from the press

New Vision (Kampala)
13 August 2008
Joshua Masinde (Kampala)
THE Medical Laboratory Observer Magazine (MLO), a USA-based monthly magazine, has ranked the Makerere University John Hopkins University Core laboratory at Mulago Medical School as the best in medical laboratory in 2008.
It is one of the three laboratories in Africa to be accredited by the College of American Pathologists.
Representing the Makerere University Chancellor, Prof. Mondo Kagonyera, Stephen Maloba, the chairman of the Makerere University Appointments Committee, said this at an Academic Fair at Makerere University recently.
The fair aimed at showcasing the different achievements by the various faculties, schools and institutes at the university.
Maloba said the university led the way in innovation in Africa, adding that the institution had a track record in research, especially in science.
"Among the innovations realised at Makerere University are the discovery that the Nevirapine drug prevents transmission of HIV/AIDS from mother to child," he said.
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"Our students from the Famulty of Technology were selected from five African universities to represent the continent on an international team of 12 institutions of high repute working on the development of a modern car, projected to be the cheapest in the world," he added.

IN a situation where globalisation is making the world a small place to live in, the rapid increase in population, especially in sub-Saharan countries is an issue of great concern and controversy. Over the years, the population in sub-Saharan Africa has been growing, and Uganda, with the third highest population growth rate of 3.5% per annum in the world, has not been left behind.
The booming population is only one among many causes of social and environmental problems. Ethiopia, for instance experienced a population growth from 42 million at the time of the unforgettable famine in 1984 to 75 million today. By 2050 its population is projected to reach 145 million. This condition surfaces at a time when eight million Ethiopians live on permanent food aid.
Being as it is, the proportional size of the world has never increased in the wake of the high population growth rate. In fact, the world is becoming smaller, with the melting of ice-caps, flooding, which in turn occupy the hitherto land inhabited by man.
The implications of the phenomenon of population growth pose greater risks like human, food, environmental and health insecurities.
In a past conference, at Sheraton Hotel in Kampala, Prof. Dr. John Opuda-Asibo, the chairman of the National Bio-security Committee, was concerned about the rapid population increase, especially in Uganda as a threat to security and a factor in the increase disease out break.
The banality that was ingrained in his concerns was one of the questions that confront many a people in the Uganda today, more than ever.
Previously, The New Vision reported that Uganda's population is estimated to hit 43.4 million in 2017. Presently, the country’s population is estimated to stand at 29 million people. By 2025, the population will almost double to 58 million. Much as the Ugandan economy continues to register impressive growth rates, it is quite obvious that there are more pertinent issues awaiting than meets the eye as this unprecedented population growth poses a unique challenge.
While responding to a question from a participant in North Dakota State University in the United States on the need for Africa, and Uganda in particular to use family planning methods aggressively to check its rising population, Prof. John David Kabaasa, the dean of the faculty of veterinary medicine of Makerere University, though acknowledging that the rapid rise in population would cause food insecurity and natural calamities, argued that there was no need to do so. He categorically stated that Africa has been a vicious victim of diseases which have regulated its population. This is not the only population control measure, as he stated.
“There is going to be a natural and systematic control of the number of children,” he stated. “As people get more educated, they get fewer children.”
Now, Uganda has a higher number of educated people than it was the case say, a few years ago. The population is growing rapidly. Resultantly, insecurities arising from population pressures on the land, increased migration to the urban centres, increased pressures on urban job markets spell enormous burdens are placed on the government for public administration, sanitation, education, police, and other services. Urban slum dwellers may serve as a volatile, violent force which threatens human security.
Poverty levels, which also arise from the strain the high number of children low or no income families aggravates the security condition. They contribute to high and increasing levels of child abandonment, juvenile delinquency, chronic and growing underemployment and unemployment, petty thievery, organized banditry, as has been the case, when armed gangs almost took siege of Kampala city recently.
A past study by (www.population-security.org) indicated that 14 of forty-five conflicts in third world countries examined the ways in which population factors like migration, population pressure and the high population in relation to resource allocation essentially contribute to conflict and violence.
As more and more people are born into, and are compressed in the same living area, aspects like breakdowns in social structures, unemployment, poverty, lowered education opportunities for the masses, few job opportunities for those who do obtain education, pose administrative burdens on governmental systems at all levels.
The young people, who are in much higher proportions in many the least developed countries (LDCs), are likely to be more volatile, unstable, alienation and violence than an older population. A case in point is South Africa. Despite being one of the favourite spots for tourists and foreign investment, and low population growth rate at 0.5%, it has had to contend with xenophobic violence directed at the flood of immigrants and refugees to the country. South Africa. Many of the young frustrated people from slums perpetuated such elements, attributing them to immigrants.
As the global population continues to grow, there is increasing pressure from overcrowding, which increases the risk of disease transmission. More than 1 billion people in developing countries live without adequate shelter or in unacceptable housing. More than 1 billion do not access safe water, and some 2.6 billion people have no access to adequate sanitation all of which are essential for good health.
“In 2000, the urban population was 47% of the world population,” As Prof. Kabaasa noted, “Now it is 60%. We are faced with many threats like high temperatures, melting of Rwenzori and Kilimanjaro mountain caps, more mosquitoes and tse tse flies. While we are also driving towards industrialisation and globalisation, floods are coming in.”
With risks arising from population rise, coupled with global warming and environmental degradation more glaring effects remain to be seen and felt. It remains to be seen that the rising level of the educated masses in Uganda and the growing middle class will bring about systematic and natural population regulation.
Joshua Masinde

New Vision (Kampala)
22 July 2008Posted to the web 23 July 2008
Joshua Masinde: Kampala
MANY farmers have become self-reliant and their productivity has increased, thanks to the Agricultural Productivity Enhancement Programme (APEP).
The five-year USAID-funded project was launched in November 2003. It aims at expanding rural economic opportunities and increasing household income in the agricultural sector by increasing food and cash crop productivity and marketing.
Speaking at a workshop at Serena Hotel in Kampala recently, Charles Mpawulo, a farmer from Kamuli district, said: "We used to sell our produce to middlemen and our income was very low. But since 2004 when APEP came to our area, our livelihoods have changed. We now use ox ploughs and buy farm inputs."
To help farmers shift from subsistence to commercial farming, APEP, through its countrywide network, trains farmers on how to enhance their productivity and helps them find market for their produce.
Another farmer, Jackson Ndapweing, from Kabarole district, said APEP helped farmers in Rwimi village increase upland rice yields.
"Within two years, farmers' groups sold 878 metric tonnes of rice, worth sh400m."
Ambassador Phillip Idro urged farmers to embrace APEP financing to develop.

THE Chancellor of Makerere University has officially launched the Academic Fair to be held by Makerere University at the Freedom Square. The Fair, which showcases different achievements by the different faculties at the university, is taking place alongside the ongoing 5th edition of the All Africa University Games at the institution.
Speaking at the official opening of the Academic Fair, Prof. Mondo Kagonyera, who was represented by the chairman of the Makerere University Appointments Committee, Stephen Maloba acknowledged that the institution has a track record in research and innovations, especially in the area of Science.
"Among the innovations realised at Makerere are, the discovery that the Nevirapine drug prevents the transmission of HIV/AIDS from mother to child," he said.
"Our students from the Faculty of Technology were selected from five African universities to represent the continent on an international team of twelve universities of high repute working on the development of a modern car, projected to be the cheapest in the world and environmentally friendly," he added.
He also noted that Makerere University recognises the need for academic institutions to meaningfully partner not only with the Public Sector but also with the Private Sector.
"The synergy achieved in the partnership has a positive effect on national development. It is thus no surprise that the exhibition has drawn not only the academia but also the corporate world."
The launch comes at a time when Medical Laboratory Observer Magazine in the USA ranked Makerere University and John Hopkins University Core laboratory in Medical school the best in medical laboratory in 2008. It is one of the three laboratories in Africa to be accredited by the College of American Pathologists.

Joshua Masinde (Opinion in The New Vision Editorial)
Wednesday, 9th July, 2008

Last week, a New Vision journalist was abducted and tortured from where he had gone to cover a function in the course of his normal duty. Sebide Kiryowa was blindfolded, beaten up and his money was stolen by goons who either seemed to have a score to settle with him for what The New Vision had published against him or to intimidate him not to write what might embarrass them or put them in trouble.
A week earlier, the offices of The Red Pepper in Namanve had been burned in what appeared to be a highly organised operation. Journalists have often been intimidated, roughed up and sometimes, their cameras or notes confiscated. These incidents should not be looked at in isolation. They seem to demonstrate a deep-seated phobia and hatred for the media.
Has Uganda become so backward that the best way to resolve issues is to revert to criminal and unorthodox methods instead of appealing to the law of the land? It is more beneficial to be a friend rather than an opponent or outright enemy of the media.
The media is a messenger who should not be punished for carrying an unpleasant message. But it is more than a messenger. It is a mirror before which the public should be able to appraise themselves. That is why the media is called a gatekeeper or a watchdog. It checks the excesses of society, extols virtue and condemns vice. It is through the media that the public gets to know and hear what they might not have otherwise known.
However, this is not to say the media does no wrong. There are instances where the aggrieved parties have taken media houses to court for redress.
It is, therefore, cowardly and uncouth to attack a journalist for a story that one does not like. Media houses are governed by the regulations of the Media Council which can call to order any media house that steps out of line.

New Vision (Kampala)
Sunday, 6 July, 2008
Joshua Masinde
Many Ugandan and Nigerian doctors in the United Kingdom and India are unemployed despite being qualified and the numerous job opportunities there.
Dr. Ceppie Merry, the head of Clinical Pharmacology Department at Mulago Medical School, said this was because they do not know how to answer interview questions and write curriculum vitae (CVs).
“You get a job by knowing how to present yourself and how to answer interview questions, besides your qualifications,” she said.
Most doctors, she added, are not updated about the job market overseas. Ceppie, who also teaches at Trinity College in Dublin, was addressing medical students on career management at Mulago Medical School on Friday.
She said the advances in technology have also led to the fear that many doctors would be unemployed in 10 years.
“Tele-medicine will be available in every village. This might render many doctors jobless,” Ceppie pointed out. She advised the medics to stay up-to-date and look for opportunities in the health and medical world.

New Vision (Kampala)
By Joshua Masinde
THE rapid increase in population is a threat to security, the chairman of the National Bio-security Committee has said.
Prof. John Opuda-Asibo noted that people were not aware that biological threats like global warming and environmental degradation were a threat to security.
“People think that only physical insecurities like wars and the gun are a threat to their lives.”
He said the biological threats were caused by increase in population.
Opuda-Asibo, who was on Monday speaking at a seminar in Kampala, also blamed the increase in diseases on the rising population. Bio-security comprises the policies and measures taken to protect people from biological harm.
It encompasses the prevention and mitigation from pests and diseases.
Prof. John David Kabaasa, the dean of the faculty of veterinary medicine of Makerere University, said a rapid rise in population would cause food insecurity and natural calamities.
“In 2000, the urban population was 47% of the world population.
“Now it is 60%. We are faced with many threats like high temperatures, melting of Rwenzori and Kilimanjaro mountain caps, more mosquitoes and tse tse flies.
“While we are also driving towards industrialisation and globalisation, floods are coming in.”
Kabaasa suggested that nutrition and environmental protection be included on the school syllabus.
Dr. Lawrence Mugisha, the operations director of Ngamba Island, a premier gorilla tourism destination camp, noted that in a crowded world where people travelled a lot, the emergence of complex diseases was common.
“Human activities are the most potent factors driving the emergence of diseases.”

New Vision (Kampala)
BOOK REVIEW: 3 July 2008
Joshua Masinde: Kampala
Title: Footprints of The Outsider
Author: Julius Ocwinyo
Publisher: Fountain Publishers
THE opening of a cotton ginnery in Teboke village by two Indians sets off a series of events, one of which is the birth of Abudu Olwit. Olwit is born out of wedlock in a hut. Olwit's father who comes from Bugisu is one of the employees in the ginnery.
The Indians employ labour from other parts of the country, Sudan and the Congo. Olwit and his father are considered outsiders, just like the two Indians.
Olwit's father abandons him with his mother, Alicinora, a drunkard and irresponsible woman who does little for her son. In pursuit of a better future,
Olwit, who is considered as an illegitimate son of an outsider, struggles against the odds to get education.
However, after graduating from university, Olwit's life does not change much. He is not content with the occasional teaching jobs he gets.
He then asks a minister for a government job.
The minister frustrates him, but Olwit later lands himself a job as an assistant superintendent of prisons.
The minister becomes uncomfortable with Olwit's fame and he connives to imprison him. The book brings out the dirty side of politics.
Footprints of the Outsider is a historical and socio-political account of society. Much of the events reflect Uganda's political history from the 1960s to the 1980s.
Apart from its political backdrop, Footprints of the Outsider explores issues of family life, religion and cultural beliefs.
The novel is skilfully woven with wit, suspense, flashbacks, songs and conversations.

The New Vision: Thursday, 26th June, 2008
Book: A Voice Of Women

Publisher: FEMRITE

Available at: Leading bookshops

Price: sh10,000

Reviewed by: Joshua Masinde

A voice for the voiceless

A WOMAN'S Voice is a compelling anthology of 12 short stories written by Ugandan women. The stories are drawn from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds of the Ugandan society. This reflects a rich diversity of themes and messages which, in a way, inspired their authorship.

“Women are natural storytellers; Goretti Kyomuhendo once said, A Woman’s Voice confirms her confession.

The opening story, Looking For My Mother by Lilian Tindyebwa explores pertinent issues of child abuse, neglect and survival.

Rebecca Kazungu confesses having been sexually abused at the age of 15 by her aunt’s husband when she was taken to stay with them. In a flashback, Kazungu admits dumping her child, later named Musa, into a pit latrine but he does not die.

This inhuman act becomes the centre of mockery from Musa’s friends at school.

Mad Apio is a light-hearted story that captures the absurdities and injustices in life, directed at women.

Apio undergoes turbulent times, both at university, from where she is expelled for leading a strike and outside, where her ‘insane’ husband dies.

To stop the in-laws from taking all the inheritance from her, Apio appears naked before them, something which is a taboo in their culture. The father-in-law faints.

Joanitta’s Nightmare is a story penned by Hope Keshubi. Joanitta, a young, innocent, bright school girl gets pregnant after a first love encounter with Jackson, a school boy.

The two meet at a drama festival. They are the victims of love at first-sight and infatuation.

The editor of the book, Violet Barungi, pens The Last One To Know. The story is a typical case of struggle, endurance, women emancipation and frustration.

Becoming A Woman by Hilda Twongyeirwe is a story of transition from childhood to adulthood, and the fears that little girls live with.

The short story collection makes an interesting reading that will leave the reader inspired.

Friday, 13th June, 2008
New Vision (Kampala)
BY JOSHUA MASINDE AND FRANCIS KAGOLO
PRIVATE students at Makerere University have rejected the hike in tuition and accommodation fees.
“Many of us come from poor families and the university should recognise this. If Makerere is a public institution with a vision to serve Ugandans and not making profit, why should it raise fees unnecessarily?” asked the private students’ chairman, Nehemiah Katantazi.
He was speaking at the association’s general assembly at the Mulago School of Medicine on Thursday.
Makerere’s finance committee drew up a new fees structure last month, with a sh400,000 increase on all courses to be split between the two semesters.
It also proposed that private students who reside at the campus pay an extra sh150,000 in addition to the sh640,000 they pay per year.
The proposal, which authorities said was induced by soaring price of food prices and items, has to be passed by the University Council.
Currently, students pay between sh500,000 and sh1m for tuition. In addition, each student pays sh200,000 for registration and sh100,000as examination fees per year.
Abdul Kirembeka, a social sciences student, complained that lecturers spent more time pursuing their private business than teaching at the university.

By Joshua Masinde: Kampala

Any Makerere University student or staff member who comes up with an innovation will receive benefits once the innovation is commercialised and marketed. Dr. George William Nasinyama, the Deputy Director of Research at Makerere University has said.
The university drafted an innovation policy that will cover both the undergraduate and post-graduate students and members of staff.
“This policy addresses issues related to ownership, protection and commercialisation of intellectual property and innovations created by the student and staff of the university,” the draft policy reads in part. The policy, which was approved by the University Council in March this year, will be reviewed periodically by the Board of Research and Publications once it is adopted.
“The university will help the innovator to develop the innovation further and market it,” Dr. Nasinyama said.
“To develop an innovation to commercialization stage requires funds which an individual may not raise. The university comes in, takes up the innovation, undertakes all processes of commercialization in order to market it,” Dr. Nasinyama added.
Once the innovation has been commercialized, the university signs a contract with the innovator. The contract will depend upon the individual and the university. When the contract has been signed, it is taken over by Company law.
As far as benefits are concerned, the profits accrued from marketing the innovation will be shared between the individual and the university after the costs of developing the innovation have been removed.
“Eighty percent (80%) of the first five thousand dollars (US $5000) go to the innovator,” says Dr. Nasinyama. “Thereafter, he or she takes fifty percent (50%).”
Dr. Nasinyama however points out that the innovation does not cover books because published books are addressed by the contract between the author, the publisher and the copyright law. Nevertheless, the university is planning to establish a University Press by the end of this year. This will handle publications like books.
“We are trying to come up with a University Press. If you publish a book, it will be handled in the same way.”

New Vision (Kampala)
8 June 2008Posted to the web 9 June 2008
Joshua Masinde: Kampala
The Copyright and Neighbouring Act 2006 should be amended to make it more effective and all-inclusive, according to the Uganda Performing Arts Association.
The general secretary, James Wasula, pointed out that the law, which covers musicians, writers, poets, was weak because cases of piracy, infringement, unauthorised reproduction of copyrighted works was still rampant in the country.
He was speaking on Friday during the annual meeting of the Uganda Library and Information Association in Kampala.
"Permission must be gained for the reproduction of copyrighted material," Wasula stated, adding that although, the role of a library was to pass out information, the manner in which the information was accessed by different users raised key issues sensitive to the copyright policy.
"Reproduction of the copyrighted material is not limited to photocopying or reprinting. You have to pay to reproduce it," said Wasula. He also observed that lending out a book was not illegal but it interfered with its sales.
The artists recommended the Creative Commons as part of the amendments to the copyright law.
"The Creative Commons supports the desire to learn, get recognition and help others," observed Joyce Bukirwa, a lecturer at the East African School of Library and Information Science at Makerere University.
"That is why we have the free encyclopaedia online."
The Creative Commons will allow access to works, like music, books, journals and drama productions.
"Publishers will lose interest in material which will be available for free. Also, a musician may not be ready to join you to produce work which is going to be obtained freely," Bukirwa pointed out.