Speaker of parliament Rt. Hon. Anita Among has ordered the Minister of Information, Communications, Technology, and National Guidance, Dr. Chris Baryomunsi to stop making excuses for not establishing the tribunal which she said has been pending for a long.

The speaker’s order followed Dr. Chris Baryomunsi’s attribution of the delay to create the Uganda Communications Tribunal to the recent Cabinet decision on the rationalization of agencies.

The speaker of Parliament Among emphasized the need for the tribunal in place.

“We need a tribunal. How sure are you that we are going to rationalize [government agencies]? We want a tribunal in UCC; we cannot do ad-hoc kind of operations,” Among said.

The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) Act makes provision for the creation of a tribunal that is supposed to handle complaints relating to the decisions of UCC as provided under Sections 60 and 64 of the Act.

“Work [to create a tribunal] was undertaken by my ministry but we are discussing it in the context of rationalization. The Executive is undertaking the rationalization exercise where agencies and departments are being reviewed and we couldn’t proceed to establish the tribunal. The cabinet cannot allow us to create new agencies,” Baryomunsi said. or enable JavaScript if it is disabled in your browser.

He said this during the Wednesday, 22 March 20223 plenary sitting where he tabled the Uganda Communications (Fees and Fines) (Amendment) Regulations, 2023.
The regulations provide for fees and fines to be paid by telecommunication and broadcasting companies for spectrum or frequency access in order to improve telecommunication services.

His response was prompted by the Leader of Opposition (LOP), Hon. Mathias Mpuuga who accused the minister of ‘sleeping on the job’ by failing to fulfill the provisions of the UCC Act in regard to the creation of the communications tribunal.

“We have raised severally in our alternative policies the question of the minister failing to appoint the UCC tribunal. The minister is now the tribunal; he is acting as the complainant, prosecutor, and judge at the same time. The Ministry [of ICT] is holding media houses at ransom with no recourse to this tribunal,” Mpuuga said.

The Speaker referred the Regulations to the Committee on ICT and National Guidance for scrutiny with a strong caution to UCC not to start collecting fees until Parliament approves the regulations.
Section 93 of the UCC Act, 2013 states that, ‘the minister may, after consultation with the Commission and with the approval of Parliament, by statutory instrument, make regulations for better carrying into effect the provisions of this Act’.

About 800 enterprises under the Lohana Indian global community are exploring business opportunities in Uganda.

The Lohana International Business forum, a four-day symposium that started on Sunday, March 19, 2023, has brought together over 700 delegates from 27 countries and 110 cities across the globe.

Morris Rwakakamba, the board chairman of Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) tells KFM that this is a grand opportunity for the country in terms of revenue because they project that once established, each of the 800 Lohana enterprises will create about 700 direct jobs for Ugandans among other gains.

He says the sectors targeted include; agriculture, mining, and the hospitality industry.

While addressing the group, President Yoweri Museveni boasted of Uganda’s peace, further urging them to invest more in the country.

“It will be very easy for you to invest in Uganda and be profitable. Uganda is a land of 3 Ps: Peaceful, Pleasant, and Profitable. That is your Uganda. You are welcome and you will have the best,” President Museveni said as he concluded addressing the Lohana International Business Forum.

Some of the already established businesses in Uganda under Lohana include; the Mehta Group, Ruparelia Group, and the Picfare Group among others.

The Lohana Indian Community has been in Uganda for over 150 years and according to UIA’s Rwakakamba, they have a global network of USD 40 billion.

The Prime Minister of Uganda Rt. Hon. Nabbanja Robinah flags off 50 tricycle village Ambulances donated by Rotary international.

The Premier who represented president Museveni at a function that took place at commonwealth resort hotel Munyonyo lauded Rotarians for offering voluntary services to the underprivileged in various service delivery and quality health care initiatives.

The President welcomes the idea of having a well-facilitated tricycle ambulance in every village in Uganda.

According to the district governor Rotarian Peace, the 50 tricycle ambulances will enhance the timely referral of mothers and newly born babies in hard-to-reach places. 

He says this is a pilot project targeting Wakiso, Kabarole, and Kabaale. It will be rolled out in the entire country depending on the availability of resources.

He adds that the tricycles will be registered under the Ministry of Health and will be situated at health center 111s where most maternal mortality cases are reported.