Archive for category: Transport

Mutukula, Uganda: Women entrepreneurs trading between Uganda and Tanzania have appealed to the government to set up a special credit facility for cooperators engaged in cross border trade.

The traders made the call during the commissioning of a women’s trade one-stop information center at the Mutukula One-Stop Border Point-OSBP last week.

Janet Nassiwa, treasurer of Mutukula Women Cross Border Traders Cooperative said that their biggest challenge is the lack of capital to enable them to expand their businesses across the two borders.

According to Nassiwa, the cooperatives cannot secure credit from commercial banks due to the high-interest charged on loans and very expensive collaterals.

“Our appeal is that government supports us with a special fund, from which organized women cooperatives can secure low-interest credit facilities to enable us to boost our businesses into Tanzania,” said Nassiwa, who spoke on behalf of female cooperators.

The information center will act as customs clearance and networking point for cross-border women traders at Mutukula border point. The aim is to save female traders from the long processes of the normal clearing procedures at the common customs offices.

Building the Centre is also a step towards increasing women’s participation in trade and business across borders in the region.

The information center was established with support from Trademark East Africa, through the Eastern African Sub-Region Support Initiative for the Advancement of the Women project.

According to Nassiwa, while they appreciate the relevance of a center dedicated to serving female traders, they equally need a financial boost to enable them to sustain the businesses.

“our hope lies in seeing more women entering and progressing in business, other than registering them falling off the truck after they are cheated by unscrupulous money lenders and the ‘exorbitant’ commercial bank loans,” she said.

Records indicate that at least 250 women are engaged in cross-border trade between Uganda and Tanzania. These are dealing in agriculture produce and other foodstuffs, soft drinks, clothing material especially fabrics, among other household items.

Mutukula Women Cross Border Traders Cooperative leadership says its members have the capacity to turn around fortunes of thousands of lives as well growing more businesses that can substantially generate more revenues if supported by the government.

State Minister for East African Community Affairs, Julius Maganda Wandera who launched the center, said member states are committed to eliminating all barrier that frustrates women from effectively engaging in cross border trade.

He advised the cooperators to make their appeal formally to the Ministry of Cooperatives.

Other challenges

The traders also raised concerns of the emerging trade restriction especially in Tanzania, where Ugandan goods are denied free entry to various market places.

Joseph Kakinda, one of the cross-border traders said besides the restricted movement of goods, the lucky traders that cross into Tanzania are subjected to very long clearing processes that also result in huge losses suffered by dealers in perishable foodstuffs.

Kakinda says they have without success tried to find lasting solutions to the challenges, appealing to the

government to directly enter negotiations with their Tanzanian counterparts to have the problem addressed.

In 2009, the East African Community member states signed a protocol for the establishment of a common market which was premised on principles of free movement of goods, persons, labor, services, and capital between the five partner states.

Edith Mwanje, the Permanent Secretary to Ministry of East African Community Affairs, says their teams will study all the cited challenges and accordingly present reports to the relevant authorities to have them addressed.

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In an effort to get to the root of the fraud and forgery allegations levelled against Uganda Cooperative Alliance(UCA) General Secretary, Ivan Asiimwe, Police has summoned the Board to report to its Criminal Investigations Offices at Nakawa for questioning.

This comes after five other UCA staff including Mr. Asiimwe have been interrogated by Police’s Investigations Department attached to the Uganda National Roads Authority to explain their role in authoring and using the forged resolution. A copy of the letter seen by theCooperator requires the entire board of the UCA to appear at the UNRA premises on Thursday 9:00 am, to explain their role in issuing a board resolution that was inconsistent with the laws governing UCA and cooperatives in general.

Of interest to the police is whether the resolution that bears unsolicited and pasted digitised signatures of the board of directors was certified by the commissioner/ registrar of Cooperative Development. However, the registrar, in a letter to Police denied certifying the said resolution, and disassociated himself from the document.

The same summons refer to a board subcommittee constituted by the board in May this year to investigate allegations of financial mismanagement and misconduct of Mr. Asiimwe. The completed report was submitted to the chairperson of the board on 22nd July 2019. The report, a copy of which theCooperator has seen, pins Mr. Asiimwe for dishonesty and having participated in fraudulent practices:

“when we inquired as to whether the said resolution had been used to transact UCA business, the response from the General Secretary was negative. But a parcel of documents from UNRA included a copy of the said resolution together with the GS’ identification documents i.e. passport, work I.D among others and a submission letter signed by the General Secretary. The burden is therefore beyond mere balance of probabilities but rather a criminal act and gross misconduct on the part of the suspect making way for police investigation and possible prosecution,” the report reads in part.

However, despite the recommendations from the board’s investigative subcommittee, it is not clear if the board and the Ministry of Trade Industry and Cooperatives – which are the regulators of UCA, have taken any steps to restore stability at UCA, which remains central to the health of the entire cooperative sector.

theCooperator has learned that prior to the release of the subcommittee’s report, State Minister for Cooperatives Fredrick Gume Ngobi had scheduled a meeting with the UCA board to discuss the same issue on 9th July 2019, which was later postponed to 23rd July 2019. But the same meeting would again be postponed to a yet to be communicated date.

Instead, in a surprising twist of events, theCooperator has further learned that the board Chairman Mr. Johnas Tweyambe and treasurer Father Emmanuel Safari recently wrote a letter to the police, asking them to drop the investigations against Mr. Asiimwe, a request which was denied.

Although the motives of Mr. Tweyambe’s letter are not yet clear, the development has raised more questions about the integrity of the board, and its suitability to steer the Cooperative body back to health.

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Kampala, Uganda: High Court sitting in Kampala on Friday finally set a date for passing verdict over the case between the Uganda Transport Cooperative Union (UTCU) and its thirteen former employees after more than 7 years in court.

On Friday, sitting at TWED Towers along Kafu road, presiding judge Justice Musa Ssekaana received the last presentation of evidence, and set 13th Dec 2019 as the date for delivering judgment.

In 2011, the plaintiffs, through their lawyers Lukwago & Co. Advocates filed civil suit No.139 of 2011 at the High court in Kampala, in which they allege that on 2nd Nov 2009, the defendant (UTCU) terminated their services and issued a general retirement notice to them, but consequently failed to pay them their full terminal benefits.

The thirteen, who had worked as employees of UTCU for more than 20 years between 1987 and March 2010 also fault the Union for failure to provide them with several other employee entitlements including annual leave, salary increment of up to 15%, medical insurance, and failure to remit their contributions to the National Social Security Fund, as prescribed in their employment contracts.

In an interview with theCooperator, Annet Kanyago, the Counsel for the complainants argued that the Union violated the rights of his clients – Byabagambi Deogratiuos, James Peter Etwou, Byamugisha Henry, Nkunge Daudi, Anniset Mpoza Sempa and Ronald Nsubuga. Others are Aggrey Lubwama, Kananura Obah, James Kyamanyi, Blassy Matovu, Jacob Suda, Anthony Mudekete and Gerald Kiiza.

Gerald Kiiza, in particular, avers that he sustained an injury during the course of his employment at UTCU which led to permanent damage to his left eye. He argues that he is now unable to acquire alternative employment and seeks Shs.2.3 million in compensation.

However, in a written defense submitted to court on 21st July 2011 by its lawyers AYIGIHUGU & CO. ADVOCATES, the Union referred to the compensation claim by Gerald Kiiza as “very strange.” “The defendant (UTCU) paid all his medical claims during the course of his employment after clearance with its clinic,” the statement reads in part.

The Union also denies the rest of the charges and insists they met their end of obligations to the complainants. “The defendant denies that the plaintiffs have suffered any inconvenience or been subjected to untold suffering. No notice of intention to sue was served. The defendant prays that the suit be dismissed with costs,” UCTU argued in its final defense statement.

In their concluding statement, the complainants, on the other hand,

asked court to, in addition to the costs of the legal fees “and any other relief that court deems fit and just,” award them special damages and general damages to the tune of Shs.131 million.

When contacted for comment, UCTU’s lawyer Denis Kwizera declined, saying the case is coming to an end and that they would wait for the ruling in December.

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Pader, Uganda: In 2002, as the LRA insurgency raged on in Northern Uganda, 6 women decided to come together to form a self-help group, as a way of coping with the dire conditions at the time. The women – Abalo Okello Leonora, Florence Komakech, Suzan Anyango Owile, Rose Latoo Lamwaka, Margret Lalam, and Eromina Odong, then involved in shear-nut harvesting, formed among themselves the Shear Butter and Agro-processing Women’s Group, determined to add value to their trade.

Shear butter is rich in vitamin A, E, and F, and can be of medicinal value to people suffering from ulcers. It can also be used as cooking oil and smearing jerry for both children and adults. It is these products that the 6 women hoped to produce, and tap into the local demand for Moya, a delicacy in Acholi.

There was one problem though: They were still enclosed in t h e Internally Displaced People’s Camps (IDPs), and could not go to the bushes on their own to access shear-nut trees. “We had to rely on the UPDF for security as we went out to access the shear-nut trees,” one of the women told me.

The group survived the LRA insurgency and has now grown to incorporate 1000 women as members. The group chairperson, Ms. Abalo Okello attributes the success of the group to the necessity of its mission. “We formed the group to support each other to be able to provide for our families. And since many women had become breadwinners of their families after the death of their husbands in the war, this group was helping them to cope,” she said.

In 2017, the group was boosted with Shs. 9.7 million under the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP) and Abalo says it was a game-changer: “At the time UWEP came in, we were struggling to keep the initiative going but as we talk now, we have been able to have better machines. Although they(machines) are still manual, they’ve given us a big push,’’ she says.

Production Process

The seeds fall by themselves to the ground and are collected in baskets and taken for processing. The Women then use the manual machines to get the oils out of the shear-nuts. On a monthly basis, they make between 10-20 jerry cans of well-processed Shear Oils.

The containers of shear oils are then packed and sold to the local market, especially the smearing oil. The prices range from Shs. 2,000- Shs.15, 000 per container, while a 20 litter jerry can go for Shs.400, 000. In a month, Abalo says, the group can sell between 5-6 jerry cans of the shear oils.

One of the beneficiaries, Ajulian Ayaa, says that a more productive group has led to the stabilization of homes, because women are also able to bring something to the table: “For many women, their lives have changed, and in homes, you find that violence is no more because what a man in the house cannot provide, a woman can have it in place,” she says.

Ayaa says they have now become agents of development in the district, reaching out to other women to embrace government programs aimed at uplifting women financially.

The group has so far been able to pay back Shs.1.7million of their loan, and hope to have completed its full repayment by the end of this year to be able to qualify for another loan.

Now, Abalo says, the group intends to register as a cooperative, to be able to have their products consumed outside Uganda too. In the meantime, they plan to open outlets in each district to expand their market.

Challenges

The Focal Person UWEP Pader District, David Oketch, says that although the women are progressively becoming self-reliant, the group still needs the support in terms of getting better machines to extract oil out of the shear-nuts. “What they have(machines) are manual and as they get older, some member cannot manage to operate them for long,” he said.

He also pointed out the insufficient exposure of the group, arguing that they could learn more from interaction with other business enterprises elsewhere.

The women also have trouble accessing markets. Transporting raw materials to the processing plant and finished products to the market is difficult, especially when they get orders from other parts of the country.

The biggest worry for them though is the challenge of deforestation. As Pader and the neighboring districts’ urban centers expand, the locals are encroaching on existing vegetation, cutting down trees, and the shear-nut trees have been no exception.

In response, Abalo says, the women are coming up with an initiative to protect these trees. “These trees are very important not just for our business, but also for our health. since the products are also medicinal,’’ she added.

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