BUSONGORA BYE ELECTION
The past week saw voters of Busongora South go to polls to elect their member of parliament; a position which fell vacant last month after the court nullified the election results because they were marred by irregularities.
The same irregularities were repeated in this particular by elelction. Our candidate Aloysius Kighema Baguma, and many of our supporters were arrested by both the police and military who were largely seen manning the polling stations across the constituency, coupled by many instances of voter intimidation, bribery and coercion.
Conclusively, this was a military operation curtailing the voices of the people from being heard.
The FDC rejects the bye election results because it was sham, undemocratic and unfair, not free and credible in all spheres.
The FDC National Council will be sitting in a month’s time to direct the party on the next course of action on whether the party will continue to participate in the future elections or otherwise.
ISIMBA DAM DEBACLE, POWER SHORTAGES
Isimba Hydroelectric Power Station is a 183.2 megawatts hydroelectric power station, commissioned on 21 March 2019 in Uganda.
The past weeks it was shut down because of technical problems emanating from water overflow into the powerhouse thus causing power outages in most of the country parts, off the national grid, and this has had humongous economic ramifications on several businesses that are entirely dependent on electricity.
It is reported that NWSC lost 100 million shillings in six hours upon its shutdown at the Masese water treatment plant in Jinja on August 12.
Government always boasts of excess power on the national grid of which some being exported to our neighboring countries like Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania, so why can’t the government channel back that excess electricity to cover the gap.
The FDC, implores government especially the Energy ministry to take keen studies into this situation and be used for future reference in case the same incident ever appears in the future to avoid the losses
MICROMANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL AFFAIRS
On several occasions the country has been awash with scandals concerning presidential directives, and these have left us worrying about the form of governance by Mr. Musevini.
The directives given to ministry of lands to allocate the Naguru prime lands to dubious and ghost investors, the appointment of the chief executive officer to the Uganda Airlines, the Uganda -Vinci coffee deal and the Lubowa international hospital contract where the government is facing heavy losses because they all end up costing the national coffers and Uganda’s integrity as a nation .
This micromanagement of the country’s critical and pertinent affairs by Mr. Museveni or his office should be stopped otherwise its rendering even the most competent civil servants idle and inept and yet they are better placed for taking on such decision before the president rubber stamps them.
The FDC, would proposes that the Mr. Museveni should always recuse himself from being taken into compromising situations, by allowing and trusting the institutional systems do fact finding checks on some of these decision.
And lastly call upon the attorney and, Solicitor generals’ offices to step up to the occasion and advise the president before an executive decision is taken into consideration.
As for the case of Uganda Airlines, let’s not be hoodwinked into discussing academic papers of the CEO rather focus on the pertinent issues affecting the Airline operations such Commercial losses amounting to billions of shillings.
UN UTILIZED LOANS FOR PROJECTS
The country is at crossroads, a looming danger over the concerns of unutilized loans mounting to Billions of Shillings that are borrowed by the government in trying to execute some of its mandate and these funds are either not put into good use or reimbursed to the consolidated fund by several government ministries, departments and agencies.
Most of these funds are majorly loans with high interest rates borrowed both domestically and from international banks like Standard Chartered, India and China Exim Banks, leaving the country’s debt to GDP ratio unchecked thus the ever increasing debt burden levied on the tax payer.
Some of these, are loan to improve health facilities in Karamoja, which is from the Corporate Internationalisation Fund of Spain worth Euros 20.622 million that was to cater for the airborne geophysical survey and geological mapping in Karamoja has not been utilised since 10th Parliament passed a resolution, approving it.
This past week we also saw the Local Government Minister Rapheal Magyezi, lamenting about less funding for rural road maintenance, yet the local governments have made it a habit of sending back funds meant for project back to the central consolidated fund, leaving a huge gap in service delivery and economic stagnation.
FDC, advises the government to always cut its coat according to its cloth, by applying better budgetary and implementation mechanisms like funding projects meant to be executed for reason they been budgeted for .
KIKONYOGO JOHN
FDC DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON