Trust – MinBane

Amuru Land Grab – Apaa Village Evictions: A long process of failure from the state!

That the Northern Uganda have been in deep end of the stick in many eyes is evident, by how lax the state has been to take care of their needs and their rights. That can now be proven by the forceful evictions from land in Apaa Village in Amuru District/Adjumani District. Where the previously have been attempts to make a giant farm for an investor called Bruce Martin and also become sugar cane plantations and factory for Kakira Sugar Factory owned by the Madhvani Group, this goes all the way back to 2006. Therefore, the plans to evict these people has been slow process from the state.

Now in 2018, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) have evicted dozens upon dozens of the local residents from their lands. As the purge on the village and the area continues, this has been in the making, but the ones losing their lands get nothing, but lose their homes and their livelihoods at the same time. The government authorities have torched the houses and left nothing behind, as they are continuing to evict people. Their lives are no meaningless, as they have to flee their land and are living on the United Nations Compound in Gulu, while awaiting their future, as the state, UWA and the Uganda People’s Defence Force have been evicting them over the last two months. Surely, the hurt is felt and real.

Who can wonder if the state is finalizing the agreement with Madhvani Group to deliver his second sugar factory and also sugar plantation in the area or they are making a game drive from Bruce Martin. However, this is still grabbing the land without any forewarning and also taking their livelihoods without any compensation for the hurt.

The District Land Board and Area Land Board cannot been informed or care to inform the people, as the army and UWA have been busy evicting people with force. They are just pawns on the chess-set, and the authorities in Kampala let it happen. The leadership from afar are accepting it and have gazetted the land and taken the land. Therefore, the people who has settled in Apaa have to flee or be evicted from the land, without any justice or law helping them out. No compensation and nothing left for them.

This sort of play has to stop; I am sure the State House is fully aware and let it happen, as they are getting their cut of the transaction of the land for whatever purposes it has. Its been planned for years, but doesn’t make it better, when they could have had solutions back-in-the-day as the government knew this would come. They were already in talks with both Kakira and with Martin. They knew perfectly well, what was up. There is even a third scenario where the land is sold to someone else named Linton Brimblecombe.

Clearly someone forgot the memo and left it stranded. They just evicting people in the favour of one lucky bastard who capture all lands, without paying the needed ones who was actually living their and done so for generations. This is a violation of the trust between the citizens and the government. Because someone accepted the trade of the land people where living on and had rights too.

The Apaa village and Apaa community deserves better, all of the Acholi deserves better. They are being misused and taken for granted by the government. They are just pawns on the chess-set. No value, the first one in the battle-line to take out so the ones of value can be put into play. That is how it looks from the outside.

This have been planned for decades and now it happens.

Amuru Land Grab: What is ours, is OURS; What is their’s, is OURS; and Whatever is your’s, is still OURS. Peace.

Kakira Sugar Limited addressing farmers strike (02.07.2018)

Mzee complains today about waste, however he haven’t rehabilitated sugar industry or revamped pharmaceutical industry either!

“In this regard, we need to learn and apply lessons from emerging economies such as India, whose total healthcare industry revenue is expected to increase from US$ 110 billion in 2016 to US$ 372 billion in 2022 in response to deliberate investments in telemedicine, manufacturing of medicines and health technologies, medical tourism, health workforce training and risk pooling/health insurance, among others. In order to achieve this, we need to plan in a harmonized way. In Uganda, for instance, we, indeed, have a nascent pharmaceutical industry producing Aids/HIV, Malaria, Hepatitis-B, pharmaceuticals, etc. drugs. These are, however, still using imported pharmaceutical grade starch and imported pharmaceutical grade sugar. The pharmaceutical grade starch and sugar are crucial for making tablets and syrups for children’s medicines. Yet, the starch is from maize and cassava and the pharmaceutical grade sugar is from sugar. I am told the drugs would be 20% cheaper. Moreover, apart from helping in the pharmaceutical industry, more refined sugar is also needed in the soft drinks industry. Uganda is squandering US$34 million per year importing refined sugar for the soft drinks, about US$ 20 million for importing the pharmaceutical grade starches not including the other raw materials, US$ 77million for taking patients to India etc. Africa is incredibly rich but wasteful” (Yoweri Kaguta Museveni at THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE JOINT EAC HEADS OF STATE RETREAT ON INFRASTRUCTURE AND HEALTH FINANCING AND DEVELOPMENT, 22.02.2018).

Seems like the 1980s World Bank loans to restart Kakira Sugar Works hasn’t done enough, since the Ugandan state did right after the National Resistance Army takeover of the state. They went into an arrangement with the World Bank getting loans for the company, to restart. That deal was done 8^th March 1988. As the documents said back in 198:

“Uganda currently imports US$15-20 million worth of sugar annually, which ranks second only to petroleum imports. Import substitution through restoration of domestic production capacity is therefore a high priority and eminently justified given the considerable comparative advantage Uganda enjoys as a result of its landlocked situation. Conditions for sugar production at Kakira are highly favorable. Cane growing benefits from excellent soils, good rainfall distribution (requiring only limited sunplementary irrigation) and relatively low levels of inputs of fertilizers and pesticides. The project brings back to the Kakira complex the original owners who have a demonstrated ability to manage sugar operations at Kakira and elsewhere” (SUGAR REHABILITATION PROJECT, 08.03.1988).

Therefore, what the President said today, the Sugar Rehabilitation Project, which was done to stop the heavy imports of sugar and for consumption, has clearly not worked as projected. Since his own state is squandering their resources and not even following the loans to make the project work. That is my take on it. The president of 32 years has clearly mismanaged this and not finished his job. Since he hasn’t been able to rehabilitate the industry.

When it comes to pharmaceutical industry there massive challenges, not just the sugar starch for medicine coverage of the pills. Nevertheless, the whole arrangement, since the technology to operate these machines are imported, as well is the parts. Not only the sugar starch, but also the ingredients are imported too, than you have few companies who has automated manufactures, which makes hard to make medicine on a larger scale. It is also high operation cost, because of use of back-up generators because of blackouts and shortfall of electricity. Because of this, it is expensive to have cold storage of the medicine and have a storage for the final products.

So the Idea from Museveni that it is simple, it is the whole system around it, that makes it more profitable to import ready made medicine, than actually produce it. Even if the added value of production would be there, but with the circumstances put by United Nations Industrial Development Organization, seemingly it is from 2009. However, the state of affairs hasn’t changed that much.

We can really estimate, that the adjustment and the needed organization to pull forward both industries during the years of NRM hasn’t been totally fruitful. If so, why would he complain about the imports of sugar and medicine, when he hasn’t been able to make it function with his 32 years of reign? Someone who has 3 decades, should have the ability and time to find the information, finalize plans and execute as seen fit. That is if he cared about the industries in question and their possible engines for growth and riches of Africa. Nevertheless, he hasn’t cared and haven’t used the time wisely. He has used the time bitching and not acting. That is just the way things is and it isn’t becoming better either.

He could have made sure that the pharmaceutical industry had energy, had the sufficient organization behind it to make the medicine, not only import and assemble certain medicine, he could have made sure the sugar industry was profitable and had the equipment to make the refined sugar used in the pharmaceutical industry. However, both is a lost cause, because it takes money and time. Both, is something he doesn’t have, since the narrative isn’t making him wealthy.

Alas, he we are at the status quo, with a President running for life and complaining about waste. When he has wasted 32 years and not made effort to change it. It is all talk and no fire. Peace.

FIFA SG Samoura sends out early warning to the Football Associations on the bidding process for the 2026 World Cup!

FIFA under the new Secretary General Fatma Samoura are trying a new approach considering the start of the process, when getting the host nation for the FIFA Football World Cup 2026 after the biggest frauds and kickbacks of late concerning South Africa, Qatar and Russia. Now, the organization after the case against itself in United States and the fall of Sepp Blatter. Surely the new FIFA President Gianni Infantino wants a change too! They are trying to swiftly change the organization, that is why Samoura has sent a letter to all Member Associations, to follow the 5th Principal in the Bid Rules of Conduct. Where it says:

“(i) conducting their own activities in relation to the Bidding Procedure in accordance with basic ethical principles such as integrity, responsibility, trustworthiness and fairness; (ii) rejecting any attempt to be influenced in relation to their function and obligations in relation to the Bidding Procedure; (iii) rejecting any gifts offered by any Candidate Host Associations, any of their bid consultants and/or nominees, unless such gift: a) only has symbolic or trivial value; b) excludes any influence for the execution or omission of an act that is related to their official activities or falls within their discretion; c) is not contrary to their duties; d) does not create any undue pecuniary or other advantage; and e) does not create a conflict of interest;” (2026 FWC Bidding Regulation).

In the letter from the Secretary General Samoura, it states very clearly to all:

“Notwithstanding the clarifications below, in order to ensure a fair and transparent bidding process, all football officials shall always conduct all of their own activities in relation to the bidding process in accordance with basic ethical principles such as integrity, responsibility, trustworthiness and fairness. Therefore, irrespective of the clarifications below, it must be understood that the Ethics Committee, as an independent judicial body, may, on its own initiative and at its full and independent discretion, decide to investigate whether any activities in connection with the bidding process are of an unethical nature by, for instance, creating an undue influence on the bidding process in violation of the FIFA Code of Ethics and further specific rules contained in the Bid Rules of Conduct pursuant to article 5 of the Bidding Regulations” (Fatma Samoura – ‘Further guidance on the Bid Rules of Conduct for the process to select the host(s) of the 2026 FIFA World Cup™’ 19.02.2018).

The FIFA Secretariat and Central Governing body is sending out a warning as the process is starting. Since they don’t want to have knowledge of or knowingly have people acting in bad faith or trying to corrupt fellow members. Even if that is the history of FIFA and the leadership of Joao Havelange and Sepp Blatter. They have done it with fineness and used time to fix the associations in their way, so they could find ways of using sport to get wealthy. That is well-known. Surely, Samoura want to change that paradigm and therefore write this letter to secure the process.

And you know that FIFA is afraid of getting corruption scandals, when Samoura has to type this:

“Accordingly, if a confederation, a regional association, a grouping of member associations or any individual member association is approached by a bidder offering a presentation of its bid, it is in principle fine to accept such an offer as long as the principles of fairness and transparency are respected. Therefore, in such an event, please notify FIFA in writing about any such offer from a bidder, but please also accept the offer of a presentation by the competitive bidder, offering both bidders the same format and attendance” ((Fatma Samoura – ‘Further guidance on the Bid Rules of Conduct for the process to select the host(s) of the 2026 FIFA World Cup™’ 19.02.2018).

So now if let’s say the United Kingdom wants to have the bid in Europe and the want to present it to France and Germany, than they have to notify FIFA and also allow the same delegation to travel to another bidder. Not make it exclusive, to make sure the process isn’t paid off as in the past. This will make the bidding process more hectic, but hopefully more transparent. Since it has been filled with PR Stunts and sudden pay-offs in the past, but not shown in public what is happening behind the scenes.

We can hope that FIFA is trying to change and not using words flamboyantly, to trigger the press and associations, that the process will be transparent and fair. However, their history is known of paying of minor or poor organizations to get the needed votes, also to make sure the confederates of several regions are getting a slice. To make sure the bidding nation get the swinging votes. We have to see if this can be altered, if the corrupt machinery can be stopped. That would be interesting, even if you take the head, the body is still the same. We just have to wait and see, if some skeletons comes out of the closet or not. Peace.