May 2012

May 31

We are now in Southern Africa interviewing Leading Ladies is Politics, Philanthropy, Business and Education. We want to thank the wonderful Leading Ladies in East Africa who shared their insight, knowledge, determination and spirit with us – and in many cased your hospitality.

We had many highlights including interviewing  Bience [...]

May 31

We are now in Southern Africa interviewing Leading Ladies is Politics, Philanthropy, Business and Education. We want to thank the wonderful Leading Ladies in East Africa who shared their insight, knowledge, determination and spirit with us – and in many cased your hospitality. We had many highlights including interviewing  Bience Gawanas – Exchange launched November [...]

May 31

Wisdom Exchange tv has gone Alpha

by Wisdom Exchange

Filed in: News/Updates

Now it is easier to find your favourite Leading Lady! All you need to do is visit under the “Guest” tab and you can search Alphabetical, Recent Guests, Featured Guests, or  Upcoming Guests. Also under “Topic” tab you can find a list of Leading Ladies in your area of interest. We will be making a [...]

May 30

Our client an international NGO wishes to attract a person of high caliber for the position of Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant

May 30

Uganda’s Golden Jubilee

For 49 years, it’s been known that in October, 2012, Uganda would celebrate her 50th Independence Day Anniversary – yet year 50 is here but there is no indication that there is anything to commemorate!  There is “The Uganda Jubilee Handbook 2012”, courtesy of Uganda Jubilee Network, a consortium of Faith organizations. (The) Daily Monitor and New Vision have each reserved a weekly column to mark the jubilee, the NGO Forum are planning something low-key, known to very few and some other organizations are individually planning things, but where is the official Govt of Uganda plan?

There is likely to be uncoordinated flurry of activities without a common theme, leading to triplication of costs, but leaving no mark of the occasion. What happened to old-fashioned, coordinated, long-term planning? I would not be surprised if, to some people, the “obvious” theme is “consolidating the achievements of NRM” all dressed up in yellow!!

Remember the respective 1977 and 1978 Church of Uganda and Catholic Church Centenary celebrations? They were launched in the January of the respective years, at the village church level, with a national theme that run horizontally through all churches and vertically through the Churches hierarchy, building upward momentum through the village, parish, archdeaconry, diocese, reaching crescendo at the Archdioceses, with celebrations that lasted the whole month of December with different activities each day.

As part of the centenary commemoration, each level of the church hierarchy was required to perform a modest development activity such as renovation of the church or acquisition of a musical facility for the church.

Construction of the (“defunct”!) Church of Uganda Centenary House on Kampala Road was inaugurated in 1977 as the major activity to celebrate 100 years of the Anglican Church in Uganda.

Themed songs and poems were composed. Themed music, dance and drama festivals and competitions were held in schools, churches, youth and women groups. Thematic clothes were worn – almost everybody was drawn into the “Centenary” mood because of activities that were visibly, audibly and psychologically coordinated.  Is it possible that 35 years later, in the global village of internet, professional consultancy and advisory services, Ugandans can’t do better than in those “..dark days of Amin”?  

I suggest that while it is too late, it must be done. The appropriate Ministry should commission (obviously they are incapable of putting together) a program that should begin with each household required to do something for themselves, e.g. plant a tree in their homestead, paint their house or formalize their marriage. This should lead to Village Councils initiating a community project and express, in writing, their consensus view on the good and ugly in their village, during the past 50 years. Seminars should be held parishes, sub counties and districts, on a given topic, conclusions of which should be compiled in a “Golden Jubilee Book of unedited views of Ugandans of the fifty years of independence – the past, present and future”. Views of the young, youthful, middle aged and old should be captured separately. Songs, poems and drama shows on a national theme should be encouraged and construction of a National Asset, such as Mulago Hospital should be seriously considered.  Through such activities, true feelings of Ugandans will be manifested.

Now that we are late, planning for the celebration should begin immediately, and 9 October 2012 should be used to launch a year-long program of Jubilee activities that should end on 9 October, 2013 – with the official opening of the National Asset.

Beti Olive Kamya – Turwomwe (0783 438 201)

President

Uganda Federal Alliance (UFA)

{ 0 comments }

May 30

Public discontent in Uganda is no longer a matter of speculation, but reality, to which several political players have responded differently: – (i) Parliament has attempted the legislative channel to block oil contracts and State House budget, censure Ministers and the Governor of Bank of Uganda, impeach the president, and now, restore terms’ limit, yet, one year in office, they have nothing to write home about. (ii) A4C have been walking for over a year to overthrow Museveni, and still walking. (iii) The Clergy  have sought the pulpit, but may need a miracle as well (iv) Owekitiibwa Muliika and Bishop Nyiringiye are traversing the country,  agitating against the status quo (v) Some Opposition Parties convey their frustration through press briefings  and (vi) Uganda Federal Alliance (UFA) is working on referenda to change the governance system and to restore terms’ limit. In the olden days of “Snow-White and the Ugly Queen” Fairy-Tale, the question would be asked “So Who Is The Fairest Of Them All?”

I love the referenda route because not only is it rooted in the constitution through Article 255 which provides for “citizens’ right to demand referenda ON ANY ISSUE”, it is also “SMART”- as in Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound, attributes globally acclaimed as basic tenets of a viable project. 

UFA’s “referendum project” is Specific, it specifically seeks to replace unitary with federalism and to restore terms’ limit. It is Measurable because we need to collect 10% signatures of registered voters from 1/3 of total districts in Uganda (i.e. 37 districts) and present them as petitioners to the EC, upon which the EC MUST organize a referendum. Collecting petitioners’ signatures from just 37 districts, moreover, where one can pick districts with the least voter population makes the referendum option Achievable. If it took me two weeks to collect signatures from 113 districts to support my nomination as Presidential candidate, operating in just 37 districts is Realistic. Once the petition for a referendum is submitted to the Electoral Commission; the law specifies Timelines for each successive activity during the referendum process, within which the Electoral Commission must operate or else suffer dire constitutional repercussions.

Once the petition is delivered to the EC, the EC must verify the petitioners’ signatures within two weeks then issue a Certificate of Compliance, after which the EC has one month to declare the referendum date. The EC then has one month to cause the framing of the Referendum Question to the satisfaction of the referendum promoter(s), after which, the EC has two months of voter education, and one month to display of the Voter Register. The referendum must then be held and results declared immediately. According to Article 255(3) “the referendum results are binding on all organs and agencies of the State, and on all persons and organizations in Uganda….” – in short, once we submit the required signatures of petitioners to the Electoral Commission, the referendum process is regulated by the Referendum ACT like clockwork, or else the EC faces the wrath of the constitution.

The referendum option is free of Party Caucuses, Cabinet or Parliamentary Rules and Procedure, it is The Peoples’ Process! It has a clear beginning with specified activities, milestones, timelines, destination and output, not to mention the opportunity to traverse the country, at State expense, sensitizing Ugandans about the benefits of power devolution and term limits, plus, political party bosses cannot order the public what not to discuss. With the referendum option, Ugandans need not lose their limbs, lives and property, fighting police. They can just sit home, listen to “Yes” and “No” debates on radio and wait to vote. Yes, there will be challenges in the referendum process as there are elsewhere, but, it provides the most conclusive, safest and clearest sequence of activities to deal with the current impasse.

Beti Olive Kamya-Turwomwe

President

Uganda federal Alliance (UFA)

ufapresident@gmail.com

{ 0 comments }

May 30

June 12/12 Fashion designer and Founder, Muya Ethiopia P.L.C. A women who has created a hundreds of community jobs through export and innovation. Won first price for Millennium award for woman Exporters in the Handloom sub-sector. Words of Wisdom: We need to learn from the West. We have to work a lot. We don’t dream. We have to learn from West based on what we have.

May 30

slimcony on change Tanzania: Migongano baina ya wazanzibari na watanganyika hai…: Interraction baina ya wazanzibari na watanganyika haikuanza baada ya muungano mwaka 1964. Kwa mujibu ya wazee waliotutangulia, wanadai, hapo…

May 27

Recently I was honored to be part of a unique philanthropic action of Flaviana Matata when she donated 500 life vests to the government agency – Marine Services Limited in Mwanza. What struck me was that this young girl was taking a different approac…

May 23

May 29/12 CEO of Tanzania Gatsby Trust, nominee for the Africa Hunger Prize. In 1990, she was appointed by Pope John Paul II as a member of the Vatican Pontifical Council of the Laity and was recently appointed by the president of the United Republic of Tanzania as a trustee to the Presidential Trust Fund, her third appointment. A real leading lady!

May 22

Vacancies

by Gladys Ogallo

Filed in: Expert Perspective, GladysOgallo, Leaders

Tagged as: ,

Our client in the IT solutions industry are looking for confident, highly motivated and self-driven individuals for their Rwanda and Uganda offices to fill the positions of

May 18

Today I attended a meeting named: “The Promotion of Health Awareness in Tanzania through Media” organized by international media namely RFI, Deutsche Welle, VOA, PRB and Broadcasting Board of Governors. It was a well attended meeting and many…

May 17

It has been a while since I posted anything here but as they say “better late than never”So from today I promise more frequent updates and stop being boring. One of the reasons for the slow update is that I find Twitter and Facebook more gratifying bec…

May 16

Social Media Training Week at Computer Aid’s Africa Regional Office | 15/05/2012 The team at our Africa Regional Office in Nairobi have opened their doors to local partner organisations seeking to learn more about social media and how it can be used as a communication tool to improve business and organisational communication. Social media involves [...]

May 11

Every time I interview a women in East Africa for Wisdom Exchange TV, I often hear a comment that suggest this happens in Africa….”Women have all the responsibility,” “Women take care of the children, community, work,” “it is a challenge.” I will not suggest that women in East Africa don’t have some unique challenges, much [...]

May 10

Baba Ngenze ngibe mnene, umkhuleko wabaningi Kunamaculo amaningi abhalwe ngenhliziyo emnene Kunezifundiso eziningi ngaleligama lokuba mnene Sicelwa ukuba sibe mnene njengamajuba Iyini, injani, yenzani lenhliziyo emnene? Ungabe Inhliziyo ephayo, engabambi amagqubu, exolelayo enakekelayo, enoxolo nokuthula,ephayo, efisa okuhle njalo engacasuki, engaxabanisi, engananxa namuntu Ukupha abantulayo kuyisibusiso esingephikiswe Ukudla nolambile, ugqoke noswele kuwubuntu obuphindiwe Asifundiswanga ukupha, ukunikela [...]

May 09

Leah Ngini, Founder, @ St. Christophers School

 

When I started my business, Ignite Excellence Inc., nine years ago I was a woman with a vision, passion, determination and a helping hand.  Without all four of these foundations of influence I know I would not have had the confidence or [...]

May 07

May 15/12, Founder, Byogenic Beauty Spot, Pioneer in the Ethiopian beauty industry. Provided beauty education for approximately 700 Ethiopians to enter into the Ethiopian job market. Co-Founder of GMM Garment P.L.C Q What makes you feel beautiful on the inside and out?

May 04

For those in Kenya SUBJECT: WORKSHOP INVITATION Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), the regulatory agency for ICTs in Kenya will be leading the industry and other stakeholders in celebrating World Telecommunication and Information Society Day on 17th May 2012. This day is celebrated to mark the founding of the International Telecommunication Union and the institutionalisation [...]