Author: Robert Atuhairwe

Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom has passed a sh15.8b budget for 2022/2023 fiscal year. The budget was presented on Saturday by Robert Owagonza, the Kingdom’s minister of finance and economic planning at the Kingdom Rukurato Hall (Parliament) in Hoima City. The Office of the Prime Minister took a lion’s share (Sh3.2b) followed by the ministry of finance and economic planning (Sh2.3b); the Ministry of Investment got Sh2.2b and ministry of culture Sh1.022b. The Attorney General Chambers was allocated Sh1b, production ministry Sh506m, natural resources Sh823m, Rukurato (parliament) Sh450m and ministry of gender Sh230m. The ministry of social services got Sh960m, ministry of external…

Leaders in the oil-rich Buliisa district have asked government to establish a vocational training institution in the area to enable residents gain hands-on skills which they say will help the youth to tap into different job opportunities. Apparently, the district is witnessing construction of different oil production facilities but many youths cannot benefit directly through employment due to lack of essential skills. Speaking during a handover of start-up kits to people whose land and properties were affected during land acquisition for Tilenga oil industrial park at Kisomere Primary School on Monday, leaders emphasized the need to have an institute established…

It is 2pm on a bright Monday in Kigwera Sub-County, Buliisa district. The elders are performing rituals during a food ceremony in their resolve to revive and preserve the past Bagungu community norms including conservation of indigenous seeds and natural sites. The rituals which lasted close to 30 minutes, are meant to ‘cleanse’ ecosystems in sacred sites. Led by 85-year old Aloni Kiiza of Kisansya village, a group of 20 elders was calling on their ancestors to ‘cleanse’ Lake Albert which is currently facing degradation and also regain fertility on the land so that food can grow. Kiiza said it…

The China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) Uganda Limited which is operating the Kingfisher oil field in the mid-western district of Kikuube, has funded a sh1.6b water facility to serve residents. Under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, CNOOC contracted Samka Construction Company Limited in February this year to construct the solar-powered facility until June, 2022. The water scheme is located on River Masika with license from the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) and is meant to serve five villages in Buhuka parish, Kyangwali sub-county. The facility was officially commissioned and handed over to the Kikuube district Local Government authorities…

Farmers in Buliisa district are crying foul over an alleged invasion of about 20 stray elephants said to have been destroying their crops since June, this year. The elephants are said to have come from Murchison Falls National Park, which is 34.2 kilometres away from Buliisa Town Council. An estimate of 40 acres of crops; mainly maize, sweet potatoes, cassava, jackfruits, pawpaws and bananas, have been the most affected in the sub-counties of Ngwedo, Kigwera, Buliisa, Bugana and Kisyabi. Solomon Wamara a farmer in Ngwedo sub-county, accused Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) of delayed response in dealing with the elephants besides…

TotalEnergies EP Uganda (TEPU) annual Football mini-league resumed on Saturday in Nwoya district. This follows nearly three years of halt due to movement restrictions meant to curtail the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. The league, comprising sixteen clubs selected from all the sub-counties in the district, is being undertaken in partnership with Nwoya District Football Association (NDFA) and the Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA). The tournament kicked off with new formations to include a 30-club qualifier football gala organised by NDFA. The winning team will benefit from a TotalEnergies sponsorship to the fifth division of the 2023 FUFA league in…

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) Uganda Limited, a firm operating Kingfisher oil development area in Kyangwali sub-county, Kikuube district has handed over 56 newly constructed housing units for project affected persons-PAPs. The PAPs are those whose households were affected during land acquisition that was required for the project development ahead of the construction schedule for project infrastructures such as a central processing facility (CPF), drilling camp, well pads, infield flow lines, spoil areas, access roads, safety buffers around project facilities and the feeder pipeline. The visibly elated PAPs received the houses on July 14. The project has implemented four Resettlement Action…

Canvassing for votes to win his third term of office, in 2001, President Yoweri Museveni pledged to establish a public University in Bunyoro sub region. The excitement and expectation was palpable-it would be the first public university in the region, that leaders and citizens alike believed would guarantee people from the region easier access to degree education, and develop the human resource to drive transformation. The pledge was later followed by a resolution of Parliament in 2015 to set up seven public universities, one in Bunyoro. Parliament believed this would equitably expand access to higher education. Museveni would go on…

For the residents of Buliisa district, the past two decades since oil and gas was discovered in the area has brought about significant economic and social transformations to their way of life. The roads, initially constructed to facilitate oil production, have been meticulously paved, and new schools have been established. Oil firm TotalEnergies EP Uganda and its sub-contractors, who are operating the Tilenga oil field, have embraced corporate social responsibility and have been actively implementing resettlement action plans (RAPs). As part of their efforts, they have expanded and revitalised some lower health centres in the region. Roseline Kaahwa, a resident…

TotalEnergies EP Uganda a company contracted by the government to produce Uganda’s oil and gas has enhanced accessibility to improved health services with a donation of an Out-Patient Department (OPD) at Avogera Health Centre III in Ngwedo Sub-County, Buliisa district. The reconstructed facility was handed over to the district officials on Tuesday. The facility which has been reconstructed and equipped as part of the Company’s livelihood restoration activities under the Tilenga Project Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) is aimed at contributing towards the improvement of health care service delivery within the project host communities, the oil firm said in a media…