Uganda Roundup: Livestock tracking, foreign taxes, EU refugee response
Electronic tracking of livestock
The Ugandan government has introduced an electronic livestock identification and traceability system which is anticipated to be extended across the East African nation, local media the Daily Monitor reports. The project supported by the European Union (EU) is estimated to have cost shs1.1 billion ($292,542). "We can now trace our livestock from farm to fork and this is going to add a lot of value to our livestock because it's for both the ordinary and other farmers who can afford the electronic system," Ugandan state minister for animal industry Bright Rwamirama is quoted by local media the Daily Monitor.
No direct taxes for foreign manufacturers
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Thursday ordered the tax authority in Uganda not to enforce direct taxes on foreign investors in the manufacturing industry in Uganda. "I long ago told everybody concerned that what we lack in Uganda is manufacturing. Therefore, if somebody is in manufacturing. I don't want you to disturb them with direct taxes, because direct taxes are not very crucial for us," Museveni is quoted by local media the Observer.
Bus driver charged for texting while driving
A video of 43-year-old bus driver Andrew Jemba was posted on social media on Tuesday by a passenger using his smartphone while driving on a highway street in Uganda's capital, Kampala. Jemba was arraigned before court on Friday and charged with using a smartphone while driving. The presiding magistrate released Jemba on a cash bail of shs500,000 ($133) and a surety bond of shs1 million ($266), local media the Daily Monitor reported.
EU partnership for refugee response
The European Union (EU) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have signed a 3-year €19.5 million partnership in support of refugees in the East African nation. In a press statement released by the UNHCR, the EU Ambassador to Uganda, Jan Sadek said, “In a context characterized by a narrowing space for humanitarian funding, our partnership with the UNHCR highlights, once again, the importance of the EU as a reliable partner in its response to the various humanitarian crises in the region. We expect that, through this partnership, Uganda’s progressive refugee policy will become more self-reliant and resilient.”
Court sentences seven for terrorism
The International Crimes Division of the High Court in Uganda on Thursday sentenced seven people for aiding, abetting, financing, or harbouring acts of terrorism, and knowingly assisting Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) with acts of terrorism, local media the Independent reports. Following a guilty plea by the defendants, the presiding judge Susan Okalany said, "Since you pleaded guilty, I just said let me allow it. But I was about to reject it. If I was to try you, I would have sentenced you to 50 years, “she is quoted by local media the Independent.
