Political education was the pillar of the 1981 to 1986 liberation struggle. NALI has all along provided ideological direction to many Ugandans. I have heard several Ugandans, especially those from the opposition, lamenting and showing their discontent at all times when members from the ruling party head to Kyankwanzi.

I should thank whoever thought of organizing this retreat because it’s in such retreats that government can get to know of the different services that local people need since every member of parliament is given an opportunity to express themselves and point out the real issues that the party faces.

For the past days that I have been at the retreat, I tried so much to analyze the different programs that were happening, especially the networking sessions and the lectures. I saw it was nice being at NALI because the different guests that are brought at the institute to lecture are intelligent people.

In his speech, as he was officially opening the retreat, Museveni, who is also the national chairman of the party, emphasized on a number of issues that the NRM has really given attention to, such as fighting poverty.

Michael Woira,
Kampala.

Govt should deal with expensive electricity

On March 9, 2019, President Yoweri Museveni, while opening a mattress factory in Kampala, reportedly said that he is not ready to sign the minimum salary/wage bill into law because the investors in Uganda are not getting profits due to the high cost of electricity and transportation costs of imports from Mombasa to Kampala.

He also said that he is going to reduce the cost of electricity to less five US cents per unit. The president’s statement raised a lot of concerns because the country is still generating expensive electricity.

I agree with Museveni’s analysis that with the high cost of electricity, it has a great impact not only on investors but also on the social economic development of the country.

I would love to inform Museveni that before reducing the cost of electricity, he should go back and first address the issues that make Uganda’s energy expensive. 

Also, some of the issues that had contributed to the high cost of electricity and poor services include inflated costs within the electricity contracts by the government agencies who negotiate power purchase agreements; overdependence on Chinese loans for Ugandan energy projects; unending corruption within the government institutions and secrecy of information during the procurement process; just to mention a few.

Therefore, I call upon the government to deal with these issues as a way of addressing the affordability of electricity in Uganda.

Balach Bakundane,
Kampala.

We should embrace National Health Insurance Scheme

Parliament of Uganda on its official Twitter account (@Parliament_Ug) reported on 5th March 2019 that Dr Michael Bukenya (MP, Bukuya) was granted leave of parliament to introduce the National Health Insurance Bill, 2019.

“Currently, the principal mechanism of funding health services in Uganda is through government general revenue tax financing. However, out-of-pocket payments and contributions by Health Development Partners contribute a substantial amount of financing for health care services. For various reasons, the out-of-pocket payments lead to financial hardships for many patients and their caretakers often leading to long-term indebtedness or poverty,” Dr Elioda Tumwesigye, former minister of Health, noted in the government’s Health Financing Strategy 2015/16 – 2024/25.

The financing mechanisms are not only inadequate but also unsustainable to meet the increasing population, which is expected to grow by 3.26% in 2019, according to estimates by World Population Review.

Although strides, such as reducing the HIV prevalence from 7.3% in 2011 to 6% in 2017, have been made in the health sector, enormous challenges such as lack of essential medicines and health supplies and unequal density of healthcare workforce, still persists.

Introducing a national health insurance scheme shall enable Uganda achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and propel it further to realise Sustainable Development Goal three, which is on ensuring good health and wellbeing.

According to the World Health Organisation, UHC means that all people and communities can use the promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative health services they need, while also ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the user to financial hardship.

A national health insurance scheme would make it mandatory for all Ugandans to save a certain amount of money every month to pay for their medical bills.

It will be a cost-shared scheme between government and people, meaning the former shall as well contribute a certain amount to the saving scheme. The savings would largely remove out-of-pocket expenditure for health and also make the population take more ownership for healthcare service and demand for accountability.

The insurance scheme will make health financing sustainable and increase budget allocation to the health sector, which would in turn improve quality of healthcare.

Countries such as Rwanda that introduced Community Based Health Insurance Scheme in 1999, with 74 per cent of the population covered in 2013, have since seen significant improvement in healthcare service indicators.

Kennedy Odokonyero,
kodokonyero@gmail.com

I was blown away by BUBU

Ugandans are innovative! On Thursday, March 7, 2019 I went for the inaugural Buy Uganda, Build Uganda (BUBU) Expo at Kololo ceremonial grounds organized by the ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives.

Entrance was free, and approximately 350 exhibitors participated in the three-day event. The turnout was huge.

Some exhibitors took advantage of the three trending hashtags on social media #BUBU, #BUBUExpo and #BUBUExpo2019, to market their businesses by posting photographs of their goods.

One obvious benefit from the BUBU policy is it will reduce Uganda’s import bill and increase exports within the East African region and abroad.
I was amazed by the variety of goods on display at the various stalls. Of course, there were items one would expect to find at any Ugandan trade fair, such as African arts and crafts.

I, for the first time, also came across products such as durable table mats and bags made from recycled drinking straws!
Over the years, Ugandans have improved their marketing skills. I found the proprietors on ground, at the tents and stalls, ready to explain their products to potential buyers.

Business is booming. So, it really is true that the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government has created a conducive environment for the business community.

No wonder, Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) ranked Uganda the most entrepreneurial nation in the world.

Josepha Jabo,
Kampala.

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