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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Mbabazi who took time to visit the recruitment grounds to oversee said women have not actively involved themselves into the exercise thinking its only for men.

“Women think that the training is only meant for men and not women,” said Mbabazi.

The Kampala Resident City Commissioner while at Old Kampala Secondary School playground on Thursday said women were also supposed to be part since this is a country matter and not gender or political ties.

“When there is insecurity in the country, it will not discriminate and only affect members of the NRM and spare opposition or only affect opposition members and spare those in the ruling party.

It will affect us all equally, so let us work together as a team to see that security is beefed up in our country,” said Mbabazi.

LDU recruits going through the paces at Kira Road playground in Kamwokya

Mbabazi cautioned politicians who take this matter as being political discouraging people from joining the exercise.

“Some politicians want to use it as a political platform to discourage people by telling them that the exercise will not cause any change about the killings that have been occurring in the country,” she said.

The LDU’s recruitment exercise is aimed at eliminating the various murders in the country as directed by President Yoweri Museveni’s after seeing killings of former Buyende DPC, Muhammad Kirumira.

However contrary to Mbabazi’s comments, Henry Obbo, the spokesperson in charge of the recruitment exercise said at least 60 women have turned up for the exercise which is affair figure.

“If you can have 60 women participate in the LDU exercise which involves vigorous training, then that is a good number,” said Obbo.

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One of the crashed helicopters

The United Nations (UN) has officially communicated to Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) declining to compensate three helicopters that crashed in Kenya in 2012. The helicopters crashed on the slopes of Mount Kenya on August 12th, 2012 on their way to beef up the mission to fight against Al Shabaab militias, under the UN-sponsored African Union Mission (AMISON) in Somalia.

The three Mi24 gunship helicopters that crashed reportedly cost Shillings 30 billion, and Uganda has since been pushing UN to replace them. Reports indicate that they were part of force enablers that were to be used by AMISON in ‘Operation Eagle’ an operation that was to weaken the Al-Shabaab in areas of Baidoa. They were also to help in air surveillance in the ‘Operation Indian Ocean’.

General Katumba Wamala, the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) said that UN had refused to compensate them for the helicopters indicating that they had not entered the mission area in Somalia. He said that also other earth moving equipment worth 10million Dollars that was lost in the Somalia is not to be compensated.

On August 12th, 2012 three Ugandan army Mi24 helicopter gunships operating under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) crashed over Mount Kenya. The helicopters were heading to Kismayo to combat the Al-Shabaab militants. Seven crew members died and 21 were injured.

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Commission members meeting the deputy speaker of parliament Jacob Oulanyah

The Amnesty commission plead to parliament to amend the law that established this commission so as there is no uncertainty of its existence. This was disclosed by the chairperson of the Amnesty commission Peter Onega while the commission members were meeting the deputy speaker of parliament Jacob Oulanyah  at parliament over the issues affecting the Amnesty commission.

Justice Onega says that the commission faces a challenge about the life span of the amnesty process since its existence depends on extension by parliament. He says that since the current two year term of office extension of the Amnesty Act will end on 24th  May 2017, he fears that the amendment process is slow and likely to take a long time yet the commission’s existence will end in May 2017.

However, Justice Onega has revealed that new rebel groups have risen citing one in Kapchorwa known as Uganda saving force. He said that the commission plans to reintegrate 6000 former rebels who surrendered to the commission and victims at a cost 4.5 billion shilling and despite this Amnesty commission cry of under funding.

The Amnesty commission has since demobilized 27000 former rebels, 13100 from Lord’s Resistance Army and 2553 from ADF. 21213 rebels resettled and 8182 have been reintegrated through skill training and project undertaking.

The deputy speaker of parliament Jacob Oulanyah observed the need for government to give enough funds to the Amnesty to avoid causing temptation among the returning rebels going back to rebel activities  due lack of funds for their resettling package.

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Fred Yiga, the new Chief Political Commissar of the Police.

Inspector General of Police Gen. Edward Kale Kayihura  has appointed AIGP Fred Yiga the new Chief Political Commissar of the Police. Yiga replaces  Asuman Mugyenyi who has been moved to head the Police’s Directorate of Operations.

AIGP Yiga in the past served as the United Nations (UNMISS) commissioner of police for South Sudan for more than 10 years until early this year when he handed over to Rwanda’s Bruce Munyambo. His promotion to CPC by Kayihura follows police’s recently announced nationwide rectification’ campaign aimed at professionalizing the force.

In his letter promoting Yiga,  Kayihura , tasked him  to operationalize the Police’s Department of Political Education and aggressively work to improve the public image of the police by operationalizing the Department of information and public relations, among other things.

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Lt. General Henry Tumukunde

The minister for security Lt.General Henry Tumukunde says that it was a mistake to detach local councils officials from the task of gathering intelligence. He says that in his term of office as a security minister he will empower the local authorities to report incidences of insecurity to the security agencies. He made the remarks while receiving his office at the presidents office in Kampala from the out going minister Mary Karoro Okrot.

Tumukunde says that local councils can be enlightened and report some of the security matters to the centre and it’s a big group to skip in ensuring security. He further warns that he will kill the general comfort of the public officials in his ministry. The minister also threatens to deal with the existing general crime groups like Kifesi in the country.

While handing over the office the outgoing minister of security Mary Karoro Okrot asked the new minister for security to ensure that the district internal security organization and Gombolola internal security organizations are equipped to have security intelligence reports given to Centre quickly.

Mary Karoro Okrot was transferred from security ministry to the office of the prime minister as the minister in charge of General Duties in the OPM.

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Photo: Daily Monitor

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President Yoweri Museveni urged elders in the fishing communities of Uganda to take a leading role in protecting the lakes from overfishing and the catching of immature fish because it has led to the depletion of stock and pledged to deploy the army to support them.

“Lake Victoria is here but it’s a dead lake because it has no fish. You need to help us to protect these lakes and we revamp them for the future of the country’s fishing industry. Borrow lessons from the cattle keepers who never eat female calves because they are the future of their herds as they are the ones that will produce and multiply the cattle stock” he said.

The President said that because the indigenous fishing communities had failed to protect the lakes; The Fisheries Ministry resorted to deploying of fisheries protection officers who have worsened the situation by engaging in mass corruption and extortion of fishermen and traders. He appealed to communities that live near the lakes and the water bodies in the country to do away with the negative vices of overfishing and fishing of premature fish which he said pose a great danger to the fishing industry in the country.

The President was addressing a public rally on Sunday at Masafu Sub-County grounds, Buwanda Village in Busia district to promote the Operation Wealth Creation campaign. The campaign is aimed at ensuring that each household engages in enterprises for food security and income generation to fight poverty. Het announced that government plans to gazette Busia as an export promotion zone and said that many industries will be put up in the border district to promote industrial trade. He warned however, that the border town known for its fish trade on Lake Victoria has been affected by overfishing and the catching of immature fish which is economically bad for business.

The President said that government will continue to work on service delivery but urged the population to engage in modern agro production to fight poverty. “Recent research has shown that 83% of families in Busia district are engaged in subsistence agriculture while only 17% are in commercial agriculture. How do you expect to get rid of poverty in the district,” he said.

He cautioned the people against land fragmentation which he said was dangerous for the future of the agricultural sector and warned that with continued fragmentation of land will result into irreversible poverty in Uganda which is largely an agricultural economy.

On health the President said that government had done well in the immunization of children that has seen the country experience rapid population growth under the NRM regime from 14 million in 1986 to 35 million people today. He however said that the population needs to exercise quality hygiene and nutrition to avoid contracting some disease. He also warned them against living reckless life styles such as promiscuity, drug abuse and alcoholism that he said were dangerous for their lives.

He further announced that government will tarmac Torooro-Busia road and Musiita-Majanji road and that more roads will be tarmacked as the government has prioritized and allocated sufficient funds to the road sector. He urged movement supporters to understand the importance of prioritization in the implementation of government programs as all programs can’t be implemented at the same time. “We are now working on several roads with our locally generated revenue and we shall do more but we have to prioritize because if we tackle many programs at the same time we will make no impact and deliver nothing. That Prioritization approach helped us in the bush as we used limited resources but registered many victories,” he said.

On security the President said that the country is peaceful because the National Resistance Movement built a strong army with a national character which is pro-people. He said that the UPDF, unlike the past national armies, was not built on sectarian grounds of either tribes or religion which is the reason the army is strong.

“We had problems in 1960’s because leaders were focused on tribal and religious sectarianism. You leave a good soldier and go for a bad soldier because you are looking for your tribe’s man and you can’t build strong force on those lines” he noted.

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The Ministry of defense has confirmed the death of 10 UDF officers during clashes with militant Islamist group al-Shabab in Janaale, Somalia. This was disclosed to parliament by the Minister of state for Defense, General Jeje Odong, while briefing Members of Parliament on the attack to the UPDF in Somalia.

General Jeje said that Uganda lost 10 soldiers, the enemy lost 46 and two were captured alive. He said that the figure bigger than this reported in the media is false.

He noted that the bodies of fallen UPDF officers are being flown home; adding that after notifying their next of kin and family, the names of the deceased will be released.

On 1^st September Alshabab attacked a UPDF unit at Janale, 90 km south East of Mogadishu.

Parliament observed a moment of silence for the slain soldiers.

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She said that since the disarmament program the rustling reduced but these days cattle thieves have again come, which is unfortunate. She says that security organs in the area are complaining of having problems like limited funds and therefore they need governments help.

The acting leader of government business, David Bahati, ordered the ministry to immediately act to see that there is security in Karamoja region. He however noted that government is committed to ensuring peace in the region and therefore the ministry will act.

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