Category: Daily Monitor

The 2025/26 Finance Trust Bank (FTB) Fufa Women Super League (FWSL) returns Fridday with a titanic clash between hosts Kawempe Muslim and defending champions Kampala Queens (KQ).

No matter how that match went, both sides are expected to challenge for the title this season.

Kampala Queens need goals

KQ come up against history as no side has defended the topflight league since it rebranded to the FWSL in 2021. However, they have won it twice since, thereby making them the most successive side post Covid-19.

Despite their turbulence in the coaching department over the years, KQ barely lost matches. You have to go back to 2021 to find a side – apart from Kawempe – that has beaten them in the league. But concerns remain on where goals will come from this season. Last season they scored 34 goals in 22 games and half of those came from Fufa Women Player of the Year Zaina Nandede and their former captain Shamirah Nalugya – who have both since sought greener pastures abroad.

But even with them, KQ drew in seven matches and won by just a goal in three matches. The coaches have expressed concerns over the lack of goals too as that became apparent in their attempts to take a domestic double as then second tier side St. Noa Girls Zana eliminated them plus the fact that they did not win a match in their last three FWSL games.

It was further highlighted at the Caf Women’s Champions League Cecafa Qualifiers, where they failed to score in three of their four games and could only beat also-rans Denden from Eritrea – albeit emphatically 7-0.

This time KQ has the stability in the dugout but will that be enough to propel the players?

Kawempe must click quickly

Meanwhile, Kawempe scored more than one goal in just eight of their 22 games. The lack of firepower after Hadijah Nandago and Phionah Nabulime’s transfers out of the country cost them a title defence and the Fufa Women Cup which they lost 1-0 to Amus College.

In the second half of last season, Kawempe added Jovia Nakagolo from Uganda Christian University and her power runs gave the attack a new dimension. But she is far from lethal.

That is why the addition of Latifah Nakasi, who scored 25 goals in the last three seasons, from Uganda Martyrs High School (UMHS) has been highly welcomed. But she will need to hit the ground running and take some goal scoring burden off Agnes Nabukenya, who balanced midfield roles and scored 12 – eight more than any other players – of Kawempe’s 30 goals last season.

The never-healing injury of Shakirah Nyinagahirwa means that Asia Nakibuuka, who returned from KQ as a defender, could have a forward role akin to one she played during her formative years at Kawempe. Jolly Kobusinge left for KQ and her left back position could be competed for by both new signing Aminah Nakato and Claire Kebirungi.

Lady Doves itching

Kawempe and KQ are outright favourites but questions linger on who will challenge them for the title.

Lady Doves team manager Godfrey Nsingwire said they ‘feel ready to challenge for the championship’ after finishing 4th in the 2023/24 season and third – just nine points behind KQ – last season.

‘We have also not lost any players apart from Diana Nantongo (who was not on the periphery in the squad). And we have added four; Patricia Aturinda from She Geme, Florence Asiimwe from Taggy, and then two from Wakiso Hill in Justine Birabwa and Teopista Apino,’ Nsingwire shared.

Ivan Ntambi has replaced Fred Alinaitwe as coach since the latter does not have the minimum Caf B license. The club is also confident that Dorcus Kwikiriza’s return from a long term injury will take the goalscoring burden of Resty Kobusobozi, who was top scorer last season with 17 goals.

Amus could double down

Amus had an excellent first season in the topflight last season. They finished 4th and also won the Fufa Women Cup.

Their players are constantly called up to the national teams – both senior and youth – and coach Frank ‘Video’ Anyau has all reasons to believe that Amus can challenge for the title.

Makerere University want more

At the multi-club press conference held at FTB offices on Lumumba Avenue on Wednesday ahead of the new season, Makerere University coach Fred Ndawula said ‘anyone who tells you they are not challenging for the title at the start of the season must be mad.’

‘However, things happen along the way and goals change. This season, we want to challenge ourselves and be more consistent,’ he added.

Unfortunately for Makerere, who were proper mid-table with 21 points off the top and 10 behind Amus, their star player last season Zaina Namuleme left for Kenya Police Bullets at the end of the season,

‘She was with us for just a season but even before that, we were a competitive side. She was also good because the team was playing as a unit and coaches make players. We shall make other players,’ Ndawula said.

She Corporate refresh

A host of players bid their farewell at the end of the season and were followed out of the door by coach Mustafa Kayinda and his entire technical staff at the start of August.

The new season presents a new look She Corporate under the guidance of Burundian coach Belyse Ininahazwe. Former Olila High School coach Saddam Pande has returned after a quiet one year sabbatical as an assistant coach forming a good coaching unit.

However, after leaving Makerere University Business School (Mubs) Nakawa last season, the club continues to search for belonging.

Part of last season was played at the Kyabazinga Stadium Bugembe and the club informed its fans that Fufa Technical Centre, Njeru will be their home for the new campaign. It remains to be seen whether this refreshed look will return the 2022 vibe to She Corporate.

Life beyond Nakasi for UMHS

UMHS are admittedly one of the core sides of the FWSL but they have perhaps lost a key player too many over the last three seasons.

The annual KQ raid has taken Catherine Nagadya, Shamusa Najjuma, Sumaya Nalumu, and now goalkeeper Sharon Kaidu. She Corporate has helped themselves with Daphine Nyayenga, Viola Namuddu, and Kevin Nakacwa over the years.

But Kawempe taking Nakasi is a huge blow. Former assistant coach Shafic Mutebi also quit and coach Edward Ssozi has replaced him with a trusted assistant in John Ssaka.

Ssaka insisted on Wednesday, without letting much out, that ‘the target is top three’. It is highly likely that Angel Auki Kigongo will be handed the keys to the team with Brenda Munyana as one of her main support casts.

Rines good if they avoid trouble

Last season Rines had a good run in the first half of the season accumulating 17 points to sit in 5th place. However, in the second half, they returned to type – getting just eight points more to finish 8th.

That was still their best points tally in three seasons. Previously, they had higher finishes in 6th and 5th but those had just 21 (2022/23) and 24 points (2023/24) respectively.

You get the feeling that for as long as he can guarantee safety, coach Taddeo Bright Nyanzi will be okay.

She Maroons taking it a game at a time

She Maroons assistant coach Abdi Mohammed said they will not limit themselves this season but will try to win every game.

‘Every game comes with its own challenges but we are not going to limit ourselves in terms of what the girls can achieve this season. The sky is the limit for us.

‘We want to entertain our fans so that they can look forward to watching the next game,’ Mohammed said.

Last season, She Maroons was undone by the inconsistency of their players in terms of appearances and what they produced on pitch when they were available.

Olila dealt Amangat blow

One player you trusted to defend the honour of Olila HS was Marrion Amangat. For all their troubles going forward, which left them winning just five games last season and surviving relegation by two points, she was the reason they survived through 10 draws.

They conceded 24 goals – six of which came from two walkovers to Lady Doves and Rines. And the only time they conceded more than twice in a match was in 3-0 away losses to Kawempe and KQ, plus a 2-1 home loss to Lady Doves. The other two losses ended 1-0 in favour of Amus and UMHS.

If they can defend with heart as they did last season, they might survive – but for now, they look like good candidates for the drop.

St. Noa expectations

Everyone has waited for years to see St. Noa in the topflight league. They have a great school project and have fed FWSL clubs with talent for so many years.

Their quarterfinal triumph over KQ in the Fufa Women Cup also enhanced their reputation big time. But they have also had players like striker Sylvia Kabene and goalkeeper Lillian Nakirya, whose youth national team exploits have endeared them to many and bought them star status.

Kabene has moved to Malta while Nakirya seems to continue to attract interest from many circles.

Even more interesting is that St. Noa have appointed former Cranes midfielder and captain Tonnie Mawejje as captain.

‘When he was at KQ as assistant coach, Mawejje took care of some friendlies and his brand of football was exciting. Now, we wait to see if he can implement it in his own team,’ one enthusiast said.

Asubo targets achievable

Swalleh Kamya has returned to theAsubo dugout after quitting towards the end of their promotional campaign in the second tier Fufa Women Elite League (FWEL) last season.

Former captain Desire Katisi Natooro has also moved on to Kenya Police Bullets and Kamya is already expressing concerns about it.

‘We need good replacements but then our club does not have a strong financial muscle as KQ or Kawempe. We have added Fatumah Nakasumba (from Wakiso Hill) but we would like more.

‘However, the targets (to stay in the league) from our bosses are achievable ,’ Kamya said.

FTBFWSL FIXTURES

Saturday 10amAsubo vs. She Maroons, Kampala Quality KisaasiShe Corporate vs. Uganda Martyrs, FTC NjeruAmus College vs. St. Noa, Kachumbala Sunday, 10amLady Doves vs. Olila HS, Katusabe MasindiMakerere University vs. Rines SS, Makerere

At the second National E-Mobility Expo, young technicians in overalls were putting the final touches on a passenger bus body.

The vehicle, designed, constructed, and assembled at the Kiira Motors Corporation (KMC) plant in Jinja, rolled out on September 18, 2025, marking the company’s 15th unit at the plant.

Inside the sprawling workshop, tucked between sugarcane fields in Kagogwa Village, Kakira Town Council in Jinja, it was a hive of activity.

Some technicians fitted metallic sheets onto frames; others fastened them with clips and screws.

The factory, officially opened last year, has so far produced 15 vehicles, which brings the total to 54 vehicles since Kiira was incorporated in 2018, 37 electric and 17 diesel, according to Kiira Motors Corporation public affairs manager Shaban Senyange.

For a plant that has attracted $120m (Shs415.2b) in government equity funding, 54 units in seven years is a drop in the ocean for a company that seeks to anchor the agenda of a country seeking to lead East Africa’s e-mobility drive.

Lofty targets, harsh reality

Kiira has promised 2,500 units in the midterm, scaling to 5,000 and eventually 10,000 annually by 2030.

But the promise remains stuck in neutral, hampered primarily by financing gaps.

Joseph Muvawala, Executive Director of the National Planning Authority, thinks government must step in with at least $140m (Shs484.4b) to move the project into commercial operations.

At current capacity, he argues, Kiira must raise production tenfold, at least 500 units annually, to achieve efficiency.

‘If Kiira does not give us 500 units, we are finished. Whoever is looking for money must know this,’ Muvawala says. At factory prices, with Kayoola EVS buses (35-90 seaters) priced at Shs200.7m to Shs311.4m, such volumes could bring in between Shs100.3b and Shs155.7b a year, stabilising Kiira’s revenues.

The current reality paints a picture of a company way below its targets. The Auditor General’s report for June 2024 shows Kiira targeted Shs197b in revenue but managed only Shs2.3b, just 1.2 percent of its goal.

This makes it difficult to operate an efficient cash flow without depending on government remittances.

Deeper challenges

Government has sweetened the environment with tax exemptions, a 10-year income tax holiday, relief on construction materials, and duty-free importation of EV inputs, but the environment remains tough.

On the whole, this has made the cost of owning and operating Kiira-produced electric buses more competitive.

However, the challenges go beyond manufacturing and cost. Auditor General Edward Akol, in a December 2024 report, flagged governance gaps.

Kiira is operating without a fully constituted board. Of the 11 members appointed in 2021, only two remain, the executive chairperson and the chief executive officer, leaving a critical oversight vacuum.

Henry Muguzi of the Alliance for Finance Monitoring says such challenges are common in state-run enterprises.

They actually cast doubt on Kiira’s ability to meet export commitments, including 3,000 buses for Nigeria and 100 for Tanzania, both of which have previously issued letters of intent.

What is at stake

The stakes are high. Electric vehicles offer over 78 percent energy savings and 46 percent lower maintenance costs compared to fuel-powered cars.

For Uganda, the macroeconomic benefits could be transformative: the country spends Shs7 trillion ($2b) annually on energy imports and Shs2.5 trillion ($730m) on vehicle imports.

If Kiira can overcome its governance and financing bottlenecks, its buses could power not just e-mobility but also economic independence.

If not, the dream of anchoring Uganda’s e-mobility revolution risks stalling before it leaves the garage.

Kabarole District

Kabarole District currently comprises a single county-Burahya-with a population of 230,368, according to the 2024 National Housing Census. Since 2010, it has remained a stronghold of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), consistently voting for the party.

In the 2021 presidential election, Mr Museveni secured a landslide victory in the district, garnering 49,491 votes (80.4 percent), while his closest rival, Mr Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine), received 9,830 votes (15.98 percent).

A major concern in Kabarole is the government’s failure to deliver on infrastructure pledges. The Fort Portal-Kijura-Kabende-Katooke road, an 81-kilometre stretch linking Kabarole to Kyenjojo District, was promised for tarmacking in 2013 but remains incomplete. Similarly, the Kasisi-Rwakenzi-Kyanga road, a 45-kilometre route intended to connect Kabarole to Rwimi in Bunyangabu District, was also pledged in 2013 and has yet to materialise.

Another unfulfilled commitment is the Kabarole Industrial Park, earmarked for Rwebita ZARDI in Rweganju Sub-County. Announced in 2018 under the Agri-Led Industrialisation Programme, the project aimed to boost economic growth and job creation, but no tangible progress has been made.

Cultural and political issues persist. In 2019, the government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with King Oyo of the Tooro Kingdom to return the kingdom’s assets. However, the process has stalled. During his 30th coronation anniversary, Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV urged the central government to prioritise the return of the kingdom’s properties.

Declining tea prices

Tea farming, the district’s economic backbone, has suffered a sharp decline in prices over the past three years. Many farmers have uprooted their plantations or abandoned their gardens due to inadequate government support. Mr Joshua Tusiime from Kiko Town Council expressed the frustration of many locals.

‘Many people, including eligible voters, are not happy with the government because their main source of income has been neglected. Some of us are not happy. I don’t see why we should vote again. This time, we need to vote for people who will listen to our problems as tea farmers,’ he said.

The issue has become a political flashpoint, raising doubts about whether NRM’s dominance will hold in 2026. On September 12, Agriculture Minister Frank Tumwebaze stated that President Museveni had met tea farmers in Bushenyi and directed Finance Minister Matia Kasaija to secure Shs312 billion to revamp the struggling industry.

Fort Portal City

Elevated from a municipality in 2020, Fort Portal City has a population of 137,549, according to the 2024 census. Historically, Fort Portal has strongly supported the NRM in both presidential and parliamentary elections. Long-serving MPs such as Alex Ruhunda, who has represented Central Division for three terms, exemplify this trend. All current legislators (2021-2026) subscribe to NRM.

In the 2021 presidential race, Mr Museveni received 25,753 votes, while Mr Kyagulanyi garnered 8,440. Despite NRM’s dominance, several unfulfilled pledges remain central to voter concerns.

Chief among them is Buhinga Stadium, promised in 2018 as a modern sports tourism facility. Six years later, the project is yet to begin. Other pressing issues include chronic underfunding of the city budget, the stalled City Administration Block-under construction since 2010-and the long-promised tarmacking of Kabudaire-Ssaak Road.

Bunyangabu District

Carved out of Kabarole in 2017, Bunyangabu District comprises one constituency-Bunyangabu County-and has remained a firm NRM stronghold for two decades. Its County MP seat has consistently been held by an NRM legislator. The 2024 census places the district’s population at 219,012. As an agricultural district, Bunyangabu faces persistent challenges with poor road networks, limiting market access for farmers. Additionally, frequent disasters in the hilly areas bordering Mt Rwenzori National Park-such as mudslides and landslides-have claimed lives and displaced households. These issues are expected to weigh heavily on voters’ minds in 2026.

Kamwenge District

Kamwenge District, with a population of 337,167, comprises two counties: Kibale and Kibale East. In the 2021 elections, both MPs-Mr Frank Tumwebaze (Kibale East) and Mr Abigaba Mirembe Cuthbert (Kibale)-were elected unopposed on the NRM ticket. They have again won NRM primaries and await nomination.

Since its creation from Kabarole 25 years ago, Kamwenge has remained a steadfast NRM stronghold. In 2021, Mr Museveni secured 85,241 votes out of 117,466 registered voters, while Mr Kyagulanyi received 3,969. A total of 91,749 voters participated.

District chairperson Joseph Karungi highlighted the long-standing presidential pledge to tarmac the 105-kilometer road connecting Kamwenge, Kyenjojo, and Kyegegwa. Work began in May 2025, covering Kihura-Bwizi-Rwamwanja-Kahunge (68km), Mpara-Bwizi (38km), and 20 kilometres of town roads. Progress on this project will likely influence voter sentiment in 2026.

Kitagwenda District

Carved out of Kamwenge in 2019, Kitagwenda District has a population of 184,947 and one constituency. Unlike neighbouring districts, Kitagwenda saw a tight race-Mr Museveni polled 4,417 votes, while Mr Kyagulanyi edged ahead with 4,488. Despite this, both the Kitagwenda County MP and Woman MP are from the NRM, and party primary winners-Robert Mugabe (Kitagwenda County) and Ms Nyakato Dorothy Nzibonera (Woman MP)-await nomination. The district’s most pressing issue is poor road infrastructure. Apart from the Kamwenge-Ibanda highway, Kitagwenda lacks any tarmacked roads. Residents say this isolation hampers development and market access for farmers, making it a likely campaign issue in 2026.

Kyenjojo District

Kyenjojo District comprises three constituencies: Mwenge North, Mwenge South, and Mwenge Central. All current MPs (2021-2026) are from the NRM, despite competition from NUP, FDC, and ANT in 2021. As the 2026 elections approach, key concerns include road infrastructure, youth employment, and agricultural support. The district’s agrarian nature makes these issues particularly salient. While NRM maintains a strong grip, opposition parties may leverage voter frustration over unfulfilled pledges.

NRM parliamentary candidates await nomination, alongside Opposition contenders. Notably, long-serving Mwenge Central MP Tom Butime will not seek re-election. His departure is expected to reshape the race, with Ms Doreen Nyanjura of the PFF party among those vying for the seat. Kyenjojo continues to grapple with unresolved issues. Residents cite land grabbing, poor infrastructure, and unfulfilled presidential pledges-especially the 2011 commitment to tarmac the 34-kilometer road linking Kyenjojo to Kamwenge via Kahunge Town Council.

There is nothing more beautiful than a teacher waking up with pride, walking into the classroom with a smile and hope. It is the image of true patriotism, a man or woman who carries in their hands the chalk that writes the destiny of an entire people, who holds in their voice the power to awaken hidden potential in young minds, and who daily performs the quiet miracle of transforming ignorance into knowledge. No teacher, at the beginning of their journey, ever dreams of mediocrity. No teacher chooses this calling with the intention of producing half-baked children or an entire class of failures. No teacher wakes up in the morning thinking of dodging duty, or of standing before their students with despair written on their faces.

Every true teacher longs for excellence, longs to see their pupils succeed, longs to be remembered as the bridge that carried a generation to greatness.

And then frustration comes. Slowly, steadily, cruelly. The same teacher who longed to serve with joy is stripped of dignity by a system that demands everything but offers nothing. The same teacher who desired to give their best is crushed by a government that treats their profession as a burden, not a blessing. Pride withers when the pockets remain empty, when the landlord knocks, when the children at home cry for school fees, when the nation looks the other way.

We demand miracles from them. We demand straight-A results, engineers, doctors, and leaders of tomorrow, yet we deny them the very tools that make miracles possible.

We measure them against the impossible while giving them nothing to stand on. It is hypocrisy of the highest order to rebuke a teacher for poor performance while never asking ourselves whether we have performed our own duty to support them. A teacher is not a machine that can run without fuel, nor a miracle-worker who can conjure success from thin air. A teacher is a human being, with a family to feed, with dignity to uphold, with personal dreams that deserve fulfilment.

And when the nation humiliates its teachers, when it forces them to work in misery, when it robs them of the pride that should be the foundation of their service, the teacher bends, and when the teacher bends, the entire nation collapses with him.

That is why it pains me to see ministers stand at podiums, wagging fingers at striking teachers, their voices swollen with threats and arrogance. Ordering teachers to return to work or face dismissal, yet they know very well that the conditions they have created cannot enable them to produce good results. And that is why their own children are not in public schools. If these schools were as good as they claim, their children would be there. But they know what they serve the nation is not fit for their own.

If public schools are so excellent, why are their own sons and daughters in international schools, elite private academies, or tucked away in foreign boarding institutions? If Uganda’s health system is ‘world-class,’ why do they fly abroad for treatment or book their families into private hospitals the moment a fever strikes? If they genuinely believed in what they force upon ordinary Ugandans, would they not gladly partake in it themselves? They know, deep down, that what they serve the rest of us is not edible, that it is poison.

If our ministers’ children were all enrolled in public schools, the debate about teachers’ salaries wouldn’t go on for decades. Would classrooms still be leaking, textbooks missing, desks broken? Would teachers still be the lowest paid professionals, begging for increments in strikes that never materialise? Of course not. If their own children depended on the pride, energy, and stability of public-school teachers, reforms would not be promises, they would be realities delivered yesterday.

The day we choose to pay them well, to honour them fully, to recognise them openly, will be the day we begin the true transformation of our society. For when a teacher teaches with pride, he plants courage, he builds vision, he shapes character, and he raises a generation capable of carrying this nation beyond its current struggles. But when a teacher teaches in misery, when he is reminded daily that his sacrifice means nothing, then the classroom becomes nothing more than a place of survival, and survival is never enough to build a nation.

Uganda’s State Minister for Primary Education, Dr Joyce Kaducu, has admitted that the country faces a major setback in girls’ education, with low transition rates from primary to secondary schools undermining years of government investment.

Speaking at a three-day conference on girls’ education in Kampala, Dr Kaducu said the problem persists despite the launch of Universal Primary Education in 1997, which boosted enrolment.

‘Whereas enrolment has increased to 52.5 percent following the introduction of UPE, and majority of our learners sit for Primary Leaving Examinations, the transition percent is quite low for the girls as compared to the boys,’ she said.

‘There is a very critical gap. Once a girl completes secondary education, they become empowered and better citizens in terms of motherhood and function, as opposed to a girl who has not completed,’ she added.

Current figures show that only about 21 percent of girls make it to secondary school compared to 23 percent of boys.

The conference, titled What Works in Girls’ Education, has drawn hundreds of educationists from October 1 to 3 to discuss challenges such as negative cultural norms, high costs, and sexual violence that often lead to teenage pregnancy.

Dr Kaducu also raised concern about the performance gap in science subjects. ‘Much as girls outnumber the boys at primary level, the boys perform better than the girls in science subjects and many other subjects. At UCE, there are fewer girls than boys. At UACE it actually reduced further,’ she noted.

She added that the gender imbalance was stark at university level. ‘In 2021, intake for core courses like Medicine and Surgery showed that in some universities like Gulu, no single girl was taken. At Soroti, only one or two girls were admitted. Only Makerere and Mbarara admitted a few girls.’

Mr Cleophus Mugenyi, Commissioner for Basic Education and acting Director for Basic and Secondary Education, stressed the national impact of the crisis. ‘When girls are educated, families are uplifted, communities prosper and nations advance. It is no surprise it has often been said, if you educate a woman, you educate the nation,’ he said.

Dr Mary Gorreti, Executive Director of Uwezo Uganda, echoed the concerns. ‘We are seeing more than ever before many girls entering education systems, but there are still very many factors that stop girls from enjoying the benefits of education. Child marriage, outdated teaching approaches, technology, financial challenges,’ she said.

Executives often hash out the same words to their reports , ‘let us create value.’ And it has become a standard language across the C-suite, value creation, and value propositions.

Everyone is looking for ways of creating more value for the consumer. It could be through better packaging, accessible pricing or even improving the product-service surrounding.

As a result, the customer or consumer is walking away with more value. And then organisations keep wondering – but we are creating all this value yet it’s not reflecting in both the top-line. In fact, it could be eroding the bottom-line as value creation often comes at a cost impact to the company.

What then is the challenge? Why is it that an organisation could create so much value yet not reap benefits of this endeavour? It comes down to the second thing – value capture. It is one thing to create value, it is another thing to capture it. Value creation is like energy generation, it is hard to capture every unit generated. It gets lost somewhere or somebody else captures it.

It then presents the famous two by two matrix, four-quadrant scenario. In the first quadrant are organisations that create low value, capture low value. No one wishes to be in this space. It’s the whisper before total annihilation. In the second quadrant are companies that create high value but capture low value.

So much so little

This is another miserable step. Because it means you are doing so much for so little. Then you have the third quadrant of creating low value but capture high value. It is the dream state, they are the kind of organisations that even sell their breadcrumbs, convert their waste into revenue. And finally, the ideal state of high value creation and high value capture.

One of the FMCG companies in Uganda pulled off the fourth state with one of their brands. They engaged in premiurisation, gave life to the label and the bottle.

Thereafter, they transitioned the new brand from a gin to a liqueur, and this meant a lower alcohol by volume (thus more savings). But because of this remiurisation (adding flavours to the original brand), they were able to sell it at a higher price and sell more volumes.

This was the ultimate signature example of high value creation, and high value capture. Such an endeavour requires a fully integrated innovation team. That is to say, an innovation team with an end-to-end approach around the product.

They can study the entire value chain of the product, create value at every line of the chain, and capture value at every stage of the chain. These are teams with a commercial outlook and financial sensitivity. You could call it strategic innovation that results in competitive advantage. It requires looking within what an organization already has and giving it a whole new approach. That could mean rethinking a process, rethinking a product, rethinking a structure. You could also think of when banks digitised and got many services on the phone. By creating value (convenience), they also captured it (more transactions volume, and thus more charging avenues).

The bottom line here is that organisations must take the conversation of value creation to its natural conclusion – value capture. It is no use creating value that will not be captured. There is no point throwing resources at immature markets, or markets that have not yet hit a critical mass that serves as a precursor to some innovations.

Sometimes, we call this high value creation, low value capture as organisations that were so ahead of themselves. They gave consumers more than what they could pay for at the moment. It is comparable to a technology startup releasing more features than what a user currently requires, rather than saving those features for later releases. Think of it as avoiding over-engineering or gold-plating.

The trap

Most organisations are caught up in the trap of gold-plating and over-engineering. Take the example of restaurants on an online food delivery platform. It is a beautiful thing to have branded paper bags. But does it translate to repeated purchases? Is it worth the cost to currently brand one’s packaging bags? Or would that effort rather translate into improving the quality and taste of the food which will enable one to command higher prices and lead to repeat purchases. The branded paper bag is high value creation, low value capture. The better food is high value creation, high value capture.

Again, it is back to what really matters to a consumer in each industry, as they make a purchase decision. For the food industry, one cares that their food arrives in one piece, it arrives hot and fresh, and it arrives tasty. All else is gold-plating. And the consumer won’t pay for that gold, but it will reflect on the operational cost-line of the organization.

As executives drive conversations in the C-suite, it is also time they drive the conversation of value creation is a futile attempt if it is not followed by value capture. If you do not capture the value that you create, you will be just an example of a company that was ahead of its time but did not survive to see the future. And those examples are endless.

Preliminary budget estimates for the financial year 2026/27 indicate that government plans to reduce the budget to Shs69.3 trillion.

This will be 4.2 percent lower, or Shs3.04 trillion less of the Shs72.4 trillion 2025/26 financial year.

In his first Budget Circular in preparation of the 2026/27 Budget Framework Paper, Finance Permanent Secretary Ramathan Ggoobi said the reduction is part of a larger plan that seeks to phase out certain expenditures.

The Circular also indicates that government plans to increase domestically generated revenue to Shs40.1 trillion, up from Shs36.8 trillion.

Mr Ggoobi also indicated that government’s discretionary funding – net of arrears, interest payments, and domestic debt repayments for the 2026/27 financial year – will amount to Shs31 trillion, down from Shs32.5 trillion this financial year.

In the 2026/27 financial year, government also plans to reduce domestic borrowing by Shs2.42 trillion to Shs8.95 trillion from Shs11.38 trillion as a way of keeping public debt sustainable and reducing interest payments.

The Circular also notes that domestic debt refinancing is projected to drop to Shs9.68 trillion, down from Shs10 trillion, while budget financing will drop from Shs2 trillion to Shs330.9b.

External project financing is projected to reduce to Shs10 trillion, from Shs11.3 trillion.

Mr Ggoobi, however, noted that accounting officers are expected to align their budget plans with the tenfold growth strategy, noting that: ‘Public resources must only finance activities that create economic value and improve service to Ugandans.’

The 2026/27 Budget will be the second in which government is implementing the ten-fold growth strategy, which seeks to grow Uganda’s gross domestic product to $500b by 2040.

The Circular indicates that government will continue to prioritise agro-industrialisation, tourism development, mineral-based industrial development, including oil and gas, science, technology and innovation, including ICT and the creative industry, and human capital development, among others.

Under agro-industrialisation, focus will be placed on reversing low productivity in agriculture by commercialising farming, while under tourism development, emphasis will be on increasing tourist inflows, doubling average expenditure, and lengthening their stay.

The Circular also notes that under mineral-based industrial development, government will prioritise the completion of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline and build an overarching knowledge economy that will drive productivity and efficiency under science, technology, and innovation.

Government, Mr Ggoobi noted that under science, technology, and innovation, government will focus on the commercialisation of innovations by taking to the market products of Kiira Motors, Bio Pharma, Banana, and value-added coffee.

Government will also implement regulatory reforms to strengthen intellectual property rights, incentivise local manufacturing, and foster innovation-driven enterprises.

Government also plans to prioritise the completion of strategic roads and bridges, maintenance of core national roads, rehabilitation of the Metre Gauge Railway, and expedite the development of the Standard Gauge Railway, Bukasa port, and recapitalisation of Uganda Airlines.

The Supreme Court has granted an interim order staying execution of a Court of Appeal decision that struck out an appeal by businessman Patrick Bitature, his companies, and associates in their long-running loan dispute with South African investment firm, Vantage Mezzanine Fund II Partnership.

Justice Elizabeth Musoke, delivering the ruling, said the stay was necessary to preserve the status quo pending determination of the applicants’ substantive application for stay of execution.

‘This Court has powers, under Rule 2 (2) of the Rules of the Supreme Court, to make such an interim order to stay the status quo until the hearing and determination of the substantive application for stay of execution,’ Justice Musoke held on Friday.

The case stems from a December 11, 2014 agreement in which Vantage Mezzanine Fund II Partnership advanced $10 million to Simba Properties Investment Co Ltd, with Bitature and his companies Simba Telecom, Elgon Terrace Hotel, and Linda Properties as guarantors.

The lenders alleged default and initiated arbitration before the London International Chamber of Commerce.

On July 31, 2023, an arbitral tribunal issued a final award against Simba Properties, later supplemented with an addendum on 9 August 2023.

Vantage subsequently moved the Commercial Division of the High Court seeking recognition and enforcement of the award.

In November 2023, Justice Ocaya issued interim orders restraining Simba companies and their guarantors from altering ownership of mortgaged properties or shareholding, to secure Vantage’s interests.

Bitature and his associates filed a notice of appeal but Vantage challenged it. On August 22, 2025, Court of Appeal Justices Egonda-Ntende, Luswata, and Nambayo struck out the appeal, ruling that the Arbitration and Conciliation Act did not allow such an appeal.

The applicants then petitioned the Supreme Court, seeking both leave to appeal and stays of execution.

Counsel for the applicants, Brain Moogi Brian, argued that they had filed a competent notice of appeal on August 28, 2025 and a substantive stay application, satisfying conditions for an interim stay.

Vantage, represented by Kirunda and Co. Advocates, opposed the application, claiming the notice of appeal was defective and that there was no imminent threat of execution.

Justice Musoke disagreed, finding that while there may be some formalistic defects in the notice of appeal, it nonetheless indicates that the applicants are interested in appealing the decision in Court of Appeal Civil Application No. 305 of 2025 and is therefore sufficient for the relevant purpose.

On execution, the judge observed that ‘it should be possible to draw a reasonable inference that every successful party has an interest in ensuring the immediate execution of the decree.’

‘I therefore find, on a balance of probabilities, that there is a likelihood of imminent execution,’ the judge added.

Ruling

The Supreme Court therefore issued the following orders:

An interim stay of execution of the Court of Appeal’s decision in Civil Application No. 305 of 2025 pending determination of the substantive stay application.

Costs of the application to abide the outcome of the substantive stay application.

Justice Musoke stressed that questions over the court’s jurisdiction and competence of the intended appeal would be decided later.

‘The main purpose of an interim order is preservation of the status quo to avoid rendering nugatory the determination of the substantive application for stay of execution and the appeal itself,’ she stated.

The ruling, delivered means Bitature and his companies retain a temporary reprieve from enforcement of the Court of Appeal decision as they pursue further remedies in the Supreme Court.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR), according to Investopedia.com is a self-regulating business model that helps a company be socially accountable to itself, its stakeholders, and the public.

By practising CSR, companies are aware of how they impact different aspects of society, including economic, social, and environmental ones.

Engaging in CSR also means a company operates in ways that enhance society and the environment instead of contributing negatively to them.

Early this week, a selected group of students donated more than 1,000 units of blood in a two-day blood donation drive at Kitebi Secondary School.

The drive, organised by SICPA Uganda in partnership with Uganda Blood Transfusion Services and the school’s administration, was a gesture of solidarity for those in need of blood in Uganda. With a student population of approximately 4,000, the school offers a large pool of potential donors.

According to UBTS guidelines, eligible donors must be aged 17 years and above. This makes students in Senior Three through Senior Six the primary target group for the drive. In addition, the campaign is rallying teachers, SICPA staff and the wider community to step forward and save lives.

For students, the experience was both patriotic and life-changing. Milly Harriet Namata, the school’s Prime Minister, speaking during the first phase of the drive, praised her peers for their courage.

She said, ‘It is not something simple and is a fear to many of the youth. However, those who come forward are not only heroes, but also patriotic,” Namata added.

‘I urge all students to dedicate themselves to this programme as a lifelong practice, because through it we are contributing to saving the lives of mothers, children and accident victims.’

However, according to William Mugisha, the principal blood donor officer at the UBTS, the issue of blood is a responsibility of everyone, whether an individual or an organisation, and donating blood should not be left to students alone.

He explained, ‘Let blood donation be a spiral in a way that it is everyone rising up and understanding that there are people who are needy and in need of blood.’

Mugisha added, ‘If we do it together, it becomes a renewed promise, because blood donation is continuous.’ It should be noted that as Uganda’s population continues to grow, even the need for blood also continues to rise. Upon this backdrop, Mugisha pointed out that while students’ contribution is commendable, relying on them alone is unsustainable.

He warned, ‘Students should not be like slaves or a burden even if they have the passion. Compared to the general population, their numbers are small and if students stopped donating, people would eventually lose out to the crisis.’

During blood drives, professionals conduct pre-donation counselling and rigorous screening to ensure that donors are safe and that only the safest blood is collected. Mugisha noted, ‘There is no pharmacy for life. Blood must come from healthy human beings between the ages of 17 and 60.’

In Uganda, the demand for blood goes far beyond what students alone can sustain. As such, hospitals across the country continue to face shortages, especially during emergencies such as road accidents, maternal complications, and surgeries.

Children suffering from severe malaria and patients battling cancer are also among the most vulnerable who depend on a steady supply of safe blood.

Experts warn that unless more adults embrace blood donation as a routine act of compassion, the health system risks being overwhelmed. However, Mugisha stresses, ‘When someone sees that people are committed to saving lives, they are assured of life tomorrow.’

Susan Kitariko, General Manager of SICPA Uganda, also noted that while blood cannot be manufactured or bought, it must come from people willing to give a part of themselves to others.

‘Every donor is a hero, and every drop counts,’ she said, adding that blood donation is a selfless act that directly saves lives, underscoring the need for communities and institutions to rally behind UBTS.

‘When communities come together, we can rise to meet the most pressing challenges that face us,’ she highlighted.

SICPA has been investing in community health initiatives, with Kitebi Secondary School standing out as a consistent contributor.

The school has now donated blood for the third time, contributing more than 10,000 units over the years. With a student population of over 4,300, Hajji Muhammed Kamulegeya, the team leader at Kitebi Secondary School, pledged continued support.

The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDA) Appeals Tribunal has raised concerns over persistent delays by accounting officers in making administrative review decisions on bidder complaints.

Speaking to the media during an engagement with officials from government ministries, departments, and agencies in Kampala on Friday, PPDA Registrar Mansour Atiku said such conduct violates the law and undermines confidence in Uganda’s procurement system.

“An accounting officer who receives a complaint is required to suspend the procurement process immediately and issue a written decision within 10 working days. However, many officers go beyond this stipulated time, frustrating bidders and casting doubt on the fairness of public contracting,” he said.

Atiku added that the authority has recorded repeated cases where accounting officers deliberately delay, mishandle, or completely ignore complaints raised by aggrieved bidders.

“The law is very clear. Once a complaint is received, the procurement must issue a decision communicated within 10 days, and going beyond this period is not only unlawful but also weakens the credibility of our procurement processes,” he emphasised.

Such delays deny bidders timely redress, create room for corruption, and undermine the principles of transparency and accountability.

“Procurement is about fairness and safeguarding public funds. When complaints are mishandled, service providers lose trust in the system, and the quality of competition suffers,” Atiku noted.

The PPDA Act requires that, upon request, a bidder who lodges a complaint must receive a report from the procuring entity detailing the reasons for rejection and the stage at which rejection occurred. Paul Kalumba, a member of the tribunal, warned that PPDA will not hesitate to sanction officers who fail to comply with the law. “Accountability starts with the accounting officer, and there will be consequences for negligence and non-compliance will attract personal liability,” he said.

Kalumba also urged officers to guide bidders properly on how to file complaints, including the payment of prescribed administrative review fees, instead of using technicalities to frustrate them.

Common complaints

PPDA data shows that bidders regularly raise grievances about irregularities in how procuring entities handle administrative reviews. These practices, Kalumba said, are damaging not only to bidders but also to the government’s bid to deliver services through credible contractors.

“The tendency to sabotage bid submissions, delay decisions, or cancel processes midway erodes trust. We urge all accounting officers to respect the timelines and procedures provided by law,” he emphasised.