However despite the gloomy forecast, a point to note is that Sub- Saharan Africa is growing at diverging speeds; Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Tanzania—are continuing to post annual average growth rates of over 6 percent which is way higher than the region’s average, It was noted that these countries have stronger quality of monetary and fiscal policies, better business regulatory environment, more diverse structure of exports, and more effective public institutions. That is to say, the established and improved performers have made more progress in business regulation, rule of law, and government effectiveness. Rwanda is one of the fastest structural reformers in the region.

The report further notes that Sub-Saharan African countries underfund high-return investments, and that increasing the efficiency of current public spending in agriculture while rebalancing its composition could reap massive benefits.

“Improving the productivity of smallholder farms is central to lifting rural incomes and reducing poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa,” says Punam Chuhan-Pole, Lead Economist for World Bank Africa and the report’s author.“But unleashing this productivity requires investing in rural public goods such as rural infrastructure, agricultural research, and use of improved technologies, as well as in availability of good data and evidence.”

Increasing agricultural productivity is central to transforming Sub-Saharan African economies and promoting sustained and inclusive growth. This has to date been done by expanding the area under cultivation rather than productivity gains.

See report below for more.

Africa’s Pulse by Kisa on Scribd

The post Africa’s economic growth to fall 1.6% in 2016 – World Bank first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Juakalis’ making energy saving stoves from aluminum materials.

The odd saying that one Kenyan can do a job worthy six Ugandans is about to change if we are to go by a new World Bank report on productivity in a work place.

According to the The East African newspaper,the  World Bank report indicates that Kenyan workers are less productive than their counterparts in Uganda and Ethiopia with an average output of Kenya’s workers standing at $3,400 in 2014 compared to Ethiopia’s $5,000 and $3,800 for Uganda.

Kenya’s lower gross domestic product (GDP) per person employed — the country’s GDP divided by the number of people in employment — has been blamed for slowing economic growth.

“Set in international comparison, GDP per employed person is lower in Kenya than in many African peers and has been increasing at a slower rate than in other countries, both poorer (Ethiopia) and richer countries (Ghana, Burkina Faso and Cambodia),” says the report released last week.

“Productivity growth is held back by limited growth in formal wage jobs,” added the World Bank, signaling that the employee output in the informal sector is lower than those on formal jobs.

The economy created 128,000 new formal sector jobs or 15.2 per cent of total employment generated last year, official data shows.

The informal sector created 713,600 new openings last year, accounting for 84.7 per cent of the 841,600 total jobs.

At 343,400, Kenya’s value of output per worker has grown $600 from $2,800 in 2006. Ethiopia’s output over the period has grown by $1,200.

The Kenyan annual output is much lower than the average take home pay per employee. Official data shows Kenyan workers earned an average of Ksh553, 137 ($5,477) in 2014 and Sh604, 255 ($5,983) last year, which is nearly double their output.

The World Bank uses GDP per person employed to measure worker productivity levels in the economy.

“While many people work, most jobs are not sufficiently productive: they are not likely to offer significant earnings opportunities or income security,” the report says.

“Kenya’s labour markets are characterised by a much smaller formal wage sector, and much more work in the form of self-employment or informal wage work than is typical of more advanced economies.”

At $5,000, Ethiopia’s output per worker is $1,600 higher than that of Kenya.

Ethiopia has posted growth of more than 10 per cent in the past decade while Kenya’s growth has averaged at about five per cent.

Burkina Faso leads the pack with $6,600 as the value of output per worker while Ghana lags behind with $2,300.

The report, dubbed ‘Kenya – Jobs for Youth,’ says that young people have been hard hit by unemployment and suffer from rampant skills mismatch due to limited opportunities.

The post World Bank report says Ugandans & Ethiopians more productive than Kenyans. first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

An MTN advert in South Sudan

Due to the situation which has been attributed to an economic crisis caused by civil war, leading to the collapse of South Sudan’s currency and surging inflation, MTN South Sudan has cut 54 jobs and made changes to the way it sells airtime to help it survive. These changes include asking local traders to purchase airtime from MTN via bank transfers and sell to customers electronically, eliminating the need to import, and then distribute scratchcards.

“We are trying to manage what we have and make sure we continue operating,” the company’s chief executive officer, Philip Besiimire, said “We have now positioned ourselves to be lean and efficient until the situation changes.”

MTN South Sudan boasts of over eight million subscribers.

According to Oxfam, South Sudan is currently facing an acute humanitarian crisis and emergency levels of food insecurity due to an on-going conflict; more than 2.3 million people have been forced to flee their homes due to brutal war. Out of these, 1.6 million have been internally displaced in South Sudan and more than 777,000 have sought safety in neighbouring countries, mainly Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda. All this has led to a spiral into an economic free-fall.

The post MTN downscales in South Sudan first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

The post Uganda’s economy under threat first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Bellagio Center Creative Arts Residencies: The Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center creative arts residencies are designed to give composers, novelists, playwrights, poets, video/filmmakers, and visual artists time for disciplined work, individual reflection, and collegial engagement free of the usual interruptions of their professional and personal life.

Located on a peninsula adjacent to Lake Como, two hours north of Milan, Italy, the Bellagio Center typically offers one-month stays for no more than three to five creative artists at a time.

The foundation seeks applicants from any country in the world who are able to demonstrate a history of significant achievement in their respective artistic disciplines.

Individuals from developing countries and young artists with significant accomplishments – exhibitions, publications, performances – are particularly encouraged to apply.

Spouses/life partners may accompany the resident, or may apply for a concurrent residency.

The center also offers collaborative residencies for two to four persons working on the same project. Residencies are typically four weeks long; however, shorter periods may be available.

Room and board are provided without charge to all residents and their spouses/partners. Residents and spouses/partners must pay for their own airfare and local transportation to/from Bellagio.

Assistance with round-trip economy airfare between the home country and Milan is available on a financial needs basis to qualifying residents and their spouses/partners from developing countries.

The February deadline is for a possible residency occurring between mid-August through November 26.

For detailed program information, see: Bellagio Center Creative Arts Residencies

The post Bellagio Center calls for Creative Arts Residencies first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Sections of Ugandans have named their own country Uganda as the most extravagant country in the world. The development comes just days after a special cabinet meeting approved the creation of 20 more new districts namely Bunyangabu, Butebo, Bugweri, Kagadi, Kakuuto, Kakumiro, Kapelebyong, Kasanda, Kazo and Kilak, Kitagwenda, Kyadondo, Kyotera, Nabilatuk, Namisindwa, Omoro, Pakwach, Rubanda, Rukiga and Rwampara.

The districts have been approved at a time when Uganda’s economy is not doing well, there is no drugs in hospitals, corruption is high, and the inflation is at its apex. The creation of these 20 new districts means creation of more 20 women MP posts, 60 RDCs, 20 Chief Administrative officers, 20 police commanders, 20 DISOs, 20 LC5 chairpersons, and over 800 civil servants. President Museveni captured power in 1986 when Uganda has 25 districts but 26 years down the road Uganda has 135 districts yet the size of Uganda has remained the same.

Ugandans complain that the speed at which the government is partitioning the country into small units called districts is too high. Some opposition politicians like Norbert Mao of DP have been heard in press conferences that if Museveni rules Uganda for more 10 years each sub county, town council, city, division and municipality could be a district.

The post Uganda named most extravagant country in the world first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

African Guest Writer Scholarship: The Nordic Africa Institute through the research/network programme Cultural Images in and of Africa invites applications and nominations for a three-month grant as African guest writer at the institute.

The grant is open for writers of fiction.

The selection will be announced in the first half of March.

Conditions:

• The Guest Writer’s scholarship includes a return air-fare (Economy Class), accommodation, a subsistence allowance of SEK (Swedish kronor) 250 (approx. USD 30) a day (maximum SEK 25,000 for 90 days) plus an installation grant of SEK 2,500 (approx. USD 300), a shared office and free photocopying facilities up to a maximum of 1,000 copies.
• Guest Writers have access to a computer/MS Word at the office and have to do their own typing.

Scholarship Qualifications:

• Applicants must have some documented record of writing, with at least some publishing.
• The applicant must be able to express herself/himself in English, although this does not have to be the language she/he writes in.

Young writers are encourage to apply.

Deadline: December 31.

For more scholarship information and application, see: African Guest Writer Scholarship Website

Applications called for African Guest Writer Scholarship

African Guest Writer Scholarship: The Nordic Africa Institute through the research/network programme Cultural Images in and of Africa invites applications and nominations for a three-month grant as African guest writer at the institute.

The grant is open for writers of fiction.

The selection will be announced in the first half of March.

Conditions:

• The Guest Writer’s scholarship includes a return air-fare (Economy Class), accommodation, a subsistence allowance of SEK (Swedish kronor) 250 (approx. USD 30) a day (maximum SEK 25,000 for 90 days) plus an installation grant of SEK 2,500 (approx. USD 300), a shared office and free photocopying facilities up to a maximum of 1,000 copies.
• Guest Writers have access to a computer/MS Word at the office and have to do their own typing.

Scholarship Qualifications:

• Applicants must have some documented record of writing, with at least some publishing.
• The applicant must be able to express herself/himself in English, although this does not have to be the language she/he writes in.

Young writers are encourage to apply.

Deadline: December 31.

For more scholarship information and application, see: African Guest Writer Scholarship Website

Applications called for African Guest Writer Scholarship

African Guest Writer Scholarship: The Nordic Africa Institute through the research/network programme Cultural Images in and of Africa invites applications and nominations for a three-month grant as African guest writer at the institute.

The grant is open for writers of fiction.

The selection will be announced in the first half of March.

Conditions:

• The Guest Writer’s scholarship includes a return air-fare (Economy Class), accommodation, a subsistence allowance of SEK (Swedish kronor) 250 (approx. USD 30) a day (maximum SEK 25,000 for 90 days) plus an installation grant of SEK 2,500 (approx. USD 300), a shared office and free photocopying facilities up to a maximum of 1,000 copies.
• Guest Writers have access to a computer/MS Word at the office and have to do their own typing.

Scholarship Qualifications:

• Applicants must have some documented record of writing, with at least some publishing.
• The applicant must be able to express herself/himself in English, although this does not have to be the language she/he writes in.

Young writers are encourage to apply.

Deadline: December 31.

For more scholarship information and application, see: African Guest Writer Scholarship Website

The post Applications called for African Guest Writer Scholarship first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Many people lie in hospitals suffering from leukemia. Their eyes and lips many times they become pale, their limbs thin and their heads bald.

The doctors say that the people suffering from leukemia many times have teary eyes. Leukemia sometimes is referred to as cancer of the blood.

According to James Kafeero, an oncologist at the Uganda Cancer Institute, in Mulago Hospital (Uganda), childhood leukemia is on the rise in the country. He says that the hospital at least diagnoses two people every day. Leukemia according to the doctors contributes to at least 15% of childhood cancers in the east African third economy (Uganda).

Dr. Kafeero however says that leukemia is one of the curable childhood cancers, if it is diagnosed early enough and treated in time. Leukemia comes when white blood cells are produced in the bone marrow and the blood floods.

By Walakira Nyanzi

The post How to diagnose and treat leukemia first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Acting Government Chief Whip Daudi Migereko while a Press Conference at Parliament said the President described the Author of the letter to the House of Commons as an enemy of the Country and trying to sabotage the Economy of the Country.

Migereko said the president read the Contents of the letter to NRM Caucus Members that sat yesterday in Entebbe but declined to mention the Author instead instructed the Investigative arms of Government to find out the motive of the letter which he described as Criminal.

Migereko also said that the Caucus has also set up a Committee that is going to investigate the Circumstances that led NRM to lose its seat in the just concluded Jinja Municipality East bi-elections and why voters were harassed to an extent of not casting their vote to the desired Candidate.

By Isaac Senabulya

The post Museveni investigation letter to British parliament on Tullow oil first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Japan/World Bank Graduate scholarship Program: The Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program scholarship provides annual awards to cover the cost of completing a master’s degree or its equivalent.

Value – $ 32,000 per annum.

Grant award period: 1 year

If the academic program is longer than one year, it may be renewed for a second consecutive year or a portion thereof.

Scholarship Application Eligibility Criteria:

• You must be between the ages of 25 and 45.
• Have at least 2, preferably 4 to 5, years of recent full-time professional work experience
• Have a university degree
• Have good health & good character

The scholarship provides benefits for the recipient only, covering:

• Economy class air travel between the home country and the host university at the start of the study program and one return journey following the end of the overall scholarship period
• In addition to the ticket, scholars receive a US $500 travel allowance for each trip
• Tuition and the cost of basic medical and accident insurance usually obtained through the university
• A monthly subsistence allowance to cover living expenses, including books.

Deadline: March 31 every year.

For more scholarship information and application, see: Joint Japan World Bank Graduate Scholarship Programme Website

The post Japan/World Bank offers scholarships in a masters degree first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.