General
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni launches Annual Nelson Mandela Commemorative Lecture
The President of the Republic of Uganda, H.E. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni last week launched the Makerere University Annual Nelson Mandela Commemorative Lecture. The launch followed a public lecture in honour of Nelson Mandela organized by the Department of Political Science and Public Administration in collaboration with the South African High Commission. Held under the theme; Mandela the Legend: A Message for the Youth, the lecture took place in the University Main Hall and was attended by among others, several dignitaries from the Governments of Uganda and South Africa, members of the University Council and Management as well as staff and students. At the public lecture, Mandela’s granddaughter, Ms Zoleka Mandela, delivered a keynote address in which she shared moving testimonies of her personal experience growing up under apartheid with absent parents involved in the liberation struggle, later on giving a message of hope to young people experiencing similar challenges.
“My personal experiences growing up as a child were largely afflicted by the repercussions of growing up in an unconventional and unstable home environment that was mostly vulnerable. I had my first drink at the age of nine, followed by multiple encounters with sexual and physical abuse. The severity of my drinking and drug use at the age of thirteen had escalated to a seventeen-year addiction to alcohol and suicidal behavior that was accompanied by a decade of drug dependency. An unsheltered life, poorly protected from the demoralizing ills of society is a narrative commonly shared by many youth and those like me who are born in politically famous families. I however assure you that much as you may feel unimportant, uninvolved and unheard, there are seeds of greatness that exist within you, seeds that will inevitably blossom whatever way the winds of life may blow you,” Ms Zoleka explained. Despite her tragic life as a youth, Ms. Zoleka has grown into a responsible adult now managing the Zoleka Mandela Foundation. Established in 2013, the foundation aims to educate young people about breast cancer, road safety and social responsibilities. The foundation also seeks to assist young people with personal growth, volunteerism and accountability to become responsible citizens.
Like her grandfather, Ms Zoleka emphasized the importance of education in fostering personal development noting that the quality of education has great impact on the quality of someone’s life. “My grandfather was passionate about education and always thought of it as a formidable approach to changing the world. Young people must therefore take it upon themselves to receive the highest level of education to represent us well as future leaders,” she said.
Ms Zoleka further said her grandfather believed so much in the youth as determinants of society’s future and greatly emphasized the need for all children to have political, social and cultural protection.
The discussants who included Prof. Mahmood Mamdani, Hon. Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, Dr Julius Kiiza, Hon. Anna Adeke Ebaju and Brig. Henry Masiko, applauded Nelson Mandela’s selfless contribution to the liberation struggle of South Africa saying he exhibited servant leadership skills and was indeed a true legend. They underscored the need to empower young people pointing to their critical role in the social, economic and political transformation of nation states across the globe.
In his remarks, President Museveni paid glowing tribute to Nelson Mandela for his selfless contribution to the liberation of South Africa in particular and the African Continent in general. He noted that Nelson Mandela played a crucial role in the liberation of South Africa by injecting a spirit of activism into the African National Congress as the first leader of the youth wing in 1944, which redefined the ANC’s struggle in the eyes of the apartheid regime.
He further noted that Mandela played a critical role in the launching of the freedom charter of 1955 that emphasized the fight for freedom for all South Africans no matter their color or race.
He said Mandela’s involvement in recruiting and fighting in the armed resistance, his refusal to collaborate with his oppressors even after a long jail period and preaching the message of reconciliation between South Africans without revenging against his former oppressors, made him a unique freedom fighter.
The President, however, said that the plight and suffering of the generation of the late Nelson Mandela, is closely related to the plight and history of the African continent. He noted that although the African continent derives pride in being the origin of humanity, a pioneer of civilization and also being blessed with abundant natural resources, on account of lack of a clear ideology and poor governance, the continent has suffered several setbacks in the last 500 years putting it and her people behind all other continents in terms of development.
The President said that because of being poorly governed under many fragmented kingdoms and chiefdoms, the African people became more vulnerable when they were confronted by foreign forces of domination especially from Europe that led Africa into suffering from slave trade, colonialism and neo-colonialism.
He said that to honour the late Nelson Mandela and other African freedom fighters for independence, the current leaders on the continent as well as the coming generations need to work to economically and politically unite the African continent to ensure economic prosperity and strategic security.
Speaking at the public lecture, the South African High Commissioner expressed gratitude to the Government of Uganda and Makerere University in particular for providing a platform to carry forward the legacy of Mandela through the Annual Nelson Mandela Commemorative Lectures.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. John Ddumba-Ssentamu, thanked the Department of Political Science and Public Administration for spearheading the initiative to recognize the contribution of the Mandela family to the liberation of the African Continent. He extended appreciation to the South African High Commission for the support rendered to Makerere University in its effort to recognize the great works of the Mandela family.
The Principal of CHUSS, Prof. Edward K. Kirumira, explained the contribution of the humanities and social sciences to national development calling for the amendment of the policy that emphasizes the natural sciences over behavioral sciences. He appealed to the youth to emulate Mandela’s legacy by “working towards leaving a good name”.
The Dean, School of Social Sciences, Dr Andrew Elias State, called for the establishment of a Nelson Mandela Scholarship Fund to carry forward his legacy. He also called for the establishment of a Y.K Museveni Scholarship Fund to promote and strengthen the training of peace and security studies.
In her remarks, the Head Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Dr Suzie Nansozi Muwanga extended her sincere appreciation to the sponsors of the public lecture. The sponsors included Eskom, Toyota Uganda, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Stanbic Bank and Pinnacle Security Group.
General
MURBS has declared 13.40% interest on members’ balances for the financial year that ended on 30th June 2024.
By: Ritah Namisango
Dr. Elizabeth Patricia Nansubuga, Chairperson of the Makerere University Retirement Benefits Scheme (MURBS) Board of Trustees, announced this milestone during the 14th Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the year 2023/24 held on Thursday, 24th October 2024, at Makerere University Main Campus, School of Public Health Auditorium.
The AGM attracted various stakeholders, including trustees, Audit Committee Chairperson CPA David Ssenoga, Board Evaluation Consultant Vincent Kaheeru, URBRA Representative Mark Lotukei, Audit Committee members, co-opted members, and university administrators.
Presenting the performance report, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Nansubuga highlighted that this is the highest interest declared by the scheme in the past five years, and she anticipates continued improvements. She noted that for the previous financial year, which ended in June 2023, the Board of Trustees declared an interest an interest of 12.34%.
Dr Nansubuga also announced that the scheme has achieved a Net Investment Income of UGX 44.6 billion, far higher than the UGX34.4 billion collected in Contributions during the year.
The Chairperson of the Board also revealed that the fund value had grown from UGX352.4 billion recorded at the end of the last financial year to UGX409.2 billion, indicating an increase of 16.1%.
“By 30th June 2023, MURBS had a fund value of UGX 352.4 billion. The Board of Trustees targeted Fund growth of 17%, and I am glad to inform you, that the fund value of MURBS, as per the Audited Financial Statements of 30th June 2024 is UGX 409.2 billion, which is an increase of 16.1%. This achievement was made possible by strategic periodical activities undertaken by the Board and our fund managers, supported by the strong oversight committees of the Board,” she reported.
She attributed the positive growth to factors such as improved debt recovery, operational efficiency, timely remittance of contributions by the sponsor (Makerere University), an increase in project and contract contributions, and the recovery of UGX8.85 billion in debts.
Dr. Nansubuga also expressed gratitude to Makerere University, the scheme’s sponsor, for consistently remitting contributions, a key factor that has significantly contributed to MURBS’ smooth operation. “I am happy to announce that the sponsor-Makerere University remitted your retirement benefits for the financial year 2023/24,” she said.
In the same development, Dr. Nansubuga reported that MURBS registered a legal victory against Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) over a real estate investment in Sonde undertaken in 2019, and which URA sought to tax heavily. She notified the AGM that MURBS won the case and was awarded costs which also set a precedent.
“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am pleased to inform you that during the financial year, we received a favorable outcome on a key court case. How did we end up with this case? In 2019, MURBS invested in real estate, we bought land in Sonde,” Dr Nansubuga explained.
“Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) then charged us with a tax assessment worth UGX600 million. It has been four (4) years in the tax appeals tribunal. Since then, the lawyers, the former and current trustees, have been appearing before the appeals tribunal, but in December 2023, MURBS won the case. We challenged URA, and this case was awarded with costs. URA has to pay MURBS. We therefore saved UGX600 million,” she added.
In terms of governance, Dr Nansubuga said that the scheme made changes in the board. Initially, the trustees were six and they needed a seventh member, and following a competitive race, they recruited another trustee; CPA Edina Rugumayo who has over thirty years in accounting.
“In terms of governance, we continue to uphold good governance practices and we align with international standards. Last year during the presentation, I said we were six and we needed to have the seventh trustee because the Board composition is supposed to be seven,” she explained.
“So, following a competitive process, we recruited an independent trustee. It was a very competitive position. You must have served on board which has over UGX50 billion. So, from that process, we were able to recruit CPA Edna Rugumayo Simbwa. She is a certified public accountant with over thirty years of experience in accounting, taxation, and corporate governance,” she mentioned.
She also thanked other stakeholders for making sure that MURBS activities run smoothly. These entities include Makerere University, KPMG, Gen Africa, Arcadia Advocates, Zamara, URBRA, and Stanbic Bank among others.
While discussing investments, Dr. Nansubuga mentioned that 86% of MURBS’ funds are currently invested in government bonds, but added that the Board is exploring diversification to reduce risks.
“86% percent of our money is invested in government bonds, and sometimes, you do not have to put all your eggs in one basket, there is a high concentration of risk. so that is one of the key material risks that we want to address to reduce the amount we have in government securities. We want to diversify our portfolio and avoid investing heavily in government securities. The Board will venture into other fields in order to earn money or return on investment from the diverse undertakings,” she said.
In terms of membership, Dr. Nansubuga reported a 4.4% increase, with the number of members rising from 8,229 to 8,590. She attributed this growth to the reinstatement of in-house beneficiaries and an increase in project and contract staff.
Dr. Kakuba also thanked the sponsor-Makerere University for remitting the membership contributions timely which has helped the scheme to grow.
Dr. Godwin Kakuba -Secretary, MURBS Board of Trustees, who presented the record of the 13th Annual General Meeting stressed that the AGM climaxes a financial year and the Board of Trustee has been vigilant on this and has not missed any AGM for 14 years now.
“We applaud the sponsor because many of these positives in the chairperson’s report can only be attributed to the support by the sponsor through fulfilling the obligation of remitting members’ contributions to the scheme,” he added.
Partner Asad Ssenoga, an independent auditor who audited the scheme said that he was impressed with the level of compliance that the scheme exhibited in all aspects. He said they focused on ensuring that the member contributions are supported with statements and allocated to members appropriately.
“Overall we were satisfied with the work we did on the audit, the numbers that were presented by the Chairperson are the correct numbers that we audited. We were comfortable with those numbers, due process was followed during the audit,” he said.
Mr. Mark Lotukei who represented the CEO of Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA) thanked the Trustees for always prioritizing governance, which has helped them to reach several milestones.
“As URBRA, we look at governance as the biggest component of our compliance. MURBS Trustees from the former to the current, have taken governance as the most important aspect. We really encourage them to continue with this good practice because governance informs all the other aspects,” he said.
Mr. Arthur Kibira, a member in attendance, expressed his appreciation for the Board’s efforts. He urged them to explore higher-risk investments for potentially greater returns. He expressed concern over the scheme’s heavy reliance on government bonds.
“Dr Elizabeth Nansubuga, I want to congratulate you, and your team and also congratulate ourselves. But, I want to believe that there is room for improvement. I am one of those who do not believe that the sky is the limit, we are limited by our own thinking. I am thinking that high risks give high returns. Is there a way of managing those risks, so that we could push this 13.40% interest to a figure much higher? If we do so, we shall say we have learnt how to manage risks,”, he guided.
General
Makerere University at the 2024 O.R. Tambo Africa Research Chairs Annual Gathering in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
The Research Chairs concept is similar to Centers of Excellence (for instance in supporting world-class research in a priority area), but also has many distinguishing features. Most notably, it recognizes individual excellence, leadership and talent. The O.R. Tambo Africa Research Chairs Initiative (ORTARChI) builds on the work of Oliver Tambo, a prominent South African and pan-Africanist with a science education background, who believed in creating change through education and in cooperation and solidarity among African nations. The Initiative focuses on celebrating his legacy in building knowledge-based economies for the advancement of Africa.
ORTARChI builds on and leverages existing continental frameworks and interventions geared towards institutional capacity strengthening; recruitment and retention of excellent researchers; and incentives to support research that contributes to socio-economic and transformative development.
Ten (10) O.R. Tambo Africa Research Chairs across seven (7) countries in Africa, namely; Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia have been selected for funding through a rigorous and competitive two-stage review process. These research chairs are focused on research priorities identified by each host institution in conjunction with, especially the Science Councils, and in alignment with AU Agenda 2063 and STISA 2024.
Prof. Noble Banadda from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences had been inaugurated as one of the first 10 (ten) Oliver Tambo (ORTARChi) Chairs. Unfortunately, Prof. Banadda (R.I.P) passed on in July 2021, which created a vacuum. To ensure that Uganda and Makerere University continue to tap into the ORTARChi, we are glad to announce the appointment of Associate Professor David Meya from the College of Health Sciences at Makerere University for the purpose. The appointment will attract USD 170,000 annually for 5 years for graduate research with a target of training 5-6 PhDs, 10-15 Post-doctoral fellows and 10-12 Masters of Medicine and Master of Science Students at Makerere University and Mbarara University of Science and Technology.
Makerere University has had the pleasure of attending 2024 O.R. Tambo Africa Research Chairs Annual Gathering in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The annual gathering is co-hosted by the Joseph Ki-Zerbo University, National Research and Innovation Fund for Development (FONRID) and the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa. The theme for this year’s gathering is: “African Sovereignty: A Catalyst for Research Collaborations and Social Impact in the Continent“. At the annual gathering, Uganda was represented by Associate Prof. David Meya (Uganda Chair Elect, ORTARChI), Prof. Henry Alinaitwe (Deputy Vice Chancellor Finance and Administration, Mak), Associate Prof. Robert Wamala (Director, Research and Graduate Training) and Dr. Martin Ongol (Ag. Executive Secretary, UNCST). Assoc. Prof. David Meya – ORTARChI Chair Elect – is from Makerere University’s School of Medicine at the College of Health Sciences.
Hoima and Kikuube Districts, Uganda – October 20, 2024
A group of third-year students from College of Business and Management Sciences’s Energy and Natural Resources Economics program visited the Kingfisher oil operations and Kabalega Airport in Hoima and Kikuube districts on October 20, 2024. Led by Dr. Peter Babyenda and Dr. John Sseruyange, and with authorization from the Petroleum Authority of Uganda, the visit offered the students an invaluable opportunity to connect classroom learning with field experience.
The primary objective of the field trip was to enhance students’ practical understanding of Uganda’s oil industry by observing the extraction and production processes firsthand. According to Dr. Babyenda, “Blending theory with real-world exposure is essential for these students, as it allows them to apply and expand their knowledge beyond the classroom.”
During the tour, students explored several key areas:
- Practical Exposure – Witnessing the operational procedures of oil extraction offered students a concrete understanding of how theoretical concepts play out in the field, enhancing their grasp of the industry.
- Economic Impact Analysis – Observing the economic role of oil production in Hoima and Kikuube allowed the students to explore its broader impact on local and global markets and its contributions to community development and Uganda’s economic landscape.
- Technical Knowledge – The students gained insights into the technical aspects of oil extraction, learning about the complexities of the operations, the innovations employed, and the challenges faced by the industry.
- Environmental and Social Considerations – Students observed the environmental practices in place and evaluated the social dynamics involved, gaining an understanding of how oil companies balance production with community and environmental sustainability.
- Career Insights – With opportunities to interact with professionals in the oil sector, students received guidance on potential career paths in the industry, helping them make informed decisions about their futures.
- Current Industry Issues – The group also delved into the status of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project and discussed challenges in oil and natural gas production, examining where Uganda stands in terms of production timelines, obstacles, solutions, and the role they can play as future energy professionals.
Reflecting on the trip, Dr. Sseruyange highlighted the importance of this experience in solidifying students’ understanding of Uganda’s evolving oil industry. “This field experience not only complements what they’ve learned in lectures but also equips them with a real sense of the operational and societal impact of the energy sector,”he noted.
The students expressed their gratitude for the immersive experience, noting how it broadened their perspectives and deepened their knowledge. The field trip served as an essential step in preparing them for careers within Uganda’s energy and natural resources sectors, bringing them closer to the industry’s forefront and the future of sustainable energy in the region.
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