Uganda president Yoweri Museveni in China for FOCAC Summit: COURTESY PHOTO

With a wave of Imperialistic tendencies sweeping the world with what has been termed as China’s “debt traps”, how safe is Uganda.

29% of Uganda’s total loans is owed to China’s EXIM Bank.

China- Uganda loans 

Loan agreement performance data (2016) indicate that China committed $350m for Entebbe-Kampala Expressway, $100m to improve road networks, $483m for Isimba hydropower plant and $1.4b for Karuma Dam and many others in the year 2016.

China alone has a loan commitment totaling to $2,588,078,279.  Over, the last four years, Uganda has seen an increasing share of Chinese loans in roads and energy projects in excess of $3b.

Uganda’s debt to Uganda exceeds 10% of Uganda’s current GDP at $27.53b (World Bank, 2015).

The China ‘debt trap’ genesis 

In the past two years, China has been taking over territories of her ‘bad debtors’ who owed China alot of money and failed to pay.

The very first country to fall prey to Chinese ‘debt trap’ was Syri-lanka. Officially known as the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia, located in the Indian Ocean.

In December 2017, Sri-Lanka handed over Hambantota port to China on a century-long lease over failure to pay. The port was built with $1.3bn loan from China  at 6.3% interest. However, it failed to fully pay the loan. This year, the country owes nearly $13 billion, out of a forecast revenue of less than $14 billion. We don’t know what next China will take in case of failure to pay.

Zambia did not skip the trap, talks are underway for China to take over Zambia’s state power company Zesco after the country defaulted on loan payments, a report by Africa Confidential claimed.

Djibouti, home to the US military’s main base in Africa, looks about to give away the control of key port to a Beijing-linked company

Uganda’s stake

An analysis by Quartz on the 8 most vulnerable countries on China debt overload puts Djibouti first, followed by Tajikistan.

Although Uganda is not enlisted among the most countries in danger of the china’s Road and Belt initiative, it should not settle in a comfort zone.

Most of the loans that Uganda procured from China are to be repaid within an average period of 10 years.

However, the loans were used for long term assets which may not yield returns in the long run.

China’s plan

Beijing’s multibillion dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been called a Chinese Marshall Plan, a state-backed campaign for global dominance, a stimulus package for a slowing economy, and a massive marketing campaign (The guardian)

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The squad consists of 19 foreign based players who will later be joined by eleven local based players to make a total of 30 man squad to prepare for the two ties.

Micho  said that he will select the eleven local based players from the 22 who will feature for the Cranes in the Kampala region tour on Saturday 5th November at the Mutesa II Memorial Stadium in Wankulukuku.

According to a statement on fufa.com;“We have summoned 19 professionals and 22 locally based players all of whom have equal chances to vey for the places on the final team against Congo Brazzaville,” said Micho 

The Serbian tactician went to say that he will select the eleven local based players from the 22 who will feature for the Cranes in the Kampala region tour on Saturday 5th November at the Mutesa II Memorial Stadium in Wankulukuku and also in the friendly game against Zambia.

“First we have a match against the Kampala regional team at Wankulukuku on Saturday, then the Zambian friendly match.

Those who prove will be selected for the Congo Brazzaville match on 12th November 2016 at Namboole”,he added.

List of the foreign based players

Goalkeepers: Denis Onyango, Robert Odongkara, Salim Jamal Magola

Defenders:Denis Iguma, Walusimbi Godffrey, Isaac Isinde, Murshid Juuko, Ronald Mukiibi, Mike Azira

Midfielders: Shafic Batambuze,Godffrey Baba Kizito, Tonny Mawejje, Yassar Mugerwa, Moses Oloya ,Khalid Aucho

Strikers: Faruku Miya, Yunus Sentamu, William Kizito Luwagga and Geoffrey Massa

The 22 Local Based players

Goalkeepers: Benjamin Ochan, Ismail Watenga

Defenders: Nicholas Wadada, Denis Okot , Joseph Nsubuga, Hassan Wasswa, Joseph Ochaya, Kasagga Richard , Awanyi Timoth , Halid Lwaliwa

Midfileders:Muzamil Mutyaba, Kizito Keziron, Sadam Juma, Shafic Kajimu,Lwesibawa Godffrey, Kayiwa Allan, Vitalis Tabu Abdul Malik,

Strikers: Muhammad Shaban, Geoffrey Serunkuma, Edrisa Lubega, Erisa Sekisambu, Derrick Nsibambi

The last time Uganda faced Congo Brazzaville was in the Afcon 2013 qualifiers with the Red Devils winning 3-1 at home before the Cranes Overturning the tie by winning 4-0 in Kampala to proceed to the last round of qualifiers where they met Zambia who edged them 9-8 on penalties after a 1-all draw over two legs.

The Cranes will have to prepare well for the game with more trickier fixtures to come especially the games against Group E opponents Egypt and Ghana.

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The friendly match will help Uganda Cranes head coach Milutin Sredojevic to assess his team ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia qualifier against Congo Brazzaville on 12th November at the same stadium.

A statement of fufa.com reads; ‘We have confirmed the match and we believe it will give the coach a good test for his players before playing Congo Brazzaville. We shall communicate further details to the public about the match’ said FUFA Communications Manager Ahmed Hussein.

The cranes had a good start in the quest for 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia qualification when they held Ghana to a goalless draw in Tamale.

Uganda cranes drew 0-0 with the Black stars in the opening game of Group E with Egypt defeating Congo 2-1 in Brazzaville.

The Uganda against Congo Brazzaville game will tell us more about what we can expect from the team with trickier fixtures against Egypt on the horizon.

The last time Uganda faced Congo was in the Afcon 2013 qualifiers with the Red Devils winning 3-1 at home before the Cranes Overturning the tie by winning 4-0 in Kampala to proceed to the last round of qualifiers where they met Zambia who edged them 9-8 on penalties after a 1-all draw over two legs.

Micho (white top) during training with Uganda Cranes players-photo by FUFA

Uganda Cranes head coach Milutin Sredojevic is upbeat that a win against Congo Brazzaville will prove the credentials of his team.

 ‘We want to win against Congo Brazzaville and show that the point we earned in Ghana is pure reflection of hard work and our ambitions in world cup qualifiers to be contenders’, said Micho  on  fufa.com.

The Serbian tactician will name the squad to feature in both ties on November 2 ,2015 at Fufa House in Mengo-Kampala,Uganda.

In the other Group E games, Egypt host Ghana at the Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria looking for a second win and keep  hold of its leadership.

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Al Ahly players on the score sheet were; Walid Soliman, Momen Zakaria, John Antwi and Ahmed El-Sheikh  who grabbed the winning goal deep into stoppage time.

Egypt skipper Mohamed Salah was on target for Roma, who also introduced Nigerian youngster Sadiq Umar late in this thrilling encounter.

Meanwhile the  great Diego Maradona was in the stands watching this match.

Roma ended third in the Italian Serie A with 80 points, 11 behind the champions Juventus who got 91 points .

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The team will play  international friendly matches against Togo and The Gambia on May 27 and 30 respectively  as part of preparation against Guinea Bissau.

 Nkwazi midfielder Steward Chikandiwa who is the league top scorer with 5 goals in 9 appearances for the club has also earned a call up to the national team.

Among other called up players include ; Chisamba Lungu, Paul Katema, Evans Kangwa and goalkeeper Danny Munyao.

The team is expected to leave for Guinea Bissau via Togo and The Gambia on Tuesday May 24.

The squad:

Goalkeepers: Kennedy Mweene (Mamelodi Sundowns/RSA), Danny Munyao (Red Arrows), Racha Kola (Zanaco).

Defenders: Buchizya Mfune (Green Buffaloes), Stephen Kabamba (Green Buffaloes), Adrian Chama (Green Buffaloes), Davies Nkausu (Free State Stars/RSA), Stopilla Sunzu (Lille/FRA), Chongo Kabaso (TP Mazembe/DRC), Boyd Mkandawire (Napsa Stars).

Midfielders: Steward Chikandiwa (Nkwazi), Paul Katema (Red Arrows), Nathan Sinkala (TP Mazembe/DRC), Chisamba Lungu (FC Ural/RUS), Salulani Phiri (Zanaco), Lubambo Musonda (Gandzasar Karpan/ARM), Rainford Kalaba (TP Mazembe/DRC), Christopher Katongo (Green Buffaloes), Clatous Chama (Zesco United).

Forwards: Collins Mbesuma (Mpumalanga Blackaces/RSA), Winston Kalengo (AC Leopards/Congo), Evans Kangwa (Hapoel Raanana /ISL), Conlyde Luchanga (Lusaka Dynamos).

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Congrats to @AussieDiamonds! 3rd Netball World Cup, beating NZ in front of a record crowd! @netballworldcup pic.twitter.com/JpDYwMFJLf

— ConsuladoEspañaMelb (@ConsuladoEspMel) August 16, 2015

The Silver Ferns had come into the final unbeaten after a shock win over Australia in the group stages, but a nine-goal deficit from the first quarter left New Zealand unable to catch the Commonwealth champions.

Australian goal attack Natalie Medhurst stressed how it was their plan to hit New Zealand hard and exert pressure from start to win the game;

“We really wanted to set it up in that first quarter and intensity was what we addressed. We really needed to hit them hard and really put that pressure on them from the start,” said Medhurst.

Australia now holds the Big Two titles, the Commonwealth Games and World Cup, concurrently, for the first time since 1998/99. Australia Coach Lisa Alexander has been reappointed for another four years after guiding the Australian diamonds to the 2015 Netball world cup trophy.

New Zealand coach Wai Taumaunu had earlier indicated that a World Cup final is totally different from a Test match because you can’t wake up the next day and play it all over again. Taumaunu though failed to guide the Silver Ferns to the victory and will have to wait for the Liverpool 2019 Netball World cup.

Meanwhile England beat Jamaica 66-44 to take bronze as they finished third in the Netball World Cup.

Wales ended the competition in seventh after winning their play-off 64-41 against Uganda to claim their best finish at a World Cup since 1991 – when it was also hosted in Sydney.

Scotland ended the tournament 12th after losing their 11th-place play-off 51-41 against Fiji.

South Africa narrowly beat Malawi 48-46 to secure fifth spot, while Trinidad and Tobago ended ninth after beating Samoa 64-51.

Meanwhile Barbados ended 13th with a 53-38 win over Zambia and Sri Lanka finished last after losing 59-32 to Singapore.

Read more at ncw2015

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she cranes player in action against wales during the final group D game at the AllPhones Arena.

The She Cranes put up an exciting performance today against Wales at the on-going Netball World cup in Australia though it was not enough to earn them a win.

The match was a highly contested one with the She cranes eventually losing out on 49-47 in the dying seconds of the game.

Both sides were undefeated from their earlier two group D games with the she cranes having collected an incredible 74-38 points in the victory against Zambia on day one and 61-40 over Fiji in the later fixture as Wales recorded victories against the same opposition.

It was a thrilling game with end to end action with Uganda recording 85% shooting success rate while wales bettered it with 88% success rate.

The She Cranes still qualifies to the last eight ahead of Fiji and Zambia who finished with two and no point after three games respectively.

Uganda will play in group E alongside New Zealand, Malawi and the runners up in group B where the winner will proceed to play the second in group F that contains Australia, England, South Africa and group D leaders, Wales.

She cranes starting lineup;

Proscovia Peace, Racheal Nanyonga, Halima Nakachwa, Ruth Meeme, Jesca Achan, Stella Oyella,

Subs; Alice Nanteza, Lilian Ajio, Betty Namukasa, Florence Nanyonga, Florence Amono, Harriet Apako

Full Time: UGA 47 – @WelshNetball 49. Shooting: UGA 47/55 (85%) – @WelshNetball 49/56 (88%) #NWC2015 #UGAvWAL

— Netball World Cup (@netballworldcup) August 10, 2015

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President Uhuru Kenyatta arriving at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport

President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya today travelled to Zambia for a two-day state visit. During this visit he is expected to officiate the opening of the 51st Zambia International Trade Fair. The fair under the theme “Propensity through business reforms and linkages” is running from 1st to 7th July 2015. Last year’s fair had a total of 91 foreign participants from 14 countries, and 453 local companies. 90,055 visitors were recorded and organisers hope to exceed that number this year.

Zambia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Kalaba said “The visit is a follow-up on the meeting the two heads of state had in Addis Ababa to consolidate relations between the two countries,” he said. “Zambia and Kenya share a lot of platforms together and we want to continue on this path,” he added.

This trip comes after President Uhuru was voted Africa’s President of the year 2014/2015 for his outstanding leadership. The president received this accolade for the prestigious Africa Education and Leadership Awards for his ability to build consensus locally and abroad, efforts to change policies for the better and supervise solutions that address Kenya’s pressing issues.

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The Action for Transparency (A4T) Project has built an app and website that gives the opportunity for anyone who can connect to the Internet to report on suspected corruption or mismanagement of public funds. The app/web displays financial information on how much primary schools and health centres are supposed to receive from government and provides the possibility to report any suspected misuse of public funds.

Peter Wandera of Transparency International, Lars Tallert the project leader and James Kigozi of UMDF at the press conference

Action for Transparency is funded by Sida, the Swedish International Development Agency and is being piloted in Wakiso district of Uganda and the Lusaka province of Zambia.

Lars Tallert, the Team Leader of Action for Transparency says the Action for Transparency project combines resources from all sectors to ensure that citizens are provided with the best tools and data to report on suspected corruption and misuse of public funds.

“In order to succeed there must be a close cooperation between civil society, government and media, IT-experts and anti-corruption experts,” he told journalists on Friday at a press conference in Kampala.

“We have received much support from the Monitoring Unit of the Uganda Ministry of Finance, who are assisting us with data. We have contracted a consultant to verify the data and to make a reality check in the districts-comparing the official data with what is on ground,” Tallert adds.

The project is being implemented by Fojo Media Institute (part of Linnaues University in Sweden), Transparency International Uganda (TIU), Uganda Media Development Foundation (UMDF) and the African Center for Media Excellence (ACME).

“We have developed a website and mobile app with a database of budget allocations to schools and health centers. We are also going to carry out trainings of over 2,000 journalists, human rights activists and local government leaders for them to be able to use mobile and web tools to access, assess and communicate about budget allocations and spending in order to minimize corruption and capture of public funds,” says Peter Wandera, the Executive Director of TIU.

Wandera adds that if the concept is successful as they expect, there is a possibility to scale up the project in other districts, and in other countries.

James Kigozi, the Executive of UMDF says that the people trained will be part of our public awareness campaign planned to be launched in March 2014 and be able to track government expenditures and act as whistle-blowers by reporting any findings on the mobile app, website and on the project’s facebook page, as well by sms to 0755582134 or calling 0412532083.

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Former Ugandan Foreign Minister Olara Otunnu will lead the Commonwealth Observer Group, which will be made up of nine observers, supported by five Commonwealth Secretariat staff.

Mr Otunnu, a former United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, will arrive in the capital, Freetown on 11 November.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma constituted the Observer Group at the invitation of the Government of Sierra Leone.

“The Commonwealth has a long history of engagement in Sierra Leone, and our presence on the ground confirms our commitment to strengthening democracy in the country,” Mr Sharma said.

These elections will be Sierra Leone’s third since its decade-long conflict ended in 2002. The Commonwealth also observed elections in the country in 2002 and 2007.

The Commonwealth Observer Group’s mandate is to observe and consider all aspects of the election process and assess compliance with the standards for democratic elections to which Sierra Leone has committed.  Where appropriate, the Group may also make recommendations for the future strengthening of the country’s electoral framework.

The Observer Group is impartial and independent and will conduct itself according to the standards of the International Declaration of Principles for Elections Observation, to which the Commonwealth is a signatory. It will submit its report to the Commonwealth Secretary-General, who will in turn send it to the Government of Sierra Leone, the National Election Commission of Sierra Leone, political parties and eventually to all Commonwealth governments. 

The Commonwealth Observer Group is expected to arrive in Sierra Leone on 9 November and to stay in the country until 25 November.

Staff Team Leader

Linford Andrews

Head of Office, Deputy Secretary-General

Commonwealth Secretariat

Tel: +44 752 539 2496

Email: l.andrews@commonwealth.int

Media Contact:

Victoria Holdsworth

Communications and Public Affairs Division

Commonwealth Secretariat

Tel: +44 789 459 3520

Email: v.holdsworth@commonwealth.int

COMPOSITION OF THE GROUP

CHAIR: Mr Olara Otunnu, former Ambassador of Uganda to the United Nations and UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict

Mr Paul Dacey

Former Deputy Electoral Commissioner

Australia

Ms Martha Sayed

Deputy Secretary, Independent Electoral Commission

Botswana

Ms Pauline Welsh

Director of Legal Affairs, Electoral Office

Jamaica

Ms Jane Godia

Media and Gender Expert

Kenya

Counsellor Justus Kangwagye

Mayor, Rulindo District

Rwanda

Mr Andrew Simmons

Development Consultant

St. Vincent

Ms Rita Payne

Media Expert

United Kingdom

Mr Dennis Ngosa

National Youth Coordinator 

Zambia

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