A desert locust on a tree

However, Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda has assured the country that government has made preparations to ensure the imminent locust invasion is prevented.

He described it as an emergency that requires immediate intervention during an Inter-Ministerial meeting comprising Ministries of Agriculture, Finance, Internal Affairs, Defence, Security, Environment, Local Government, East Africa Community Affairs, Presidency and Disaster Preparedness and Uganda Wild Life Authority.

He urged the public to stock food reserves as a precautionary measure.

“With an imminent threat of locusts invading our country from our neighbors in Kenya, I would like to assure the public that the Government is taking this matter seriously and consequently, different agencies of Government have been instructed to work together and collectively heighten our preparedness to prevent and handle the invasion,” the Prime Minister said in a statement on January 21.

He said the Ugandan government is in contact with authorities in Kenya to explore ways of jointly addressing the challenge.

Locusts invasion

What experts in the region say

According to The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the severe Desert Locust outbreak in the region is threatening rural food security across East Africa.

IGAD Executive Secretary Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu while calling on member states, the East African Community and partners to pull resources together to prevent, control and possibly eradicate the Desert Locust, said the desert locusts is a threat to livelihood in the Horn of Africa.

“IGAD calls on Member States, the East African Community and partners to pull resources together to prevent, control and possible eradicate the Desert Locust threat to the food security of the region,”said Dr.Workneh Gebeyehu,IGAD’s Executive Secretary and added, “Prevention and control measures must be scaled up to contain further spread of the Desert Locust”.

Locals take to chasing locusts from the fields

In a statement, Dr. Gebeyehu said the invasion is a threat to food security of the region. He called for scaling up of prevention and control measures to contain further spread of the Desert Locust.He urged member states to act urgently to avoid a food security crisis in the region.

The Executive Secretary urged for increased ground surveillance for early detection. He called for use of wind forecasts, to help pre-empt trajectory of desert locust bands and swarms as well as immediate regional mapping of current invasion and forecast trajectory.

Dr. Gebeyehu urged countries to act urgently to avoid food security crisis in the region through aggressive targeted aerial and ground spraying and immediate up scaling of aerial control operations.

IGAD is appealing to governments to make use of the mass media especially Radio to disseminate and educate the public in order to aid early detection and reporting.

Map showing the spread of the desert locusts that started from the Greater Horn of Africa

“Encourage citizens to report any incidences of desert locusts,” said Dr. Gebeyehu in the statement.

Dr. David Phiri, FAO Sub regional Coordinator for the Eastern Africa and Representative of the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa warned that the locust invasion is worsening the food security situation in the region.

“The locust is making a bad food security situation worse in the sub-region, exacerbating the existing dire food insecurity and malnutrition in the sub-region,” said Dr. David Phiri, FAO Sub regional Coordinator for Eastern Africa.

Dr. Phiri further warned that the weather seems favorable for the locust breeding in high probability that the locust will continue to breed until March-April 2020.

The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned that the large immature swarms are spreading from the initial invasion areas of Mandera County, south of Wajir and Garissa, west along the Ethiopian border in Marsabit county and southwest into central areas of Isiolo, Samburu, Meru and Laikipia counties.

The UN body says one immature swarm is 60 kilometers wide. FAO further warns that the swarms are expected to move into the Rift valley’s Baringo County and move northwest into Turkana County.

Other swarms are expected to move to Tana River County, while others will move to the northeast Uganda and southeast South Sudan. When the swarms mature, they will begin to lay eggs in the sandy moist soils giving rise to numerous hopper bands in February.

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Uganda National Oil Company has held talks with Kenya National Oil Company and Kenya Pipeline Company on how the two countries can benefit from oil and gas discoveries.

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How the Uganda Oil refinery is expected to look like after construction

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“We need to ensure our prosperity through production of goods and services. We talk of East African integration to guarantee the prosperity of our people. Economic integration is for prosperity, surviving and living a good life,” he said.

The President was addressing a delegation of 28 Zimbabwe Army Officers who called on him at State House, Entebbe.

Zimbabwe Army Officers with the UPDF Deputy Commander Land Forces Maj Gen Sam Kavuma

The Officers are on a study tour of Uganda to learn more from President Museveni and to draw from the experience of Uganda with regard to how the country has been able to handle matters of national security.

President Museveni informed his guests that negotiation becomes easy because of integration.

“We need integration to create market but also to negotiate better,” he noted; adding that the people of Africa are all similar or interlinked.

Mr. Museveni also said that Africa must integrate to be able to defend against global threats and guarantee the black race from marginalization.  The Zimbabwean delegation saluted President Museveni for his wise counsel saying that they will be able to draw from what they have learnt while in Uganda in the execution of their future chores.

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According to a tweet from the official EALA handle “Election of the Speaker adjourned for tomorrow” it stated

Election of the Speaker adjourned for tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/DBKZ43pDht

— EALA (@EA_Bunge) December 18, 2017

The new speaker will take over from Rt Hon Daniel F. Kidega.

Three candidate sare vying for the position and they include Candidates are Hon. Kimbisa Adam from Tanzania, Hon. Ngoga Martin from Rwanda and Hon. Nzeyimana Leontine from Burundi

ALSO READ:Fourth EALA swearing in today

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Bank of Uganda Governor, Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile

Bank of Uganda Governor, Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, has once again come out to reject government’s policy commonly referred to as Buy Uganda Build Uganda (BUBU) saying the country risks jeopardizing its success in exporting to regional markets through such protectionist trade policies.

Mutebile said this in a speech read on his behalf at the ongoing 12^th Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) Trade facilitation expo 2017 by Bank of Uganda’s Deputy Director in Charge of Economic Research, David Sajjabi, at UMA exhibition hall.

He said that the proposal for BUBU if implemented to offer domestic products preferential treatment on the domestic market over the East African Community partners would be inconsistent with the East African Community Customs Union Protocol.

Mutebile argues that BUBU is inconsistent with the East Africa Community Customs Union Protocol which prohibits partner states from undertaking any administrative measures which discriminate in favour of its own producers at the expense of those of its partners.

However, government through BUBU states that the country cannot afford to put at risk access to the regional market through inviting retaliation to the local ill thought out protectionist trade measures.

Executive Director Private Sector Foundation Uganda, Gideon Badagawa

He pointed out that BUBU campaign is not compatible with an export promotion strategy but rather  promotes import substitutes.

However, the Executive Director Private Sector Foundation Uganda, Gideon Badagawa, said that the BUBU campaign cannot be stopped since similar policies exist in some of the partner East African countries like Kenya and Rwanda.

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Citing the example of the East African Community where the five member states are looking forward to have a common monetary policy, common market and fight insecurity before it becomes a political federation, this is a big blow. Mp Stephen Mukitale Birahwa of Buliisa county in Bugungu says what has happened to the European Union has weakened the aspirations of the EAC that has been copying a leaf from them.

James Nsaba Buturo Mp for Bufumbira East says with Unity, East African Community can speak with a common voice on issues of its benefit and those they are against like homosexuality but since we are not yet strong, sometimes states fail to reach a common understanding on a given issue. Buikwe south MP Mutebi David says what has happened to EU should be a lesson to member states of the East African Community to identify the challenges that would lead to its separation and work on them before they escalate to cause disunity of a young community.

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A source in statehouse Nakasero told us this morning that the president wonders how the statehouse website of www.statehouse.go.ug can spend seven months without having fresh information uploaded on it. We are told that the president summoned his press secretary Tamale Mirundi to brief him about the development and the motor mouthed press secretary was this time reportedly wordless.

The president, we are told, has given the members of his press team only one month to improve their service or else they lose their posts. Indeed we visited the statehouse website and what we found there was so amazing. The latest story we found there was published Monday July 2011.

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President Museveni of  Uganda will address the members during their first sitting. The session will sit in the chambers of Ugandaparliament. President Mwai Kibaki of Kenyawill address the session on January 25^th.

 Kibaki is the chairperson of the summit of the East African Community of state. The session will be presided over by its speaker Abdirahin Abdi. On the programme, the members will discuss inter- university council of East Africa bill, The East African Community trans boundary ECO-system management bill 2010 and the East African Community polythene materials control bill.

 The reports of various EALA committees would also be considered during the session. The members will also discuss finance and infrastructure inEast Africa.

Ultimate Media

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Uganda Information and national Guidance Minister, Kabakumba Masiko

The remark has been made by the Minister in charge of Kampala Capital City Authority, Kabakumba Masiko while addressing the media in Kampala.

Ms Masiko says that the laws restraining people from littering the city or any other public places are in place but they have remained dormant.

She says that this time the laws are going to work such that Kampala city becomes clean like some of the capital cities in the East African Community.

She however says that the current laws on disposing of garbage are weak to act as deterrent measure.

Ultimate Media

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