Category: Daily Monitor

Medics want physical exercise made compulsory in schools, a move seeking to prevent the rising cases of obesity and heart complications resulting from the inability among learners.

They fear that Uganda could face an escalating burden of heart-related diseases if strict policies on playgrounds, sports facilities and healthier lifestyles are not enforced.

The call comes amid the growing burden of heart-related diseases, with at least 36 percent of learners across the country having obesity, data from the Uganda Heart Institute shows.

This is associated with soaring healthcare costs and a generation vulnerable to preventable chronic illness.

Dr John Omagino, the UHI Executive Director, asked the government to introduce a mandatory policy requiring all schools and public offices to provide spaces for physical exercise as part of efforts to reduce the growing burden of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in Uganda.

He urged the government to make it compulsory for any school to have a space for physical exercise before they are issued a license.

‘No one should be allowed to register a school without facilities for physical exercise,’ he said.

Dr John was addressing a team of delegates at the food and law training organised by the Centre for Food and Adequate Living Rights (CEFROHT) on Friday.

‘You find registered schools operating on a flat, in homes and residences… No, we must wake up; the country must change. We shouldn’t be born to leave by chance,’ he added.

He also tasked schools to ensure proper spacing of learners at school, noting that some schools pack up to 600 learners in a class, which puts them at risk of spreading diseases like a sore throat.

Dr Omagino stated that annually, Uganda receives about 1.6 million babies, of which about 8,000 babies require heart-related care, yet UHI has the capacity to handle at least 1,000 babies per year, which leaves a backlog.

Dr Charles Oyoo, Commissioner for NCD Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Health, urged Ugandans to prioritise preventive mechanisms like regular checkups, a balanced diet, and physical exercise for better health, hence protecting themselves from heart-related diseases and reducing financial burden.

‘The cost of treating cardiovascular diseases is far too high for our health system to manage alone. We must shift our focus toward prevention, specifically by prioritising the elimination of industrial trans-fatty acids,’ Dr Oyoo said.

According to the data from UHI, about 25 percent of cardiovascular disease cases are linked to physical inactivity and unhealthy diets, while alcohol consumption accounts for 20 percent, and stress and smoking contribute 15 percent.

Such conditions remain among the leading causes of death in Uganda, claiming more than 27,000 lives annually, with a mortality rate of 223 deaths per 100,000 people.

For two decades, Uganda’s oil has been a national promise perpetually deferred. When Hardman Resources struck the first commercial discovery well at Mputa in 2006, officials spoke of production by 2008. The deadline passed. New targets-2015, 2018, 2020, 2025- emerged and passed with equal discretion.

More than 200 wells have been drilled across the Tilenga and Kingfisher fields in Lake Albert’s western basin as of April, data from both projects’ documentation shows. The world’s longest heated pipeline, 1,443 kilometres of thermo-insulated steel running from Hoima in western Uganda to the port of Tanga on Tanzania’s Indian Ocean coast, is 84 percent complete, with 12,000 workers still on site.

Philippe Groueix, TotalEnergies’ general manager in Uganda, said last Wednesday that commissioning would begin before July. A couple of sources from the Energy ministry expect the first export cargo in October 2026. The timing, after 20 years of studied misfortune, turns out to be extraordinary. Not because Uganda planned it that way. It did not. But because on February 28, the United States and Israel launched an air war against Iran, and the world’s oil market was never quite the same again.

Each of Uganda’s missed production targets corresponded to a different species of bad timing. In 2008, the global financial crisis sent Brent crude from $144 (Shs244,800 approximate rate in 2008) to $32 (Shs54,400 approximate rate in 2008) in five months. In 2015, the American shale revolution flooded the market. Consequently, Brent fell below $30 (Shs102,510 approximate rate in 2016) in January 2016, its lowest since 2003. Western lenders, already cool on a pipeline through contested Albertine Graben territory, went colder still. Tullow Oil, one of the original partners, eventually sold its entire interest to TotalEnergies and exited Uganda entirely. In 2020, Covid arrived. West Texas Intermediate crude briefly went negative. Brent fell to $20 (Shs743,000 approximate rate in 2020).

Even the project’s signature achievement, its Final Investment Decision, signed in February 2022, arrived just weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine and Brent spiked to $139 (Shs512,910 approximate rate in 2022). That windfall did not reach Uganda; there was nothing yet to pump.

By late 2025, the market had softened again. Brent was trading below $60 (Shs224,101) per barrel. Had Uganda, by some miracle, achieved its 2025 target, it would have entered a buyers’ market at the worst price in a decade, attempting to sell a waxy, heavy crude that had already, in a 2018 test sale of a mere 45,211 barrels, failed to attract a credible buyer on its first attempt and took eighteen months to find one on its second.

Accident of geography

Then the Strait closed. The Strait of Hormuz is 34km wide at its narrowest point. Through it passed roughly 20 million barrels of oil per day, approximately 20 percent of global seaborne oil trade, primarily from Middle East producers to Asia. The International Energy Agency called its blockade ‘the greatest global energy security challenge in history.’ The World Bank called it the largest oil supply disruption in recorded history. Brent crude surpassed $100 (Shs373,000) a barrel on March 8; the first time in four years, rising to $126 (Shs471,000) at its peak.

Uganda’s pipeline terminates at Tanga, on the Indian Ocean-on the wrong side of the world from the blockade. It flows in precisely the opposite direction to the disrupted supply chains that Asian and European importers were scrambling to replace. A landlocked country with no navy, no coastline and no exposure to the Middle East conflict had accidentally built its entire export infrastructure around the one geography that the global supply shock had left untouched.

There is no other way to say this: Uganda got spectacularly lucky.

The crude nobody wanted

The luck runs deeper than geography. Uganda’s crude is low in sulphur-a quality refiners prize above almost all others, because it determines the cost and complexity of processing. It is also waxy and heavy, which historically attracted a discount. In 2018, Uganda’s test crude found no credible buyer on its first attempt and took 18 months to find one on its second. That crude, in the current market, looks entirely different. In 2024, an estimated 84 percent of crude oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz were destined for Asian markets. Those buyers are now urgently seeking alternatives. The defining characteristic they want is low sulphur, because clean-fuels regulations governing their domestic markets have grown progressively stricter.

Uganda’s crude is low in sulphur. It flows to a port with direct Indian Ocean access. Faith Musimenta, a senior petroleum economist at Uganda’s Petroleum Authority, noted earlier this year that Uganda’s oil prices would ultimately be set by international benchmarks, then ‘adjusted for transport costs and the quality of its crude.’ What she could not have fully anticipated, writing before February 28, was that the quality premium for low-sulphur crude would spike as alternative Middle Eastern supply disappeared, or that the $12.77 (Shs48,000) per barrel pipeline tariff to Tanga would look modest against a Brent price that had risen $50 (Shs187,000) in eight weeks.

The window and its walls

The crude nobody wanted in 2018 is precisely what Asia needs most now. None of this is permanent. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects Brent falling from a 2026 quarter two average of $115 (Shs429,000) per barrel to $88 (Shs330,000) by quarter four, then $76 (Shs284,000) in 2027. The World Bank sees it reverting to $70 (Shs261,000) once the most acute disruptions ease. Uganda’s first export cargo loads in October, as the Energy ministry projects. The crisis-price window and the revenue-arrival window do not perfectly overlap. Under the production sharing agreements, up to 70 percent of output in any period is first allocated to recovering costs, meaning Uganda’s share of profit oil only grows as those billions are repaid.

The Hoima refinery has not broken ground, so the country will export raw oil while importing refined diesel at elevated prices. Bank of Uganda Governor Michael Atingi-Ego told Parliament on April 29 that oil revenue ‘will not bail us out significantly, given the outflows associated with it.’ Those two moments are separated by months and, on current trajectories, by a moderating price environment. The government’s own projections place annual oil revenues at $1.5b (Shs5.6 trillion) to $2.5b (Shs9.3 trillion) at plateau. Independent modelling by the Natural Resource Governance Institute and Rystad Energy puts the figure at $1.9b (Shs7 trillion) under a slow energy transition, falling to $1b (Shs3.7 trillion) if the world moves at a moderate pace.

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis goes further, finding Uganda’s present value of future revenues falling 37 percent under a moderate transition and 53 percent under a full net-zero pathway, losses steeper than those facing foreign investors, because the production-sharing structure front-loads returns to TotalEnergies and CNOOC during the cost-recovery years, leaving Uganda more exposed as the window narrows. That window-2026 to 2032-may be the last period in which Uganda’s cost structure and crude quality command prices sufficient to make those projections credible.

Fortune’s geometry

There is a particular cruelty to good luck arriving late. The financial crisis, the shale revolution, the Covid collapse, the Western lender withdrawal each delayed a project that, had it proceeded on schedule, would have delivered oil into conditions ranging from difficult to disastrous. What arrived instead was the Strait of Hormuz crisis: the largest oil supply disruption in recorded history. The world’s oil ships were stuck. Uganda’s were not; its oil moves overland through a 1,443-km pipeline to Tanga, on the Indian Ocean, thousands of kilometres from the blockade.

Uganda spent $12.3b (Shs45.9 trillion) on wells, processing plants and that pipeline, and built, entirely by accident, a route that pointed away from the crisis.

Minister Nankabirwa announced a third petroleum exploration licensing round, covering new blocks in the Albertine Graben and frontier basins, beginning this July. But the details of what already exists are sobering. The Kasuruban block, Uganda’s largest at 1,285 sq km, awarded to the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) in 2023 as the state firm’s first independent upstream venture, has spent two years without a joint venture partner willing to share the cost of a single exploratory well. Both TotalEnergies and CNOOC declined.

The licence expires in March 2027. The partner has not been named. Uganda is simultaneously celebrating the oil it is about to produce and struggling to find anyone willing to share the risk of finding the oil that comes next.

Agoro Irrigation Scheme in Tumanun Village, Agoro Sub-County, Lamwo District sits on 1,650 acres on the eastern slope of Agoro Hills. Built in the 1950s to boost rice production, it is one of Uganda’s largest and oldest irrigation schemes.

Farmers were already irrigating nine acres between 1950 and 1970. The government later constructed canals to expand production to 100 acres. In 2011, the Ministry of Water and Environment invested Shs27 billion to rehabilitate the scheme through Dot Services, which built food stores, offices and staff quarters.

The goal was to put all nine blocks, covering over 1,600 acres, into full use to improve food security and large-scale production. The scheme draws water from River Okura, which originates on Agoro Hills. Farmers grow rice, maize, soybeans, cabbage, onions, tomatoes, okra and watermelon.

Between 2008 and 2009, Agoro outperformed Mubuku and Doho to become Uganda’s top rice producer. Today, only 33 per cent of the scheme is in use because of ongoing rehabilitation works to correct design defects.

The original design of the main and tertiary canals left more than half the farmland without water. In 2016, Gets Construction Company was hired for Shs1.1 billion to fix the problem. Eight years later, Vidas was contracted for Shs2.7 billion to continue the work.

Rehabilitation began in 2024 and is now 85 per cent complete, with completion expected by June 2026. The contractor is working on the reservoir bank, tertiary canals, concrete works for six take-off structures and hydraulics improvements. The work is limited to six of the nine blocks after some farmers resisted.

Charles Bwire, Senior Engineer at the Ministry of Water’s Water for Production Regional Centre North, said the remaining 15 per cent will be finished on schedule.

‘The contractor is left with only 15 per cent of the work, which will be completed by June 2026. Among the tasks left is the construction of the tertiary canals. And I am confident that works will be completed within the time schedule and the sites will be handed to the farmers,’ he said.

Farmers say the reality on the ground is different. ‘The engineer is stating that the project is nearing completion. However, only blocks sitting on the edge of the canals are the ones getting water. Blocks that are located further from the canals are not receiving water. I therefore asked that an assessment be done before the engineers leave the site,’ said Florence Angee, a farmer.

James Okot, chairperson of Agoro Self-Help Irrigation Company Limited, said the scheme performed better before government rehabilitation. The cooperative has 147 registered members and 26 farmer groups.

‘One of the clear signs that the project has failed, despite the fact that the government spent a lot of money, is the empty food store. Farmers have not been able to produce enough and store it in the food store. That shows that the project has failed the farmers,’ he said.

Production began dropping in 2016, shortly after Shs27 billion was spent to fix the water distribution problem, according to Okot. Some farmers suspect collusion between contractors and officials.

‘Why is nothing good coming out of the scheme, and yet a lot of money has been invested in it?’ asked George Onek, outgoing Agoro Sub-County Chairperson. ‘Productivity has gone down completely and yet money has been spent,’ he added, calling on government to investigate.

Two Mersey Ferguson tractors donated through NAADS have broken down due to poor maintenance. Lamwo Chief Administrative Officer Moses Kapolon questioned the low output despite over Shs30 billion spent.

‘The production is lower than even the ones experienced during the colonial time. There are a lot of cries over the productivity of the scheme. There is a need to ensure that the scheme becomes fully operational,’ Kapolon said.

Farmer Denis Ocan, who works 13 acres, said output has collapsed since rehabilitation began.

‘For instance, in 2010, we harvested 13 tons of rice. We had 260 farmers who are actively growing rice. But not anymore… When we tried to give our views on how to rehabilitate the scheme, we were dismissed as laymen,’ he said.

Lamwo District Secretary for Production Justine Odur wants President Museveni to intervene.

‘There is a challenge with the project. And I am very disappointed. This is a very big project, but it has failed the farmers. I think the President should visit it and see for himself,’ he said.

Lamwo Resident District Commissioner William Komakech said management problems within the farmers’ cooperative are also contributing to the challenges.

‘You are complaining, but you also need to organise yourself. There is a management crisis. There is no question about it. How can an askari chase a manager who is more educated than he?’ he asked.

State Minister for Northern Uganda Dr. Kenneth Omona, who visited the scheme on Friday, expressed disappointment with the quality of work and called for a value-for-money audit.

‘This is not right. This project should help our farmers grow. Help them to engage in productive activities so that they can contribute meaningfully to the economy. They can pay tax, and the country grows. We therefore need a comprehensive report so that it can guide us on the viability of the project,’ he said.

Dr. Omona assured farmers their concerns would be addressed so they can farm year-round with reliable water, instead of relying on rain.

Ugandan volleyball stars Catherine Ainembabazi and Sharon Amito have been named in the Uganda Lady Volleyball Cranes squad ahead of the CAVB Zone V African Nations Championship Qualifiers.

The two Rwandan based players are part of a squad of 22 players that was named by the Uganda Volleyball Federation on Friday.

Ainembabazi, who plays for Police Women’s Volleyball Club in Rwanda, was part of Uganda’s squad that featured in the CAVB Nations Championship held in Cameroon in 2023.

The receiver-attacker has impressed since switching from Ndejje Elites to Police in her first attempt at professional volleyball.

She helped the team win the league and multiple tournaments last season. And despite the team’s loss to Kepler in the semifinals this season, Ainembabazi’s performances have remained at a good level.

For Amito, a big money move from Police to APR last season did not go according to plan as her former side prevailed in the league finals.

But she remains arguably the best middle blocker in the Rwandan league and carries massive experience into the Cranes team.

The 28-year-old has been away from Uganda’s set up and missed the team’s last engagement in Cameroon.

Ainembabazi and Amito are joined by another Rwandan based player on the team. Former KCB-Nkumba receiver-attacker Hadijah Otin has also been summoned.

She plies her trade with East Africa University of Rwanda.

The team named is a blend of youth and experience. Seasoned campaigners like Joan Tushemereirwe, Jennifer Alungat and Moreen Mwamula are part of the squad.

There are several new kids on the block who will be fighting to make the final team for the first time.

Hadijah Acelun, Katreena Odermatt and Oliver Acan are the three setters selected by Protus Soita and his coaching team.

Soita also named up to six middle blockers in the team, with Alungat, Agnes Akanyo, Lydia Asimo, Jemima Lamaro, Lisa Nakitto and Amito all set to fight for places.

Scovia Alungat and Renata Kamahoro will compete for places with Tushemereirwe and Mwamula in the opposites department.

The receiver-attackers’ department has two of the most impressive talents of the domestic season -Ketty Aluka and Claire Najjuko.

The two will compete for places with VVC’s Norah Nakalembe, Otin and Ainembabazi.

Up to four liberos are in the provisional squad. KCCA pair of Varoline Aanyu and Noel Asekenyi will have competition in the form of Sport-S’ Shamirah Kalanzi and KCB-Nkumba’s Sumayyah Ndagire.

The team is expected to start preparations for the Zone V championship on Monday.

Lady Volleyball Cranes

Provisional squad

Setters: Hadijah Acelun, Katreena Odermatt, Oliver Acan

Middle blockers: Jennifer Alungat, Agnes Akanyo, Lydia Asimo, Jemmima Lamaro, Lisa Nakitto, Sharon Amito

Opposites: Scovia Alungat, Renata Kamahoro, Joan Tushemereirwe, Moreen Mwamula

Receiver-attackers: Ketty Aluka, Claire Najjuko, Catherine Ainembabazi, Hadijah Otin, Norah Nakalembe

Liberos: Noel Asekenyi, Varoline Asekenyi, Shamirah Kalanzi, Sumayyah Ndagire

The dough of these delicious vanilla cookies is easy to mix and they are perfect weekend treat for family and friends.

Ingredients (Yields 36)

480g (4 cups) all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon baking powder

A small pinch salt

227g (1 cup) salted butter/margarine

200g (1 cup) sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla essence

Method

1. Line two large baking trays with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk well so that the ingredients are well-incorporated.

2. Beat the butter/margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. If you are using a stand mixer, do this with the paddle attachment of the mixer, or use an electric hand mixer. You can also use a wooden spoon for mixing.

3. Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl, to obtain a uniform mixture. Add the vanilla essence and mix well.

4. Divide the dough into two pieces, shape each piece into a disc, and wrap each disc in parchment paper. Chill in the fridge for at least two hours or for up to two days (the dough will last up to three months, frozen).

5. After removing the dough from the fridge, wait for at least 15 minutes before rolling. Lightly flour your work surface, the top of the dough, and your rolling pin. Roll the dough to a ¼ inch thickness and preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5.

6. Cut out shapes of your choice using 2½ or three-inch cookie cutters. Re-roll the dough scraps that remain after cutting out the cookies and use them to make more cookies.

7. Place the cookies on the prepared baking trays and bake in a preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies turn pale golden, if you fancy cookies with slightly crisp edges that are tender in the middle. If you prefer drier, crisper cookies, however, bake them for slightly longer. Enjoy the cookies plain or decorate them with royal icing or any other icing of your choice.

In Ugandan history, May 12 is most significant as the traditional date for the presidential swearing-in ceremony, marking the commencement of new terms for President Museveni.

This May 12 will be no different. President-elect Museveni will be sworn in for his seventh term at the Kololo Independence Grounds.

One must ask, why does President Museveni insist on May 12 as the date for his swearing-in? Could it be superstition? As to the latter, Ronald Reagan’s presidential inauguration dates were set by the US 20th Amendment, which mandates January 20. However, the 40th president of the United States’ scheduling was believed to be heavily influenced by his wife Nancy’s belief in astrology.

In 1967, Reagan was sworn in as Governor of California at 12:10am. At the time, news reports suggested this unusual hour was chosen based on favourable astrological signs, though Reagan publicly attributed it to avoiding a conflict with a football game.

Following the 1981 assassination attempt, First Lady Nancy Reagan hired astrologer Joan Quigley to guide the president’s schedule. Quigley claimed she determined the “exact minute” for press conferences, speeches, and even the departures of Air Force One.

Binaisa falls

With this in mind, did the Bachwezi gods demand President-elect Museveni swear in on May 12? If so, probably only in the sense that they ‘may’ have, pun unintended. However, the truth might be a little more prosaic than that.

On May 12, 1980, Uganda’s president, Godfrey Binaisa, was removed from office by the Military Commission of the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF) following his attempt to sack Army Chief of Staff, Brig David Oyite-Ojok.

The Military Commission, led by Paulo Muwanga, with Yoweri Museveni as his deputy, seized power and placed Binaisa under house arrest. Binaisa’s 11-month presidency ended, leading to a period of military rule until the disputed December 1980 General Election. After which, candidate Museveni went to the bush and the rest, as they say, is history. But is it history?

May 12, at least in National Resistance Movement (NRM) folklore, represents the crossing of the Rubicon for the country. For it not only revealed, rather conclusively, the military’s chokehold on our politics. It also presaged the coming of an election and war that chronicles the NRM/A’s origin story.

Museveni as vice

In his April 1990 pamphlet, titled ‘Notes on Concealment of Genocide in Uganda,’ former prime minister and two-time president of Uganda, Apollo Obote, wrote thus: ‘During the rule of the Military Commission, there was no minister of Defence. The Commission, as a collegiate, handled all military matters. Thus Paulo Muwanga, David Oyite-Ojok, Zed Maruru and William Omaria curbed, with some difficulties, Museveni’s senseless killings. At the beginning of its rule, the Military Commission, with one dissenting voice-Museveni’s-pledged and committed itself to holding multi-party general elections within the period the Moshi Conference had appointed. The period appointed was ‘within 18 months after the total liberation of Uganda.’ Amin’s forces were defeated and driven out of Uganda on June 3, 1979.’

He further wrote thus: ‘It is a credit to the members of the Military Commission (minus Museveni) that they kept the pledge. In meetings of the Commission and of the interim Parliament, Museveni was vehemently opposed to elections. His pet point was that Uganda was in a revolution, and an election was not necessary. Museveni even went to Tanzania and Mozambique, where he appealed, in vain, to Presidents [Julius] Nyerere and Samora Machel to stop the elections.’

Of course, Obote’s view was coloured by his political suasion and not necessarily by political fact. However, there might be other pointers explaining Mr Museveni’s penchant for days past that preceded and followed the date of Binaisa’s fall.

Psychology matters

In psychology, the past influences the future through memory, habits, and ingrained beliefs, often shaping how individuals perceive, react to, and project onto new situations. Formative experiences (especially childhood) create scripts for future behaviours, affecting self-esteem, decision-making, and emotional reactions years later.

Experts say there are three ways the past shapes the future. First, there is episodic memory and simulation. Here, the brain uses memories of past experiences to construct, predict, and simulate future scenarios.

Second, there are cognitive biases and beliefs. Here, past failures or successes create filters (e.g., “I don’t matter”) that create self-limiting beliefs, dictating future opportunities and emotional health.

Last, there is projection and interpersonal dynamics. Here, unresolved past issues (e.g., childhood trauma) can lead to projecting old fear or distrust onto new, neutral, or trustworthy people.

With respect to projection and interpersonal dynamics, could Mr Museveni’s fear of a coup or military takeover have been projected on the date May 12 and thereby making him select it to this very date to see if history will repeat itself and thus expose his real or imagined enemies?

Mr Museveni’s involvement in the removal of president Binaisa, one might argue, carries the seeds of its own destruction. By removing Binaisa, Museveni and his co-conspirators proved that a president could be removed from office by force. Hence, this act alone possesses inherent flaws or contradictions that will inevitably lead to the NRM’s downfall.

Often attributed to thinkers like Mark Twain, the quote about an organisation carrying the seeds of its own destruction means that the causes of failure are built-in, frequently arising from excessive success or corruption.

An eye for history

In the 2025 book Slow Poison: Idi Amin, Yoweri Museveni, and the Making of the Ugandan State by Mahmood Mamdani, Mr Museveni reportedly employs another Mark Twain quote regarding his health in relation to deceased literary giants.

It goes: “Chaucer is dead, so is Milton, so is Shakespeare, and I’m not feeling so well myself.’ Mr Museveni reportedly replaced Chancer, Milton and Shakespeare with Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong to metaphorically highlight his own health.

This shows that Mr Museveni has a prime eye on history and what it purports. By this token, Mr Museveni could appreciate the significance of May 12 as either being symbolic of his own beginning or his own end.

Dates do indeed matter to Mr Museveni. According to statements from those present, including former Bush War fighter Winnie Byanyima, Kampala effectively fell to the National Resistance Army (NRA) led by Mr Museveni on January 25, 1986.

However, the NRM/A purposefully delayed the official declaration and celebration of the victory until January 26, 1986. This was done to avoid the negative symbolism of sharing the same date (January 25) with the 1971 coup in which Idi Amin took power.

Institutions of higher learning have been challenged to be flexible and prepare to embrace the competence-based curriculum that government rolled out to help equip learners with the relevant skills to survive even when they leave school.

In February 2020, Uganda implemented the Competence Based Curriculum (CBC) in lower secondary education, shifting from a primarily knowledge-based system to one that focuses on skills and competencies.

The universities and higher institutions of learning are expected to start admitting the pioneer students of the new curriculum beginning August this year.

During the capacity building workshop for higher education institutions from western Uganda on transitioning higher education curriculum to competence-based education training at Bishop Stuart University in Mbarara City on Friday, the stakeholders were prepared to take up the curriculum initiative believed to be a game changer in the education sector of the country.

‘This transition requires a shift from the rigid form of pumping knowledge into students to a flexible -engaging approach that focuses on practical and positive attitude. This journey that the government started is a game changer in the education sector. We do not want you to frustrate it,’ said Ms Caroline Kavuma, the registrar Uganda Institute for Teacher Education.

According to her, institutions of higher learning have for long been blamed by the job industry for giving them half-baked graduates.

‘We are producing graduates who are redundant, and with knowledge that cannot offer practical solutions to challenges the community faces. We are doing a disservice to the country and parents who struggle to educate their children. This is the opportunity to bring back public confidence, and be key drivers for the transformation of our country ,’ she added.

Bishop Stuart University Vice Chancellor, Professor John Mugisha, said the new curriculum requires a mindset shift of all players, including lecturers to critical thinking and offering real-life skills.

‘Beginning August this year, all universities and higher institutions of learning will be welcoming students who started the competence-based curriculum in secondary schools. We need to be prepared because higher institutions have for long been taken to be irrelevant for not offering practical skills. Let’s not be a point of blame on this new curriculum,’ Professor Mugisha said.

The principal Education officer at National Council for Higher education, also the head of standards, Recognition and Equalising Qualifications, Dr David Musimaami said they have developed standards to be adhered to by higher institutions to align their programmes and training to the new curriculum.

‘The ministry of education last year directed us to develop programmes that would see students admitted for 2026-2027 academic year. We did this and sent the approved standards to them and we hope not to encounter any challenges concerning this transformation,’ he said.

‘This is the curriculum that has been proved to be the best in helping us to be innovative, practical with employable skills that can also help us start our own jobs. If our institutions fail to implement it then secondary schools where it is being implemented will be better than us,” said Ms Asia Asiimwe, a student at Bishop Stuart University.

Leaders in Mpigi District have resolved to push for the elevation of Mpigi Town Council, Kammengo Sub-county, Buwama Town Council, and Buwama sub-county to municipality status, saying the move will improve service delivery, attract investment, and accelerate urban development.

The resolution was reached during a district council sitting on May 7, where councillors unanimously backed the proposal and tasked the district executive committee to begin consultations with the relevant government ministries.

According to local leaders, the proposed municipality would bring together rapidly growing urban and peri-urban areas with a combined population estimated at more than 120,000 people. Growth has been driven largely by expansion along the Kampala-Masaka highway corridor and increasing settlement from the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area.

Outgoing Mpigi District Chairperson Mr Martin Ssejjemba said the district has experienced significant population growth, expanding trade centres, and rising demand for social services, which justify the elevation.

‘We believe Mpigi has outgrown the standards of a town council. Elevating it to a municipality will increase funding opportunities and improve planning for infrastructure, health and education services,’ Mr. Ssejjemba said.

Outgoing District Speaker Mr. Ronald Ka Kibirige described the council resolution as a historic step aimed at transforming Mpigi into a modern urban centre capable of accommodating future population growth.

‘This is not about prestige, but service delivery. Our people need better roads, proper drainage systems and organised urban planning. Municipality status will help us achieve that,’ Mr. Kibirige said.

Mpigi District Planner Mr Charles Nsobya also supported the move, saying the proposed elevation aligns with the ongoing Greater Kampala Metropolitan development agenda.

‘Mpigi is increasingly becoming part of the Greater Kampala Metropolitan growth corridor. Municipality status will enable better physical planning, coordinated infrastructure development and improved access to government urban development programmes,’ Mr. Nsobya said.

Several councillors welcomed the proposal, arguing that Mpigi’s strategic location along the Kampala-Masaka highway places it in a favourable position to attract investors and government projects.

Mpigi Town Council councillor Mr. Musa Bukenya said the growing number of trading centres and residential settlements demonstrate the need for stronger urban management systems.

‘People are settling here every day because of the proximity to Kampala. We must prepare for that growth through proper planning,’ he said.

Buwama Town Council councillor Mr Steven Masajjage urged residents to support the initiative, saying municipality status would create employment opportunities, especially for the youth.

‘We expect improved markets, better garbage collection and more organised businesses once the area is elevated,’ he said.

Residents who spoke to the Monitor welcomed the proposal but urged leaders to ensure the intended benefits reach ordinary citizens.

Ms. Harriet Atuhaire, a restaurant owner in Mpigi Town Council, appealed to the government to fast-track the process, saying residents have waited for improved urban services for years.

‘We need better roads, drainage and sanitation systems. The town is growing fast, but services remain limited,’ she said.

Ms. Prossy Nanyunja, a trader in Buwama Town Council, said municipality status could improve sanitation and road maintenance.

‘We are tired of poor drainage and dusty roads. If becoming a municipality can solve these problems, then we fully support it,’ she said.

Boda boda rider Mr. John Ssekamatte of Musa Village, Kammengo Sub-county, cautioned leaders against introducing excessive taxes on small businesses after the elevation.

‘We want development, but leaders should avoid heavy taxes that affect low-income earners,’ he said.

Another resident, Ms. Mariam Nakato of Mpigi Town Council, said improved urban planning would help reduce congestion and attract more businesses.

Under Uganda’s Local Governments Act, an area seeking municipality status must meet requirements including a sizeable population, sufficient local revenue base, clear physical development plans, administrative infrastructure, and the capacity to provide urban services such as roads, waste management, and health facilities.

The process involves a council resolution, technical assessment by the district, consultations with the Ministry of Local Government, and approval by Cabinet and Parliament before the municipality can be officially gazetted.

Local leaders said the district technical team will now prepare the required documentation before forwarding the proposal to the Ministry of Local Government for consideration.

At sunrise, the city stretches awake-shops roll open, taxis honk into motion, and sidewalks begin to fill. Among the early risers are children. Not in uniforms, heading to school, but in worn-out clothes, clutching bottles, scraps, or nothing at all.

For them, the street is not a shortcut or a playground. It is home. Their journeys here are rarely simple. Behind every child on the pavement is a story that began somewhere else-often in a place that was meant to be safe. For 13-year-old Musa [name changed], the turning point came quietly. What began as occasional arguments at home slowly turned into a daily conflict. Food became scarce, and school became a luxury. One night, after a violent confrontation, he walked out and never returned.

Musa’s story is not unusual. Many children leave home not in rebellion but in response to conditions they can no longer endure-abuse, neglect, hunger, or loss. A great deal of them end up being caught in the crosshairs and drive crime in the country, either wittingly or unwittingly. The 2025 Annual Crime Report tallied 8,064 child-related offences. While this represented a 14.3 percent drop from the 9,408 cases registered in 2024, the general consensus is that there is work to be done. Musa’s case of child disappearing/missing is probably among the 2,092 cases reported in 2025. In 2024, there were 2,237 cases reported. The previous years in 2023 (2,208) and 2022 (2,530) also managed to breach the 2,000 mark.

In harm’s way

The 2005 Annual Crime Report noted year-on-year decreases in child-related crimes of child neglect (3,023 from 3,663); child disappearing/missing (2,092 from 2,237); child desertion (1,205 from 1,597); and child abuse/torture (710 from 787). Drops were also registered in child trafficking (555 from 597); child abduction/kidnap (118 from 159); and abortion (47 from 68). There were, however, marginal increases in child stealing (263 from 252) and infanticide (51 from 48).

‘North Kyoga registered the highest number of child-related offences in 2025, with 682 cases, followed by KMP North with 662, Wamala with 461, Elgon with 396 and KMP South with 371.

At the district/divisional level, Busia registered the highest number of child-related offences with 282, followed by Mityana with 273, Jinja with 219, Old Kampala Division with 212, and Hoima Central Division with 172,’ the 2025 Annual Crime Report discloses, while describing the distribution of the offences by region and district.

Street children contribute significantly to crime in Uganda through a toxic mix of survival-driven desperation, exploitation by adult criminal syndicates, and social marginalisation. The children end up on the streets through a number of ways.

There are those, like Musa, who choose to disappear. Some lose parents and find themselves passed between relatives who cannot afford another mouth to feed. Others are pushed out by step-parents or guardians struggling under economic strain. What remains is leaving home is rarely a choice made lightly.

In many households, poverty doesn’t arrive dramatically-it settles in slowly, tightening its grip over time, meals shrink, and school fees go unpaid. For some families, sending a child to the city feels like a desperate strategy rather than abandonment. The hope is simple: maybe the child will find work, earn money, and survive better than they could at home. The reality, however, waiting in the city or urban settings is usually far harsher than imagined.

Not what it seems

Cities are known to carry an image of opportunity. Yet without education, connections, or protection, the city quickly becomes overwhelming. What begins as a search for work often turns into days of wandering, nights without shelter, and the slow realisation that survival itself is a full-time struggle.

Some children start with small tasks-washing cars, carrying loads, collecting scrap. Others turn to begging. Over time, the line between temporary hardship and permanent street life begins to blur.

Ironically, many children who leave broken homes find a form of belonging on the streets. Groups form-small, informal ‘families’ bound not by blood, but by shared experience. The older children teach younger ones how to survive: where to find food, which areas are safer, how to avoid trouble. These street networks can expose children to drugs, petty crime, and exploitation. What begins as support can evolve into dependency on harmful coping mechanisms.

To the public, street children are often seen only passing-asking for money, darting through traffic, sleeping in corners. What remains unseen are the daily risks they face, hunger is constant, illness goes untreated, and violence – whether from peers, authorities, or strangers – is an ever-present threat. Girls, in particular, face heightened vulnerability to exploitation and abuse.

Cases of defilement registered in 2025 were 10,492, down from 12,312 the previous year. Aggravated defilement cases in 2025 totalled 3,473.

‘Out of these, 4,886 cases of defilement were taken to court, 713 secured convictions, 27 acquitted, 355 dismissed and 3,791 are still pending in court, 1,932 were not proceeded with, while 3,674 cases are still under inquiry. A total of 4,999 suspects of defilement were arrested and charged in court, out of whom 740 were convicted, 332 discharged, 27 acquitted, 3,900 are undergoing trial, and 332 were discharged,’ the 2025 Annual Crime Report reveals, adding that the victims of defilement constituted 10,328 female juveniles, 128 male juveniles and 37 female adults.

The beat goes on

As a result, many street children have learned to develop sharp survival instincts in order to navigate a world that offers them little protection. Experts say efforts to address street childhood often focus on removing children from the street, while well-intentioned, they overlook the deeper reasons children left home in the first place. If poverty, violence, or neglect remain unchanged, returning a child home can, the experts contend, feel like sending them back to the very conditions they escaped.

The cycle continues, not because children resist help, but because the help does not always reach the root of the problem. It is easy to speak of ‘rising number’ but numbers flatten reality.

‘Poverty and family disintegration are often overlooked,’ Mr Damon Wamala, head of the Uganda Child Rights NGO Network, tells Weekend Monitor.

Each child carries a story shaped by loss, survival, and difficult choices. Some dream of returning to school. Others hope to reunite with family under better circumstances. Their presence on the streets is not just a personal tragedy. It reflects, Mr Wamala opines, wider social fractures: economic inequality, gaps in child protection, and communities under strain.

‘Breaking the cycle of street childhood requires more than short-term solutions. It calls for a deeper, more sustained approach through strengthening families so children are not forced to leave, making education accessible and affordable and also providing safe shelters and long-term rehabilitation,’ he says.

‘Most importantly, it requires listening-to understand not just where these children are, but how they got there,’ he adds.

Sticky issue

Globally, the scale is staggering. Estimates suggest there are more than 150 million street-connected children worldwide, living and working in urban centres under harsh and often dangerous conditions.

Closer to home, Uganda has seen a steady rise. Reports estimate around 15,999 street children across major towns, with thousands concentrated in Kampala alone. In one survey, nearly 38 percent of street children cited poverty and hunger as the main cause.

‘These children don’t just come from Karamoja, as many may think; they are from different regions. Many flee abuse at home, only to be absorbed into street gangs. These gangs become their families, with traffickers taking the role of caregivers while exploiting them,’ Mr Wamala says.

The Elgon Police spokesperson, Mr Rogers Taitika, explains that the trend of increasing numbers of street children on various urban streets is mainly attributed to family breakdown.

Mr Shafiq Matanda, an official from the Gender ministry, under the Department of Child and Family Protection, challenges leaders at different levels to decisively address the rising crisis.

‘The number of children coming on the streets is becoming a serious concern, and this is attributed to a breakdown in families,’ he says.

While serving as one of the directors of the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), I was assigned a task by my fellow board members to prepare a case for a diaspora bond. This was in light of the many efforts the government was undertaking to mobilise revenue domestically, and my own interest in supporting domestic investment.

The latter ambition had resulted in the UIA dedicating a division to cater to Ugandan investors in a climate where public opinion suggested that focus had hitherto been skewed in favour of ‘foreign investors’ (this article is about my dismay at the disruption posed by the Sovereignty Bill to efforts to interest Ugandans abroad to invest at home, which we will get to shortly). One of the arguments to reinforce the foundation of the economy with local investors, especially in an open economy such as ours, is to ensure permanency in various projects.

Nightmare scenarios have occurred elsewhere when foreign capital exits in cases of war, economic disruption or major policy changes, leaving industrial ghost towns, empty factories and warehouses and economic crisis in its wake. Uganda has already been here. The expulsion of Asians in 1972 (Idi Amin argued that it was meant to return the economy to Ugandans) in fact faltered because economic segregation, as well as discrimination, had kept Ugandans away from ownership and management. The result was a massive shock to the economy.

Today, Uganda is playing it safer. Official policies promote the use of local raw materials and discourage, for example, raw mineral exports. These indigenisation policies attempt to retain as much value in the local economy as do import substitution policies. However, it still stands true that north of 80 percent of industrial real estate is foreign-owned, as is the financial architecture that supports industrialisation.

A judicious choice

Thus, one would think that a diaspora bond is a natural place to expand the scope of local participation in the economy, as it would directly funnel Ugandan savings abroad into projects at home. The idea itself had been on the books since at least 2012. Uganda has a large diaspora and has long featured prominently in Africa’s remittances story. The Central Bank and some donors had studied the potential of issuing a bond, a borrowing instrument in which Ugandans abroad would be encouraged to invest with a healthy interest, but with the underlying idea that they would be contributing to specific national projects.

The study concluded that this would actually work. Sure, the bond needed to be priced competitively. It also needed to be marketed heavily to a diaspora community that was already sceptical that the government would use the money wisely or pay back promptly what it borrowed. I held some fresh meetings with officials from the Bank of Uganda (BoU), Ministry of Finance and some commercial banks to revisit the original thinking and test my appetite for taking it forward. As with many good but complex undertakings, the interest tracked with young civil servants but flagged poorly institutionally.

The Central Bank already had a second-generation Stellar project for tokenised securities (Okusavinga) that would open up bonds and other securities for Ugandans both at home and in the diaspora by splitting the instruments into smaller quantities that can be purchased off one’s phone for as little as Shs10,000 or less. But this project too was struggling.

A costly setback

I am writing this now because, apropos the debate on the Sovereignty Bill, any new or ongoing effort to interest Ugandans abroad in modern bond/financial instruments have been set back 20 years. Diaspora bonds, by their nature, are deeds of trust dressed up as financial instruments. They signify the interest of a country’s citizens abroad in economic development and national goals at home. As sources of large-scale capital, they depend on a patriotic investor base.

A contemporary example is the gargantuan effort by the Ethiopian government to raise capital for the Grand Renaissance Dam ($1.6 billion (Shs6 trillion)). Now in operation, this giant project is a source of national pride in Ethiopia because most of the capital was from Ethiopian national institutions and contributions from ordinary citizens.

A considerable amount was from bond sales to Ethiopians living abroad. The Sovereignty Bill debate, by classifying Ugandans abroad as ‘foreigners’, obliterated this trust. While the offending provisions have since then been withdrawn, considerable damage has already been done. It will forever be seen as a failed Expropriation Bill that recalled the seizure of property on the basis of economic, political or social identity. This was the Indian story in 1972, and at the end of that decade, similar acts of seizure of property owned by northerners and other communities who were driven out with Amin. The rampage of Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) youth in western Uganda on houses and cows owned by Banyarwanda communities settled there also come to mind.

The use of the term ‘foreigner and agent of a foreigner’ has probably socially evolved more at home to do with domestic identity issues than with their use in the initial Bill as denoting actions of foreign governments within their modern meaning of influence operations by a foreign government. If one thinks of it carefully, these terms have been applied politically at home, and it is the NRA/M that passed a law criminalising such references as ‘promoting sectarianism.’

Moreover, a central message of President Museveni has been centred on the negative harvest of the politics of identity, which he often applies to core economic analysis. Here, he considers capital as blind. The Indian who buys my milk or the one who sells me his agricultural goods or medicine are bonded to me as relatives, is the thread, we are brothers and sisters so is the thinking.

Trust crisis unleashed

As the Bill made its rapid progress and faced backlash (especially on the economy), I reviewed the trust crisis it had unleashed. South Africa, the continent’s largest economy, was once again dealing with identity violence as angry mobs attacked ‘foreigners’, closed shops and beat up workers from other African countries. The Ugandan diaspora is also facing the unprecedented spike in anti-immigrant feelings in Europe and America. Thus, many are looking back home for safety and retirement. To this end, the Sovereignty Bill designation of foreigners was deeply wounding.

As for the diaspora bond, had it not been for the aforementioned, today’s conditions would have placed it in a high-priority category. The original study in 2012 was done when macroeconomic conditions were much bleaker. They are much better today. Economic growth forecast reports suggest a strong performance despite poor global conditions and a conflict in the Middle East, home to a large section of Ugandans who lead in their remittance figures. There is also a double bind embedded in those ill-fated provisions of the Sovereignty Bill.

While Uganda has a strong macro-economic base, the budget deficit is widening and fiscal space narrowing because of public debt (now at 52.4 percent). Increasingly, Uganda is borrowing heavily domestically to fill in some of the financing gaps. If relations with diaspora were better and trust a little higher, bond instruments targeting diaspora funds would be best launched now to ease some of the pressure from expensive domestic borrowing, which has now become routine through Treasury Bills and Bonds that the Central Bank issues.

A diaspora bond would have to overcome the nature of most remittances which tend to be small amounts intended for household use but such funds (as the BoU governor argued) are the fat that protect the vital economic organs of the country. While most funds are small, they are all together significant. BoU indicates that remittance inflows were approximately $2.5 billion (Shs9.3 trillion) in 2025, equivalent to around 3.8 percent of GDP, with more than 16 million transactions, an average transaction size of $152 (Shs569,647) and more than 93 percent of transfers below $499 (Shs1.8 million).

The United States accounted for $702 million (Shs2.6 trillion), or 28 percent of inflows, followed by Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom (UK), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Canada. Digital channels accounted for 73 percent of inflows, while mobile money represented nearly 61 percent of receipts. Designing an instrument to convert a portion of diaspora savings and investment appetite into a regulated development instrument will now be an uphill task. In short, to shift remittances from social spending to investment will require dealing with the social perceptions I referred to above. It will also require a renewed effort at building bridges with the Ugandan diaspora instead of burning them as the debate on this Bill has done.