engaging in illegal activities (theft, selling drugs) that reduce aggregate economic progress.

It can also be argued that setting a labor wage floor also enhances work ethic, because employers demand greater productivity from employees who cost more than the market would pay for their labor in the absence of minimum wage laws. Productivity is seen as being augmented even further because some low-paying jobs are eliminated, forcing the low-income workforce to train for more skilled, higher-paying positions.

The Argument Against Minimum Wage
The moral cause for minimum wage is strong. Yet many economists believe that minimum wage mandates are actually harmful to workers. They believe that artificial wage setting prevents market mechanisms from finding equilibrium, and that influences total employment, wages and productivity.

The economics for this case is actually rather simple. By placing a floor below the equilibrium wage (the rate that would naturally be set by market forces), the supply of labor increases (more workers want the higher pay) while the demand for labor decreases (fewer employers can pay the higher rate, and so they offer less jobs). Total employment is effectively reduced.

Another argument against minimum wage is that several other inefficiencies are created, such as:

• Large businesses are able to absorb higher wage costs better than small businesses, creating an uneven playing field.
• It excludes low-skilled labor and young, inexperienced youth from joining the workforce.
• A firm's ability to weather downturns by lowering costs (e.g. labor) is marginalized.
• Inflationary pressures may increase as producers try to pass through higher costs.
• The potential for more unemployment increases governmental expenditures (welfare programs). This may increase tax rates needed to fund the additional welfare costs. Higher tax rates have their own unique economic consequences.

The net result is that potential economic activity is reduced. This disproportionately impacts low-income workers, the very same group that minimum wage laws are designed to protect. Moreover, some argue that other methods, such as the earned income tax credit, are more effective at fighting poverty. (To read more on the cases for and against minimum wage, see The Minimum Wage: Does It Matter?)

The Bottom Line
Despite the established economic theory, there is still some active debate regarding the consequences of minimum wage laws. The rate at which the minimum wage is set is another controversial aspect. Obviously, those who oppose it believe minimum wage should not be in place at all. On the other hand, proponents believe it is so low that these workers cannot earn a sustainable living.

Setting a rate that provides workers with a sustainable wage, while minimizing the impact on unemployment, requires a delicate balancing act. Key indicators used in establishing the rate include historical wage rates within the country, relevant standards of living, GDP, inflation expectations, the supply and demand for labor, labor costs and other operating costs.

At the end of the day, it is almost certainly not politically viable for minimum wage opponents to successful advocate the legislative removal of the minimum wage. The practical debate is whether the current rate should be maintained or increased. During his election campaign, President Obama pledged to fight for a minimum wage increase to $9.50 an hour by 2011, index it to inflation and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit. We can safely assume that most Republicans candidates running for President support such a measure. Where do you stand?

What is Minimum Wage?

Minimum wage is the lowest amount a worker can be legally paid for his/her work. Most countries have a nation-wide minimum wage that all workers must be paid.

President’s views

President Museveni has consistently cautioned trade unions against intimidating investors over workers’ minimum wage and unionisation. 

The President has asked the unions to encourage more investment to create more employment opportunities. 

“The MPs and trade unions should attract investors and not chase them away. Workers MPs should help me attract factories and stop those slogans of minimum wage…”

What does Vision 2040 say about job creation

Uganda has a big challenge of a labour force that is largely unemployed. Despite this huge unemployed labour force, the Ugandan economy has a big shortage of appropriately skilled workers which means that the education system has failed to tailor its outputs to the needs of the economy.

The result has been a large number of unemployed youth who are becoming a social and economic threat. The failure to match the skills needed in the economy creates a gap in the human capital which is critical for economic and social transformation.

Vision 2040 says Uganda with its low wage; natural-resource will develop labour-intensive industries, creating much needed jobs. Labour-intensive manufacturing industries not only offer the potential to absorb surplus labour from the rural subsistence sector, but the development of such industries can also pave the way through continuous upgrading to higher value added industries.

How workers benefit from the Bill Lack of a minimum wage has often resulted into a lot of exploitation of the Ugandan workers. If the Bill is passed into law, the productivity of workers is expected to increase and rural-urban migration will be checked. NOTU Chairman said the long-held argument that fixing a minimum wage would scare away investors and shrink employment opportunities for Ugandans is mere propaganda.

According to MP Rwakajara, a minimum wage commensurate with the cost of living would assist workers cope with the current difficult financial situation and go a long way to improve the general welfare of Ugandan workers and their families.

Unemployment figures

As the world celebrates Labour Day today, latest government figures on the state of unemployment and poverty in the country indicate that at least 8.4 million Ugandans are stuck in abject poverty and many remain unemployed.

Statistics from the labour department show that out of the 400,000 students who graduate from various tertiary institutions across the country each year, only 8,000 have a chance of being gainfully employed.

Figures from Finance ministry

It is estimated that about 480,000 students leave the education system per annum and some 36,000 with university degrees. It is however estimated that over two million literate youths are jobless and a further two million are underemployed. Only 20% (80,000) of the school leavers get jobs.

Workplaces

It is estimated that there are over 1,000,000 workplaces in Uganda as per the definition in this Act. The Occupational Safety and Health (Workplace Registration Fees) Rules, 2009 Statutory Instrument – S.I 2009 No 48, spells out the amount of fees to be paid by individual workplaces depending on the nature of work, level of risk they pose or the number of workers they are employing.

Occupational safety issues

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that two million women and men die as a result of occupational accidents and work-related diseases each year. In Uganda for example fire outbreaks at workplaces, collapse of buildings; road accidents have claimed a number of lives and destroyed properties worth billions of shillings.

Poor working conditions

Currently Uganda’s labour productivity is the lowest in East Africa due to poor working conditions as one of the factors identified by Social Development Sector Investment Plan II 2011/12 to 2015/16. It is also interesting to note that the value added per worker in Uganda is 68% lower than that in India and 96% lower than that in China.

Facts about the Bill

Shs10m fine 

Employer who fail to comply faces a fine of Shs10 million and hefty compensation fees to the affected workers.

Shs6,000 per month 

Uganda last set a minimum wage of Shs6,000 per month in 1984 during Milton Obote II regime. The decree has remained in force to this day.

11,000 graduate to 83% joblessness

Posted by ABDU KIYAGA

on  Tuesday, January 17  2012 at  00:00

KAMPALA

As the first batch of 11,022 students graduated at Makerere University yesterday, the hostile economic environment that offers no immediate prospects for jobs was upper most in the minds of many.

Save for years when the country was facing civil conflicts, not many graduates have emerged from the awards ceremony to a stressed economy where jobs are as depressed as this year.

International pressures that saw the global economy shrink starting from 2008 and domestic factors have conspired to create possibly the worst conditions for fresh job seekers trying to enter the market.

With down-town traders on strike and those who graduated before them but unable to find jobs, graduates wondered what the world out there holds for them. “Most of us don’t have rich parents to take us to their offices to work as their assistants so we don’t know when we will land our first jobs but we will keep trying hard because we know that it is better trying than never,” said Zaidi Tebazaalwa, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology. He hopes to work at least as a research assistant for his first job.

While Isaac Kirabwa was more direct in his appreciation of the situation. “This is just the beginning,” he said. “And as you know Uganda’s jobs, it is always difficult to find one and when many people find it, it is always hard for them to leave such jobs leaving the young people like us to be on the streets.”

And these fears are not misplaced. The Africa Development Indicators report released by the World Bank placed youth unemployment in Uganda at 83 per cent. Youth here being people between 15 and 24 years.

Presiding over the graduation of about 3,000 students on Day One of the week-long event that will see a total of 11,000 students graduate, Makerere University Chancellor, Prof. Mondo Kagonyera, asked President Museveni to “provide a special desk to help keep on the lookout for and coordinate the funding of students’ innovations.

“Innovation is an essential component of any nation’s long-term growth strategy and any funding devoted towards helping turn these creative ideas into successful, economically-viable projects will greatly ease the current strife faced by our graduates who search for jobs for years on end,” said Prof. Kagonyera.

There are no accurate unemployment figures in Uganda but estimates indicate that only a fraction of graduates with some form of qualification get absorbed in the limited formal job market. At least 400,000 graduate each year but projects registered by the Uganda Investment Authority indicate a potential to create only 150,000 jobs annually, leaving an estimated 350,000 on the street. 

PARTICULARS OF WHAT PRESIDENT MUSEVENI AGREED TO COMPENSATE BASSAJJABALABA

Basajjabalaba: The merchant of trouble 

 Saturday, 10 September 2011 14:31  By Eriasa Mukiibi Sserunjogi 

Source: http://www.independent.co.ug/cover-story/4591-basajjabalaba-the-merchant-of-trouble

How Museveni pushed ministers, Bank of Uganda to give him billions over market deals 

City businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba’s hold on President Yoweri must be quite strong. In two years, the president has written numerous letters, chaired meetings, and ordered various officials to pay him billions of shillings in compensation for income he allegedly lost when the government cancelled his tenders for Kampala city markets. 

The President wrote a letter on June 16, 2009, he wrote another on November 24, 2009 and another on Feb. 24, 2010 ordering the Basajjabalaba be paid.

It has now emerged that on June 16, acting on instructions from the Minister of Finance, Maria Kiwanuka, the Governor of Bank of Uganda, Dr Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile wrote to four banks guaranteeing credit to Basajjabalaba of US$65.35 (Approx. Shs 186 billion at a rate of Shs 2800 for a dollar). In financial terms, a central bank guarantee is equivalent to cash. This means that in effect, the government has compensated Basajjabalaba that amount.

But KPMG, the international audit firm hired by the auditor general for the government to assess the deal says the payments to Basajjabalaba should not have been made at all and are not legally enforceable.

Surprisingly, days after reports surfaced that the central bank had given Basajja the hefty US$65.35 guarantee,  the government controlled newspaper, The New Vision, ran a story that Museveni had directed Finance Minister Maria Kiwanuka to investigate the payment.

As a result, the Communications Director of the Central Bank, Elliot Mwebya, is to try and recover the monies already passed on to Basajja by several commercial banks under the US$65.35 guarantee.

What is going on? Did Basajja deserve compensation? Can Bank of Uganda recover the money he has already taken?

To answer some of these questions one needs to go back to June 16, 2009. On that day, Museveni wrote then-minister of Justice and Attorney General reminding him about decisions of a meeting he chaired at State House on March 25, 2009 on Basajja’s compensation claim.

In March 2007, following numerous riots by vendors over Basajja’s management contracts over three Kampala City Council (KCC) markets, the government cancelled them.

Subsequently, Basajjabalaba petitioned Museveni over the cancellation and demanded compensation.

Bassajjabalaba’s claims were made by his HABA Group on behalf of his companies – First Merchant Trading Company Ltd (FMTC), which was running Shauriyako Market; Victoria International Trade Company (VITC), which was in charge of St. Balikuddembe Market (Owino); Sheila Investments Ltd (SIL), which was managing Nakasero Market and Yudaya Investments Ltd (YIL), which was supposed to redevelop the Constitution Square.

HABA Group initially hired an accounting consultancy firm, D. Craven & Associates, to prepare the official claim for the Shs 146 billion.  When D. Craven & Associations, basing on documents Basajjabalaba provided, lowered the compensation claim to Shs131 billion, he rejected its report.

But on October 4, 2010, about a year after Museveni’s order for expeditious disposal of HABA’s compensation, the Attorney General and Basajjabalaba agreed on the Shs142.7 billion in a consent judgement signed by both sides before the High Court registrar.

Financial experts have told The Independent that demands for compensation for loss of income in such cases is not illegal. “They are the trigger for negotiation of an out of court settlement,” one of them said. Therefore, Basajjabala is entitled to demand compensation if government took away what lawfully belonged to him.

It is perhaps in this spirit that the meeting of March 25, 2009 that Museveni referred to on June 16, 2009 sat. At the meeting at State House, which the Attorney General and ministers of Finance and Local Government attended, Museveni and his ministry officials agreed that an inter-ministerial committee chaired by the Attorney General be set up to look into the issues. The Attorney General was asked to resolve the matter within 60 days and Basajjabalaba would withdraw a case he had filed against the government.

Dubious claims?

When the compensation was not forthcoming, Basajjabalaba went back to Museveni. That is when Museveni wrote to the Attorney General reminding him of the resolutions of the State House meeting. Again the government officials refused to pay. Basajjabalaba again complained to the President and on November 24, 2009, Museveni wrote another letter to the Attorney General.

Under the subject: Compensation to HABA Group, Museveni wrote: “Reference is made to the above matter and my previous directives on the same. HABA Group has petitioned me…. I hereby direct you to conclusively resolve all the issues raised in the petition. In particular to ensure fairness, the same methodology or formula that was used in evaluating other markets ought to be used in reviewing HABA’s claim. Please handle this matter expeditiously and give HABA a quick response.” It was an order.

But most officials in Bank of Uganda and the ministry of Finance who Museveni ordered to pay Basajjabalaba had resisted the President’s instructions. Until former Finance Minister Syda Bbumba came into the picture, they all treated Basajjabalaba’s claims as dubious.

On Feb. 24, Bbumba, acting on Museveni’s orders, wrote to Mutebile informing him of her earlier reminder, of December 3, 2010, to pay Basajjabalaba.

She said Basajjabalaba had written to her seeking payment of claims in order to repay loans he had borrowed from financial institutions. But before dispatching the letter, Bbumba sent a copy to the Secretary to the Treasury/Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Finance Chris Kassami seeking his advice. In the original letter, Bbumba had written telling Mutebile: “I now write to authorise you to sort out repayment with the said institutions.” By the word “authorise” Bbumba was telling the central bank to pay Basajjabalaba’s creditors off his outstanding compensation money. Bbumba’s statement was in violation of Article 162 (2) of the Uganda constitution which states: “In performing its functions, the Bank of Uganda shall conform to this Constitution but shall not be subject to the direction or control of any person or authority.”

Realising this constitutional hitch, Kassami, writing by hand, amended Bbumba’s statement to Mutebile to read: “in accordance with their (Basajjabalaba] correspondence, this is to request you to sort out repayment with the said financial institutions.”

On the letter to Bbumba, Kassami wrote by hand: “Since an earlier correspondence was made, it is inevitable that the governor has to meet the obligations.”

In a follow-up letter to Mutebile a month later on March 22, Bbumba confirmed her commitment to pay Basajjabalaba. She wrote: “Further to my letters, this is to confirm that you can repay proceeds of the earlier programmes with the banks. As soon as the budgetary arrangements allow, I will authorise repayments to the HABA Group through the Bank of Uganda from which payments you can deduct the extra money to pay the banks the extra loans you will have arranged for HABA Group.”

According to The New Vision, Museveni has directed Finance minister Maria Kiwanuka to investigate how Basajjabalaba was compensated “before it is too late”. The New Vision said Museveni gave the directive on May 8. Does that mean Maria Kiwanuka had not got the letter when she ordered Basajjabalaba paid in June? Or does it mean that she and Mutebile defied Museveni when they paid Basajjabalaba? Or does it point to deliberately blowing the whistle when the looter has got away?

Alibaba’s deals

However, more pertinent to the issue is how Basajjabala actually came to “own” all three big markets in Uganda’s capital city and the country’s treasured Constitution Square.

A letter by then-chairman Kampala District Tender Board, Joje Waddimba to then-mayor Ssebaana Kizito regarding the handling of city markets tender awards to Basajja’s companies sheds some light.

On October 7, 2002, Waddimba wrote to Ssebaana that he was concerned that on September 22, 2002 his board had voted to give Nakasero Market to Basajjabalaba’s SIL.

Waddimba said he was writing to protect himself (and the Board) from aspersions of “undue influence”, “underhand practices”, “favouritism”, or worse”.

Revealing that he was the only one who voted against the award of the tender to SIL, Waddimba wrote:  “The Board is now required to decide on the tender of St. Balikuddembe; and once again, we face the same difficulty as we did with Nakasero. I am fully convinced that the bidder recommended by the Technical Evaluation Team (Basajjabalaba’s VIL) violates Clause 7.2 of the Board’s guidelines, and that this violation undermines the basis for fair competition among the bidders.”

Waddimba informed Ssebaana that he had found out that SIL and VIL Were owned by the same person.

“Finally,” Waddimba wrote, “there are widespread rumours and unsubstantiated allegations that funds have been disbursed by at least one of the bidders in order to influence the decision of the board.”

Other members of the KCC tender board were Lydia Waddimba, John ssebuwufu, and Joyce Kikomeko.

When asked about the letter recently, Ssebaana told The Independent that he was “too sick to speak’.

But a recent Auditor General’s report to Parliament appears to support Waddimba’s fears. The report says the government has lost billions in compensation for “loss of business opportunity” to companies that had “irregularly” acquired city markets and other public places like the Constitutional Square and taxi parks.

Enter KPMG

The foggy nature of Basajja’s dealing is the basis for the international audit firm, KPMG, which was hired by the Auditor General to investigate the validity of his initial Shs142.7 billion compensation claim, trashing it.

KPMG, in a confidential report to the auditor general, questions the reasonability of the ‘consent judgement’ to pay Basajjabalaba as based on “unsubstantiated and unenforceable claims” in law and fact.

It says Basajjabalaba’s claim is based on either invalid documents, expired or non-existing documents and contracts, the totality of which would render his compensation null and void.

The KPMG further recommends that former Kampala Town Clerk James Sseggane be investigated for possible culpability and complicity after he admitted to extending Basajjabalaba’s contracts without authority.

The audit firm says Basajjabalaba, in fact owed the government Shs994 million by the time his contracts were cancelled in March 2007.

The KPMG audit report addresses each compensation claim by Basajjabalaba. It says that SIL claimed a refund of Shs1.7 billion it purportedly paid to Nakasero Market vendors as compensation under the Operator/vendor Reconciliation understanding agreed on in June 2007. SIL reportedly also contracted a law firm, Legal Wise Associates, to compensate the Nakasero Market sitting tenants on its behalf. The FMITC claimed Shs750m for the same purpose in respect of Shauriyako Market.

KPMG says these claims have no merit because by the time his contracts were revoked in March 2007, the original contract periods had expired and the extensions were granted arbitrarily, contrary to the law.

Then-Town Clerk Sseggane admitted to KPMG that a contract signed by the Council could only be amended or extended by a Council resolution, which Basajjabalaba’s contract extensions did not have.

KPMG observed that once a document or contract does not bear the signatures of both the Mayor and Town Clerk as the officers authorised to bind KCC to a contractual relationship, “it is void”.

According to KPMG, former Kampala Town Clerk Ssegane admitted that he signed the letters dated December 9, 2005 and May 4, 2006 extending Basajjabalaba’s contracts for St. Balikuddembe and Nakasero markets respectively, without the prior approval of the Council or the tender board as the “two bodies were no longer holding sessions due to the impending elections”.

The KPMG also noted that Ssegane violated the Council requirements by extending the contract of SIL yet the company was in arrears.

“We recommend that Ssegane be investigated under section 42 of the Public Finance and Accountability Act of 2003 for failing to comply with the PPDA in respect of the renewal of the management contracts over St Balikuddembe and Nakasero markets and section 13(3) of the Leadership Code Act for allowing the aforesaid markets being public property entrusted to his care to be misused, abused or left unprotected,” the KPMG auditors say.

KPMG says its conclusion was informed by opinions obtained from the legal department of the Auditor General’s office and a private law firm, Henry-Oryem & Co. Advocates.

In regard to Shauriyako, KPMG concluded that Basajjabalaba’s FMITC had no sub-lease over the market land registered in its favour or contract and therefore his claims had no merit.

In the case of redevelopment of the Constitutional Square, which was stopped by former Local Government Minister Bidandi Ssali in 2001 before the contract was signed, YIL claimed compensation of US$200,444 for plans allegedly drawn for the developments to be carried out on the Square.

The KPMG auditors say that although they were provided with an agreement between YIL and ID Forum for the preparation of structural drawings and plans, the plans were drawn by ID Forum for KCC and not YIL. “Since we were not provided with plans drawn by ID Forum for YIL, we concluded that the claim was not adequately supported,” the KPMG report states.

KPMG said they were not given any evidence of payment to prove that SIL, FMITCL or Legal Wise Associates compensated the vendors. Neither is there evidence to show that the vendors had a right to the land for which they were supposed to be compensated.

According to the KPMG report, Basajjabalaba based his claims on three grounds; politics, law and financial considerations.

On the political front, Basajjabalaba’s HABA Group argued that their claim had already been evaluated “following a directive from the President that the legal basis of compensation to Hassan Basajjabalaba be looked into”. HABA argued further that the recommendation on compensation by the government’s evaluation committee was “relied on by URA to make an assessment of their claim and thus other government bodies are precluded from reviewing or otherwise dealing with the matter”.

HABA also relied on consent judgements with the Attorney General, and in some cases with KCC and the registrar of titles, which KPMG found wanting, to support its claims.

The KPMG says Basajjabalaba presented to them a copy of ‘consent judgement’ of various civil suits HABA Group filed against the Attorney General but could not trace any file relating to the said cases in court.

“We conducted searches at the registry and could not find the files related to the above cases save for civil suit no 21 of 2006. We noted that the only consent judgement filed at the registry was dated February 1, 2008 and was in favour of KCC against VITCL,” KPGM observes.

The ‘consent judgement’ Basajjabalaba presented to KPMG dated October 4, 2010 and a copy of which The Independent has obtained, indicates that the government accepted to pay Basajjabalaba Shs 142.77 billion. The copy is signed by counsel for the defendant, plaintiff and registrar. Basajjabalaba insists the consent judgement is genuine.

KPMG concludes that the payments to Basajjabalaba should not have been made at all and that his claims are not legally enforceable.

Not enough

But Basajjabalaba told The Independent that based on the dollar exchange rate at the time when President Yoweri Museveni agreed to compensate him, he demands an equivalent of US$30 million for Nakasero Market, US$30 million for Constitution Square, $12 million for Shauriyako Market and US$10 million for Nakawa Market, which translates into US$82m. He wants to be paid at the prevailing dollar rate, which would translate into about Shs234 billion if the rate is Shs2850 per dollar as in early September. This also means you have not heard the last of Basajjabalaba’s claims for compensation over the markets.

Those tasked to recover the monies already passed on to Basajjabalaba face a tough job.  On November 4, 2005, basing on similar guarantees and on orders of President Museveni, Bank of Uganda paid Basajjabalaba’s tax obligations to the tune of Shs134 billion to the Uganda Revenue Authority. The money has never been recovered. As the chairman of the Investment Committee of President Museveni’s NRM party, Basajjabalaba is a powerful man. That much, is obvious now.

HON. BIDANDI SSALI BLOCKED THE CONSTITUTIONAL SQUARE RE-DEVELOPMENT, WILL KCCA STAND FIRM ON SAME RESOLUTION?

The Constitutional Square re-development project which never was - courtesy of Hon. Bidandi Ssali.

The New Vision, Friday, September 28, 2001 - published the impression of The Constitutional Square re - development project which never was. Hon. Jaberi Bidandi Ssali is credited to have come out openly and said NO to the de - development effort. It was nor easy given the standing of the promoter - Hassan Bassajjabalaba, but Bidandi prevailed. Hopefully Kampala City Council is in possession of the title to the Square.

Given that the Constitutional Square is currently out of bounds even to blood donors! there is need for prayers that re-development strategies don't come in the near future when not directly driven by KCCA.

William Kituuka Kiwanuka

Redevelopment of Constitutional Square Foiled by Ministry of Local Government

Source: http://ugandaradionetwork.com/a/story.php?s=10458

With only seven months to the much-anticipated Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the planned redevelopment of the main geographical landmark in Kampala, the Constitutional Square, hangs in balance.

The then Mayor of Kampala, Nasser Ntege Ssebagala, had announced that Balton Uganda Limited, a subsidiary of Britain's Balton CP Limited, had been contracted to redevelop the Constitutional Square. Ssebagala blocked attempts by the LC3 chairperson of Kampala Central Division, Godfrey Nyakaana, to plant trees and flowers at the Constitutional Square, arguing that Kampala City Council had alternative plans for the area.

The Town Clerk of Kampala, Ruth Kijjambu, told Uganda Radio Network that shortly before the 150 million-dollar deal was finalized with Balton, the Ministry of Local Government intervened in the matter, directing that a meeting be held to discuss the agreement. She said that the meeting has not been convened and the beautification of the Constitutional Square was behind schedule.

Kijjambu said KCC would have wished to start on the redevelopment of the Constitutional Square several months ago, but its hands are tied by Government bureaucracy and a lack of funds.

According to the proposal fronted by Balton, the new-look Constitutional Square would have a water fountain as its main feature in the middle. It would also have an information centre, modern toilets, parking space, a green belt and flowers.

As this project stalls, KCC is turning its sights to other projects. It is to spend one billion shillings to beautify the Entebbe Road ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

The Town Clerk said Government had approved the disbursement of the funds for planting flowers and grass and repairing broken pavements, particularly from the Kibuye roundabout to the Clock Tower. She said KCC had proposed a list of four companies to be granted the deal through a selective bidding process.

Kijjambu refuses to disclose the names of the proposed companies, which will be vetted by the Ministry of Local Government.

HOW HON. ISAAC MUSUMBA BECAME A DARLING OF MPs

After he was appointed Junior Minister of Finance, Hon. Isaac Musumba realized that Members of Parliament wanted an increase in their package.  He smartly talked to the Desk Officer in the Ministry of Finance.  The Officer was able to help Musumba get the required strategy to raise the matter in Parliament.  The Treasury officers in Finance were taken by surprise on learning what Hon. Musumba had done, and the MPs were able to authorize an increment in their total package.

As the officers had no way of handling the Minister, they followed up to the Desk officer, and it was by grace of God that the officer was not dismissed!

William Kituuka Kiwanuka

IT IS A FACT THAT TRADITIONAL BIRTH ATTENDANTS TAKE ROOT BECAUSE WOMEN FEAR MALES ATTENTION

The dilemma of pregnant women and male midwives

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A male midwife carries an inspection on a pregnant woman during an antenatal visit to a health centre. Photo by Gawaya Tegulle 

By Gawaya Tegulle

Posted  Monday, April 29  2013 at  01:00

In Summary

Midwives are mostly women and since they deal with issues related to pregnancy, expectant mothers are usually comfortable being handled by them. But with men also becoming nurses and midwives, it poses unique challenges.

inShare

The women of Agung Village, Todora Parish, Anaka Sub-County in Nwoya District must think twice or plan ahead of schedule when they will go into labour, because they are not at liberty to entertain labour pains at any time.

With only one health worker within a radius of 30km, who is both nurse and midwife, and has other important duties (all of them legitimate) to attend to, the choice of when to go into labour is completely out of the women’s hands. And for good measure the nurse-cum-midwife is a man.
Mr Wildred Adot carries the weight and hopes of an entire village on his shoulders. In essence he is the health centre and when he is away, the entire Todora Health Centre II is effectively “under look”.

Concern
As an Enrolled Comprehensive Nurse, Adot is trained and equipped to administer antenatal care, family planning service, delivery, post-natal care and general treatment. But he too gets ill and fails to report for duty from time to time. When that happens, the entire hinterland must wait for him to get better, or look for alternatives a long distance away.

Not a good option in a rural area where roads are bad and travel does not come cheap, especially when you have a pregnant woman on your hands who must get to the labour suite very quickly.
The fact that he is a man does complicate things quite a bit, because many women have a problem with this. However, the ladies have no choice as he is a ‘monopoly’ of sorts, they have nowhere else to go.

No choice
Today is a day for antenatal visit at the health centre. Martha, a middle-aged mother is awaiting her turn but she is clearly apprehensive and shares her concern. “I am a grown up woman, how can I be touched by a young man like this one? How will I come here to deliver when I have to open my legs before a man who is not my husband?” she asks. Then, a look of resignation crosses her face. “There are things that can only be told to a woman, not a man. But I have no choice, as the other place I could have gone to is far off and I do not have the money or energy to go there,” she concludes.

Reservations
At that moment she is called in to the examination room. Hand on hips, look of despair on her face, she gets up and reluctantly walks onto the bed, and lies down with a sigh. Of the women waiting, three or four others express similar reservations but still stay in the line, knowing their options are limited.

Male midwives appear to be a sensitive issue in the Greater North and no matter how efficient they may be, it does seem to be making the lives of many pregnant women quite difficult.
For many of them, it is the ultimate humiliation. Another reason why some continue to prefer Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs), never mind that they were disbanded by government or that it is a risky venture.

Entrenched
Diana Nassozi, a Community Resource Person (CRP) in Oyam District, narrates that at the Health Centre II in Adyegi Parish, apart from having no maternity ward, which is a big problem in itself, it has a male midwife whom some women fear to approach. In an area where certain traditions are firmly entrenched, many women will still think twice about being naked before a man other than their husband.

“Some women fear him, so they have to go to Aber Missionary Hospital, which is far away and moreover where they also have to pay,” says Nassozi. “The HC II next to them is free of charge, but they’d rather pay at the missionary hospital than undress before a male midwife.”

Grace Aloka, a CRP in Aber, Oyam District, says some women like the male midwives for one good reason: “They handle women with a lot of love and care. They do not abuse the mothers and they are very gentle.”

No choice
But this seems to be the exception rather than the rule. The scenario calls for a gender-sensitive approach to health staffing, especially in rural areas where health workers are few and women often have no choice.

In attempt to stem the crisis occasioned by shortage of health workers, some NGOs have invested in some of the communities. The Health Rights Action Group (HAG) and the Action Group for Health, Human Rights and HIV/Aids (AGHA) have began working with the District Local Governments, health centres and local communities in four districts of Greater North – Amuru, Nwoya, Oyam and Soroti.

Reach out
One of the innovations has involved the use of CRPs, who are selected from Village Health Teams (VHTs) and given special training to help in outreaches to pregnant women, at least once or twice every month. The VHTs are established by national policy and do exist – at least in theory – in every village. It is out of these that HAG and AGHA have trained CRPs and facilitated them to reach out to certain health categories, especially pregnant women.

Reprieve
In the village of Agung, HAG and AGHA pay for a midwife (female) from Anaka Hospital–the biggest hospital for miles around–to attend these outreaches and talk to the pregnant women and offer antenatal advice after thorough checks.

This not only alleviates the burden that Mr. Adot has to shoulder everyday, it also helps those who are shy to attend antenatal care administered by a man to get reprieve. The monthly outreaches take place in various locations in the district; like Alero, Koch Goma, Purongo and Anaka - but not everywhere, owing to limited funds available to the NGOs. HAG and AGHA facilitate qualified midwives to attend to women in or near their homes.

I CRY TEARS FOR THE UGANDAN WORKER AS WE CELEBRATE MAY 1st LABOUR DAY

May 1st is International Labour Day, a day which commemorates a time of civil unrest in the late 19th century when workers in industrialized countries demonstrated for improved working conditions, wage raises and the establishment of a maximum working day and week. Many of the demonstrations were suppressed with force.

The conditions for workers in Uganda are not something to talk about since the NRM caught power in 1986.  The problem has all along been president Museveni’s wrong vision for the country.  This ill advised vision has seen brains migrate to greener pastures as Museveni decided to invest in wars to remove leaders of neighbouring countries among other region conflicts.  People have been well trained, but unfortunately, the looters of the national treasury have taken the cake that would reward the hard work of the skilled worker and what we continue to see is migration of labour many of whom are beneficiary of state sponsorship.  The matter has not been made better by salary scales which are upside down!  While some executives earn about shs 25 million a month, many senior people are paid peanuts, which is very demoralizing. 

The decentralization has not helped matters.  Corrupt politicians are party to policies and decisions that demoralize the technical manpower.  Everything is a mess in Uganda!

What my save the Uganda worker as of now is the peaceful exist of President Museveni, short of that, sorry!   

Museveni’s way of doing things unfortunately is self defeating.  He is now the chief pay officer, who decided to make a double pay to Members of parliament when they have already been paid for the work, while other salaried Government officers have no salary and motivation at all.

President Museveni is a road block to any meaningful reforms in Government, hence the reason we see that one proposal for increased revenue is increased tax rates!  While, adjustments in Government and stopping the thieving can do a lot for the ruined economy.

As Uganda Workers Mourn may 1^st, the only prayer remains for the NRm organ to see sense and devise means of seeing Museveni retire, short of that, no hope for the Ugandan worker!

William Kituuka Kiwanuka

Challenges of retaining health workers in the PNFP Sector:

The Case of Uganda

Catholic Health Network

Sam Orochi Orach - Asst. Executive Secretary, Uganda Catholic Medical Bureau

Abstract

Shortage of human resource for health poses a major challenge to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Uganda is among the 57 countries with human resource shortage reaching critical level. But the situation is even worse at micro levels. The private-no-for-profit (PNFP) health sub-sector complements government efforts to achieve the MDG, the health sector strategic plan II (HSSP II) and the health related poverty eradication plan (PEAP) indicators.

Uganda Catholic Medical Bureau coordinates the Roman Catholic health facilities network, one of the three PNFP networks in Uganda. This paper looks at the HRH crisis as experienced by the UCMB network giving the trend, examining the reasons, the destinations of attrition cases and what the network is trying to do to improve human resource stability. The information is based on quarterly reports received by the bureau from its affiliated health facilities.

Introduction

Uganda is among the 57 countries with critical shortage of health workforce (The World Health Report 2006). The high burden of disease, including HIV/AIDS, requires scale up of some of the most labor-demanding interventions. The lean health workforce experiences heavy pressure to implement increasing range of services within the national minimum health care package (UMHCP) and meet the targets for the Health Sector Strategic Plan II, the Poverty Eradication Plan (PEAP) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There is also pressure to see further downward trend in the HIV prevalence. It has been estimated that the scale up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) alone in Uganda between 2005 and 2012 would demand a doubling or tripling in staff time given to ART (Rudolf Chandler and Stephen Musau, 2004). To scale up anti-retroviral therapy alone to meet the PEPFAR target would require about 10% of Uganda’s doctor workforce as at 2004 level (Smith O. 2004).

But scale-up of ART in Uganda has even moved faster than originally planned while health workforce remained almost unchanged.  This disproportionate growth in service demand and the skewing of health workforce deployment in favour of few diseases conditions worsen the functional gap in respect to implementing the range of services in UMHCP. But this is worsened by a workforce that is increasingly becoming unstable.   

Retention of Health Workers Health worker instability is worsened by, among others, internal and external movements or losses. HIV is reported to be the leading cause of health worker attrition in developing countries (WHO 2007; EQUINET AND HST 2004). Death, for example, in 10 years accounted for 30% of the 1984 cohort of Ugandan medical school graduates, 50% of which was due to HIV (Yoswa M Dambisya, 2004). But at a cross-sectional level the main reason for internal and external movements of Ugandan health workers is “poor working condition” (Charles W. Matsiko and Julie Kiwanuka, 2003), which often simply means poor pay. There is also desire to move out of rural to urban areas. These affect both the public and the not-for-profit (PNFP) sectors.

http://www.ucmb.co.ug/data%20on%20ucmb/Reports/ARTICLES/Challenges%20of%20retaining%20health%20workers%20in%20the%20PNFP%20Sector.pdf

THE TELL OF RATS AND SHARING OF TOILETS AT MULAGO REFERRAL HOSPITAL

A few days ago, some gentleman while on talk show expressed concern about rats which he saw while caring for his daughter at Mulago hospital.  He said the rats could come out of hiding at night and those who sleep on the floor did not have nice time with them!  He also talked about the sharing of toilet facilities by men and women due to the faulty toilet facilities.

Mulago is a big institution.  We are grateful to the staff who do whatever is possible in the circumstances to save lives.  the appeal is to the administration to fix what can be fixed like toilet facilities and killing rodents.

William Kituuka Kiwanuka