It started with President Museveni nominating Kiggundu and Commissioners for another term. People raised concerns, but Museveni kept to his guns and Kiggundu is in control. There was registration of new voters and what people did not take seriously is the opening of new areas for registration among these the City Square. Now we see Voter cards are not being delivered and it is as if the Voter cards and National ID project were twin projects. We learnt that Kiggundu had discovered about 1 million ghosts and he alleges to have removed them. No prosecution and no body knows how he cam e across such ghosts no did he get the public to know them. He now says that registers are to be displayed 2 weeks to polls. Ugandans ought to scrutinize these registers because we are fed up of being taken for fools simply because NRM wants to remain in power. We are now aware that youths are being recruited and the purpose why the polls are expected to be violent is a concern by many. And now how can Ugandans be sure that the register Kiggundu is to display will carry th same names as that of 18th February?
Why don't the Uganda Voters decide to boycott the elections until what is wrongly done is rectified. We need to be more vigilant. Enough is enough, taking people for a ride yet when they are in need of a change. President Museveni has been in for more than two decades, those in sound mind know that the President of Uganda should be in office for a maximum of 10 consecutive years. Who has brains and cannot see that?
Thursday, January 27, 2011
GIVEN THE BAD GOVERNANCE ON NRM, I ADVOCATE FOR BUGANDA FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BUT NOT MUTEBI PRESIDENT
Given what we are going through regarding manipulation by NRM and President Museveni not wishing to leave power, I stand out to advocate for a strategy that can see Buganda as a a region break away from Uganda's marriage for convenience which is proving a liability for the people in Buganda given that NRM leadership is at liberty to use what is at its disposal to see continued bad governance of the country as we look on. Many of us see avenues that can see Buganda which has existed for not less than 800 years regain its glory. The way Southern Sudan is doing it. This is not for selfish reasons, but when we get leaders who think that they are leading fools, then we are forced to do things as wise people would. A lot is going on during NRM time of administration which is unacceptable. Much as we still have so many people who are illiterate or semi literate we shall not be taken for a ride all the time. A man comes to be in office for 4 years and he now wants to be in office for 30 years! And even then he keeps dictating because he is at liberty to use the army and other arms of Government. He is at liberty to get whatever money he wants to do missions which are not a priority, we are looking on as the currency; Uganda Shilling depreciates. We know that the awarding of district status is a mandate of some authority, he is having his own yardstick to give any area that is asking for a district to have it! Surely, has Uganda sank so low? W deserve better. Merely because Museveni wants to remain in power is no passport to have policies which are to sink the country further.
However, I think no Muganda or person in Buganda worth his salt can wish Kabaka Mutebi to be President of a Federal Republic of Buganda. So, just keep him out of this proposal as proposed by myself.
William Kituuka Kiwanuka
SAVE KABAKA MUTEBI FROM PRESIDENT RONAL MUTEBI
Written by Tony Owana Thursday, 24 June 2010 14:03
Share
History is said to repeat itself, but there is no law that forces us to make history repeat itself, especially when such a repeat triggers off a well-known sequence.
At least that is the queasy feeling I got when I heard it repeated that Sabasajja Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, Kabaka of Buganda, should not hesitate to try for President of the Republic of Uganda.
Royal Republican
Over five years ago, a leading NRM light who wanted Kabaka Mutebi to steer clear of competitive politics bluntly advised that if he wanted political power, all positions right from LC I to state house were contestable.
Just last year, a top Mengo minister told viewers on Tony Owana's BAROMETER show at NBS television that there was nothing illegal about the Kabaka aspiring to the presidency of Uganda like any other citizen. Those who ignored Owek. Seggona Kalyamaggwa's poignant remark will pay in heavy coin in future…
Nearly fifty years ago, Baganda traditionalists who were genuinely convinced that the Kabaka had to be 'Citizen Number 1' even in a united Uganda, joined forces with clever opportunists to endorse Kabaka Edward Frederick Muteesa II of Buganda as President of Uganda. The late journalist Colin Legum cheekily but appropriately described President Muteesa as 'The Royal Republican', which however sent no warning into the minds of local praise-worshippers.
The contradiction was in a hereditary ruler taking charge of a constitutional republican democracy.
Primus Inter pares
In his own 'Desecration of My kingdom', Sir Edward Muteesa expressed his "first twinge of foreboding "when Obote rather than he presided over the flag-raising event that marked Uganda's independence in 1962.
He saw in it an unfair shift in prerogatives, correctly noting that it is his ancestors (rather than Obote's) whose activities had shaped modern Uganda. Sir Edward noted that in relation to the rest of Uganda, he and his subjects were to be considered 'primus inter pares'; first among equals.
A few years later, the late Dr. Naphtali Akena Adoko was to write in his 'The Uganda Crisis' that " No dead man has the right to rule the living, either directly through his own ghost or indirectly through heirs".
He was talking about kings in direct reference to President Muteesa who had just been ousted in a putsch. This was heralded by the UPC as 'The 1966 Revolution', while others called it a crisis.
Colonel Ronald?
Two weeks ago, a Luganda daily newspaper 'Kamunye' published a front-page image of 'Colonel Ronald Muwenda Mutebi' in battle fatigues, sending our millions of praise-worshippers into a frenzy.
Don't waste your time lecturing that the photo was computer-generated. The message that the Kabaka deserved to be a Colonel at the very lowest was more important.
So zealous were the praise-worshippers that they begged the Creator to turn the imagination into reality.
One youth told me with a straight face that the NRM/NRA had denied the king his true military rank for a very long time but that the 'unstoppable truth' was finally coming out!
Hoima sermon
And just a week ago, President Museveni again repeated his favourite exhortation to traditional rulers to steer clear of partisan politics lest they burn their fingers.
The most sensational scoop of the event, which was Omukama Solomon Iguru's coronation anniversary in Hoima, appeared in 'The Observer'. The bi-weekly quoted the President as (literally) swearing to behead Kabaka Ronald Mutebi for involving himself in anti-NRM politics.
'The Observer' is still apologising over this scoop, but anti-NRM activists are letting everybody know how 'Observer' editors were threatened with death and other sinister reprisals if they did not declare their original story to be lies.
The impression circulating on the internet is that the Kabaka of Buganda is facing the direst tribulations in the kingdom's history and that Obote's 1966 coup was a tea party by comparison.
Someone somewhere is psychologically preparing ordinary people to expect the worst from their own elected government!
Royal Republican II
Finally, some top Baganda politicians are now openly putting Buganda up for political investors to buy political shares, which they will cash after the 2011 elections.
The brokers and touts simply ask the suitors what they promise for the kingdom in exchange for Buganda's hand in marriage. It is likely to be a very polyandrous marriage; very many husbands for a single wife!
But at the Eleventh Hour, all these suitors are likely to be informed that the only safe guarantee for THE NAMUNSWA is for THE NAMUNSWA to occupy the country's most powerful office, a suggestion even their opportunistic livers and spleens will find hard to swallow.
But the die will have been cast by then and the only questions will be whether the lion can be safely denied his share and who the lion actually is.
Is there any way we can save Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II from His Excellency Ronald Muwenda Mutebi, President of the Republic of Uganda?
However, I think no Muganda or person in Buganda worth his salt can wish Kabaka Mutebi to be President of a Federal Republic of Buganda. So, just keep him out of this proposal as proposed by myself.
William Kituuka Kiwanuka
SAVE KABAKA MUTEBI FROM PRESIDENT RONAL MUTEBI
Written by Tony Owana Thursday, 24 June 2010 14:03
Share
History is said to repeat itself, but there is no law that forces us to make history repeat itself, especially when such a repeat triggers off a well-known sequence.
At least that is the queasy feeling I got when I heard it repeated that Sabasajja Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, Kabaka of Buganda, should not hesitate to try for President of the Republic of Uganda.
Royal Republican
Over five years ago, a leading NRM light who wanted Kabaka Mutebi to steer clear of competitive politics bluntly advised that if he wanted political power, all positions right from LC I to state house were contestable.
Just last year, a top Mengo minister told viewers on Tony Owana's BAROMETER show at NBS television that there was nothing illegal about the Kabaka aspiring to the presidency of Uganda like any other citizen. Those who ignored Owek. Seggona Kalyamaggwa's poignant remark will pay in heavy coin in future…
Nearly fifty years ago, Baganda traditionalists who were genuinely convinced that the Kabaka had to be 'Citizen Number 1' even in a united Uganda, joined forces with clever opportunists to endorse Kabaka Edward Frederick Muteesa II of Buganda as President of Uganda. The late journalist Colin Legum cheekily but appropriately described President Muteesa as 'The Royal Republican', which however sent no warning into the minds of local praise-worshippers.
The contradiction was in a hereditary ruler taking charge of a constitutional republican democracy.
Primus Inter pares
In his own 'Desecration of My kingdom', Sir Edward Muteesa expressed his "first twinge of foreboding "when Obote rather than he presided over the flag-raising event that marked Uganda's independence in 1962.
He saw in it an unfair shift in prerogatives, correctly noting that it is his ancestors (rather than Obote's) whose activities had shaped modern Uganda. Sir Edward noted that in relation to the rest of Uganda, he and his subjects were to be considered 'primus inter pares'; first among equals.
A few years later, the late Dr. Naphtali Akena Adoko was to write in his 'The Uganda Crisis' that " No dead man has the right to rule the living, either directly through his own ghost or indirectly through heirs".
He was talking about kings in direct reference to President Muteesa who had just been ousted in a putsch. This was heralded by the UPC as 'The 1966 Revolution', while others called it a crisis.
Colonel Ronald?
Two weeks ago, a Luganda daily newspaper 'Kamunye' published a front-page image of 'Colonel Ronald Muwenda Mutebi' in battle fatigues, sending our millions of praise-worshippers into a frenzy.
Don't waste your time lecturing that the photo was computer-generated. The message that the Kabaka deserved to be a Colonel at the very lowest was more important.
So zealous were the praise-worshippers that they begged the Creator to turn the imagination into reality.
One youth told me with a straight face that the NRM/NRA had denied the king his true military rank for a very long time but that the 'unstoppable truth' was finally coming out!
Hoima sermon
And just a week ago, President Museveni again repeated his favourite exhortation to traditional rulers to steer clear of partisan politics lest they burn their fingers.
The most sensational scoop of the event, which was Omukama Solomon Iguru's coronation anniversary in Hoima, appeared in 'The Observer'. The bi-weekly quoted the President as (literally) swearing to behead Kabaka Ronald Mutebi for involving himself in anti-NRM politics.
'The Observer' is still apologising over this scoop, but anti-NRM activists are letting everybody know how 'Observer' editors were threatened with death and other sinister reprisals if they did not declare their original story to be lies.
The impression circulating on the internet is that the Kabaka of Buganda is facing the direst tribulations in the kingdom's history and that Obote's 1966 coup was a tea party by comparison.
Someone somewhere is psychologically preparing ordinary people to expect the worst from their own elected government!
Royal Republican II
Finally, some top Baganda politicians are now openly putting Buganda up for political investors to buy political shares, which they will cash after the 2011 elections.
The brokers and touts simply ask the suitors what they promise for the kingdom in exchange for Buganda's hand in marriage. It is likely to be a very polyandrous marriage; very many husbands for a single wife!
But at the Eleventh Hour, all these suitors are likely to be informed that the only safe guarantee for THE NAMUNSWA is for THE NAMUNSWA to occupy the country's most powerful office, a suggestion even their opportunistic livers and spleens will find hard to swallow.
But the die will have been cast by then and the only questions will be whether the lion can be safely denied his share and who the lion actually is.
Is there any way we can save Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II from His Excellency Ronald Muwenda Mutebi, President of the Republic of Uganda?
FEATURES ON BALLOT PAPER FOR PRESIDENTIAL AND PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
Adm72/01 6th January 2011
Press Release
Features on the Ballot Paper for Presidential and Parliamentary Elections
2010
The Electoral Commission wishes to clarify that the ballot paper for use during the 2011
Presidential and Parliamentary Elections will bear the following features:
1. The first column will have the full names of candidates, in alphabetical order;
2. The second column will have a colour photograph of the candidate;
3. The third column will have the name of the party and symbol, or independent
candidates’ symbol;
4. The fourth column will have space where the voter will tick or place a thumbprint
as a mark of choice.
After marking the ballot paper, that is, in the box beside the candidate of his/her choice,
the voter will fold the ballot paper once, lengthwise, and then put it into the ballot box.
Polling officials will take voters who may need assistance, through these procedures
during the issuance of ballot papers.
Eng. Dr. Badru M. Kiggundu
Chairperson, Electoral Commission
Press Release
Features on the Ballot Paper for Presidential and Parliamentary Elections
2010
The Electoral Commission wishes to clarify that the ballot paper for use during the 2011
Presidential and Parliamentary Elections will bear the following features:
1. The first column will have the full names of candidates, in alphabetical order;
2. The second column will have a colour photograph of the candidate;
3. The third column will have the name of the party and symbol, or independent
candidates’ symbol;
4. The fourth column will have space where the voter will tick or place a thumbprint
as a mark of choice.
After marking the ballot paper, that is, in the box beside the candidate of his/her choice,
the voter will fold the ballot paper once, lengthwise, and then put it into the ballot box.
Polling officials will take voters who may need assistance, through these procedures
during the issuance of ballot papers.
Eng. Dr. Badru M. Kiggundu
Chairperson, Electoral Commission
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
NRM SHOULD LEAVE GOSSIPING AND GET THINGS MOVING
Looks like we may still have to bear with NRM. If that is so, we must have a more active civil society and we should give them the direction since they are off course but are not ready yet to get out of office. There is a lot of sunlight energy, but people are talking with no innovations worth mentioning. We want people to reduce the rate at which they are exploiting the forests and environment in a non sustainable way, but we are behind schedule in that effort yet elsewhere a lot has been done to see these innovations. Cases in point:
FIREFLY 12 SUPER BRIGHT LED LAMP
Bright LED Lamp
Posted by Abigail Kehr 8 Jan 2011 - 16:57
The 12LED lamp provide many hours of bright light. The lamp comes with a rechargeable battery that can be charged with the included solar panel. The rechargeable battery in the lamp will last up to 2 years depending on how the lamp is used. Replacement batteries and replacement LEDs are available. The battery will fully recharge in 5.5 hours, if the panel is placed in direct sunlight. Please keep the lamp inside when charging.
Kit contents:
- 12LED lamp
- 1.0W Solar Panel
Product Specifications:
Battery: 900mAh NiCd (2 year*), 1200mAh NiMd (4 year^)
Solar Panel: 1.0W Polycrystaline
Panel Wire: 4 meters
Battery Protection: Overcharge and Overdischarge
Runtime HIGH Setting: 4 hours
Runtime on MEDIUM Setting: 7 hours
Runtime LOW Setting: 50 hours
Charging Time: 6hrs Solar or 3hrs AC
AC Charging: an AC charger is also available
*400-500 cycles, 1 cycle = 1.5 nights @4hours/night = 2 years (may vary depending on user behavior)
^800-1000 cycles, 1 cycle = 3 nights @ 4hours/night = 4 years (may vary depending on user behavior)
SOLAR COOKERS
The three most common types of solar cookers are box cookers, curved concentrators (parabolics) and panel cookers. Hundreds — if not thousands — of variations on these basic types exist. Additionally, several large-scale solar cooking systems have been developed to meet the needs of institutions worldwide.
A GIRL WITH A BOX COOKER
BOX COOKERS
Box cookers cook at moderate to high temperatures and often accommodate multiple pots. Worldwide, they are the most widespread. There are several hundred thousand in India alone.
Overview of box-type designs
Box-type cookers are another group of old but popular type of solar cookers. The very first design of box-type cooker was probably that of Nicholas-de-Saussure (1740-1799). It was simply an insulated box with glazing; this design forms the basis of all the present designs of box-type cookers including Richard Wareham’s (1995) Sunstove.
The box cookers presented here are classified on the basis of presence or absence of reflectors, i.e., those without or with mirrors boosters. The cookers of the second category are further divided into five groups.
PRINCIPLES OF SOLAR BOX COOKER DESIGN
By Mark Aalfs, Solar Cookers International - aalfs@yahoo.com
People use solar cookers primarily to cook food and pasteurize water, although additional uses are continually being developed. Numerous factors including access to materials, availability of traditional cooking fuels, climate, food preferences, cultural factors, and technical capabilities, affect people's approach to solar cooking.
With an understanding of basic principles of solar energy and access to simple materials such as cardboard, aluminum foil, and glass, one can build an effective solar cooking device. This paper outlines the basic principles of solar box cooker design and identifies a broad range of potentially useful construction materials.
These principles are presented in general terms so that they are applicable to a wide variety of design problems. Whether the need is to cook food, pasteurize water, or dry fish or grain; the basic principles of solar, heat transfer, and materials apply. We look forward to the application of a wide variety of materials and techniques as people make direct use of the sun's energy.
The following are the general concepts relevant to the design or modification of a solar box cooker:
HEAT PRINCIPLES
The basic purpose of a solar box cooker is to heat things up - cook food, purify water, and sterilize instruments - to mention a few.
A solar box cooks because the interior of the box is heated by the energy of the sun. Sunlight, both direct and reflected, enters the solar box through the glass or plastic top. It turns to heat energy when it is absorbed by the dark absorber plate and cooking pots. This heat input causes the temperature inside of the solar box cooker to rise until the heat loss of the cooker is equal to the solar heat gain. Temperatures sufficient for cooking food and pasteurizing water are easily achieved.
Given two boxes that have the same heat retention capabilities, the one that has more gain, from stronger sunlight or additional sunlight via a reflector, will be hotter inside.
Given two boxes that have equal heat gain, the one that has more heat retention capabilities - better insulated walls, bottom, and top - will reach a higher interior temperature.
The following heating principles will be considered first:
HEAT GAIN
Greenhouse effectEdit Greenhouse effect sectionEdit
This effect results in the heating of enclosed spaces into which the sun shines through a transparent material such as glass or plastic. Visible light easily passes through the glass and is absorbed and reflected by materials within the enclosed space.
The light energy that is absorbed by dark pots and the dark absorber plate underneath the pots is converted into longer wavelength heat energy and radiates from the interior materials. Most of this radiant energy, because it is of a longer wavelength, cannot pass back out through the glass and is therefore trapped within the enclosed space. The reflected light is either absorbed by other materials within the space or, because it doesn't change wavelength, passes back out through the glass.
Critical to solar cooker performance, the heat that is collected by the dark metal absorber plate and pots is conducted through those materials to heat and cook the food.
GLASS ORIENTATION
The more directly the glass faces the sun, the greater the solar heat gain. Although the glass is the same size on box 1 and box 2, more sun shines through the glass on box 2 because it faces the sun more directly. Note that box 2 also has more wall area through which to lose heat.
REFLECTORS ADDITIONAL GAIN
Single or multiple reflectors bounce additional sunlight through the glass and into the solar box. This additional input of solar energy results in higher cooker temperatures.
HEAT LOSS
The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that heat always travels from high to low energy. Heat within a solar box cooker is lost in three fundamental ways: Conduction, Radiation, and Convection.
CONDUCTION
The handle of a metal pan on a stove or fire becomes hot through the transfer of heat from the fire through the materials of the pan, to the materials of the handle. In the same way, heat within a solar box is lost when it travels through the molecules of tin foil, glass, cardboard, air, and insulation, to the air outside of the box.
The solar heated absorber plate conducts heat to the bottoms of the pots. To prevent loss of this heat via conduction through the bottom of the cooker, the absorber plate is raised from the bottom using small insulating spacers as in figure 6.
RADIATION
Things that are warm or hot -- fires, stoves, or pots and food within a solar box cooker -- give off heat waves, or radiate heat to their surroundings. These heat waves are radiated from warm objects through air or space. Most of the radiant heat given off by the warm pots within a solar box is reflected from the foil and glass back to the pots and bottom tray. Although the transparent glazings do trap most of the radiant heat, some does escape directly through the glazing. Glass traps radiant heat better than most plastics.
CONVENTION
Molecules of air move in and out of the box through cracks. They convect. Heated air molecules within a solar box escape, primarily through the cracks around the top lid, a side "oven door" opening, or construction imperfections. Cooler air from outside the box also enters through these openings.
HEAT STORAGE
As the density and weight of the materials within the insulated shell of a solar box cooker increase, the capacity of the box to hold heat increases. The interior of a box including heavy materials such as rocks, bricks, heavy pans, water, or heavy foods will take longer to heat up because of this additional heat storage capacity. The incoming energy is stored as heat in these heavy materials, slowing down the heating of the air in the box.
These dense materials, charged with heat, will radiate that heat within the box, keeping it warm for a longer period at the day's end.
MATERIALS REQUIRED
There are three types of materials that are typically used in the construction of solar box cookers. A property that must be considered in the selection of materials is moisture resistance.
* Structural material
* Insulation
* Transparent material
* Moisture resistance
STRUCTURAL MATERIAL
Structural materials are necessary so that the box will have and retain a given shape and form, and be durable over time.
Structural materials include cardboard, wood, plywood, masonite, bamboo, metal, cement, bricks, stone, glass, fiberglass, woven reeds, rattan, plastic, papier mache, clay, rammed earth, metals, tree bark, cloth stiffened with glue or other material.
Many materials that perform well structurally are too dense to be good insulators. To provide both structural integrity and good insulation qualities, it is usually necessary to use separate structural and insulating materials.
INSULATION
In order for the box to reach interior temperatures high enough for cooking, the walls and the bottom of the box must have good insulation (heat retention) value. Good insulating materials include: aluminum foil (radiant reflector), feathers (down feathers are best), spun fiberglass, rockwool, cellulose, rice hulls, wool, straw, and crumpled newspaper.
When building a solar cooker, it is important that the insulation materials surround the interior cooking cavity of the solar box on all sides except for the glazed side -- usually the top. Insulating materials should be installed so that they allow minimal conduction of heat from the inner box structural materials to the outer box structural materials. The lower the box heat loss, the higher the cooking temperatures.
TRANSPARENT MATERIAL
At least one surface of the box must be transparent and face the sun to provide for heating via the "greenhouse effect." The most common glazing materials are glass and high temperature plastics such as oven roasting bags. Double glazing using either glass or plastic affects both the heat gain and the heat loss. Depending on the material used, the solar transmittance - heat gain - may be reduced by 5-15%. However, because the heat loss through the glass or plastic is cut in half, the overall solar box performance is increased.
MOISTURE RESISTANCE
Most foods that are cooked in a solar box cooker contain moisture. When water or food is heated in the solar box, a vapor pressure is created, driving the moisture from the inside to the outside of the box. There are several ways that this moisture can travel. It can escape directly through box gaps and cracks or be forced into the box walls and bottom if there is no moisture barrier. If a box is designed with high quality seals and moisture barriers, the water vapor may be retained inside the cooking chamber. In the design of most solar box cookers, it is important that the inner-most surface of the cooker be a good vapor barrier. This barrier will prevent water damage to the insulation and structural materials of the cooker by slowing the migration of water vapor into the walls and bottom of the cooker.
DESIGN AND PROPORTION
Source:
Box cookers without reflectors
PARABOLIC COOKERS
Curved concentrator cookers, or "parabolics," cook fast at high temperatures, but require frequent adjustment and supervision for safe operation. Several hundred thousand exist, mainly in China. They are especially useful for large-scale institutional cooking.
PANEL COOKERS
Panel cookers incorporate elements of box and curved concentrator cookers. They are simple and relatively inexpensive to buy or produce. Solar Cookers International's "CooKit" is the most widely used combination cooker.
FIREFLY 12 SUPER BRIGHT LED LAMP
Bright LED Lamp
Posted by Abigail Kehr 8 Jan 2011 - 16:57
The 12LED lamp provide many hours of bright light. The lamp comes with a rechargeable battery that can be charged with the included solar panel. The rechargeable battery in the lamp will last up to 2 years depending on how the lamp is used. Replacement batteries and replacement LEDs are available. The battery will fully recharge in 5.5 hours, if the panel is placed in direct sunlight. Please keep the lamp inside when charging.
Kit contents:
- 12LED lamp
- 1.0W Solar Panel
Product Specifications:
Battery: 900mAh NiCd (2 year*), 1200mAh NiMd (4 year^)
Solar Panel: 1.0W Polycrystaline
Panel Wire: 4 meters
Battery Protection: Overcharge and Overdischarge
Runtime HIGH Setting: 4 hours
Runtime on MEDIUM Setting: 7 hours
Runtime LOW Setting: 50 hours
Charging Time: 6hrs Solar or 3hrs AC
AC Charging: an AC charger is also available
*400-500 cycles, 1 cycle = 1.5 nights @4hours/night = 2 years (may vary depending on user behavior)
^800-1000 cycles, 1 cycle = 3 nights @ 4hours/night = 4 years (may vary depending on user behavior)
SOLAR COOKERS
The three most common types of solar cookers are box cookers, curved concentrators (parabolics) and panel cookers. Hundreds — if not thousands — of variations on these basic types exist. Additionally, several large-scale solar cooking systems have been developed to meet the needs of institutions worldwide.
A GIRL WITH A BOX COOKER
BOX COOKERS
Box cookers cook at moderate to high temperatures and often accommodate multiple pots. Worldwide, they are the most widespread. There are several hundred thousand in India alone.
Overview of box-type designs
Box-type cookers are another group of old but popular type of solar cookers. The very first design of box-type cooker was probably that of Nicholas-de-Saussure (1740-1799). It was simply an insulated box with glazing; this design forms the basis of all the present designs of box-type cookers including Richard Wareham’s (1995) Sunstove.
The box cookers presented here are classified on the basis of presence or absence of reflectors, i.e., those without or with mirrors boosters. The cookers of the second category are further divided into five groups.
PRINCIPLES OF SOLAR BOX COOKER DESIGN
By Mark Aalfs, Solar Cookers International - aalfs@yahoo.com
People use solar cookers primarily to cook food and pasteurize water, although additional uses are continually being developed. Numerous factors including access to materials, availability of traditional cooking fuels, climate, food preferences, cultural factors, and technical capabilities, affect people's approach to solar cooking.
With an understanding of basic principles of solar energy and access to simple materials such as cardboard, aluminum foil, and glass, one can build an effective solar cooking device. This paper outlines the basic principles of solar box cooker design and identifies a broad range of potentially useful construction materials.
These principles are presented in general terms so that they are applicable to a wide variety of design problems. Whether the need is to cook food, pasteurize water, or dry fish or grain; the basic principles of solar, heat transfer, and materials apply. We look forward to the application of a wide variety of materials and techniques as people make direct use of the sun's energy.
The following are the general concepts relevant to the design or modification of a solar box cooker:
HEAT PRINCIPLES
The basic purpose of a solar box cooker is to heat things up - cook food, purify water, and sterilize instruments - to mention a few.
A solar box cooks because the interior of the box is heated by the energy of the sun. Sunlight, both direct and reflected, enters the solar box through the glass or plastic top. It turns to heat energy when it is absorbed by the dark absorber plate and cooking pots. This heat input causes the temperature inside of the solar box cooker to rise until the heat loss of the cooker is equal to the solar heat gain. Temperatures sufficient for cooking food and pasteurizing water are easily achieved.
Given two boxes that have the same heat retention capabilities, the one that has more gain, from stronger sunlight or additional sunlight via a reflector, will be hotter inside.
Given two boxes that have equal heat gain, the one that has more heat retention capabilities - better insulated walls, bottom, and top - will reach a higher interior temperature.
The following heating principles will be considered first:
HEAT GAIN
Greenhouse effectEdit Greenhouse effect sectionEdit
This effect results in the heating of enclosed spaces into which the sun shines through a transparent material such as glass or plastic. Visible light easily passes through the glass and is absorbed and reflected by materials within the enclosed space.
The light energy that is absorbed by dark pots and the dark absorber plate underneath the pots is converted into longer wavelength heat energy and radiates from the interior materials. Most of this radiant energy, because it is of a longer wavelength, cannot pass back out through the glass and is therefore trapped within the enclosed space. The reflected light is either absorbed by other materials within the space or, because it doesn't change wavelength, passes back out through the glass.
Critical to solar cooker performance, the heat that is collected by the dark metal absorber plate and pots is conducted through those materials to heat and cook the food.
GLASS ORIENTATION
The more directly the glass faces the sun, the greater the solar heat gain. Although the glass is the same size on box 1 and box 2, more sun shines through the glass on box 2 because it faces the sun more directly. Note that box 2 also has more wall area through which to lose heat.
REFLECTORS ADDITIONAL GAIN
Single or multiple reflectors bounce additional sunlight through the glass and into the solar box. This additional input of solar energy results in higher cooker temperatures.
HEAT LOSS
The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that heat always travels from high to low energy. Heat within a solar box cooker is lost in three fundamental ways: Conduction, Radiation, and Convection.
CONDUCTION
The handle of a metal pan on a stove or fire becomes hot through the transfer of heat from the fire through the materials of the pan, to the materials of the handle. In the same way, heat within a solar box is lost when it travels through the molecules of tin foil, glass, cardboard, air, and insulation, to the air outside of the box.
The solar heated absorber plate conducts heat to the bottoms of the pots. To prevent loss of this heat via conduction through the bottom of the cooker, the absorber plate is raised from the bottom using small insulating spacers as in figure 6.
RADIATION
Things that are warm or hot -- fires, stoves, or pots and food within a solar box cooker -- give off heat waves, or radiate heat to their surroundings. These heat waves are radiated from warm objects through air or space. Most of the radiant heat given off by the warm pots within a solar box is reflected from the foil and glass back to the pots and bottom tray. Although the transparent glazings do trap most of the radiant heat, some does escape directly through the glazing. Glass traps radiant heat better than most plastics.
CONVENTION
Molecules of air move in and out of the box through cracks. They convect. Heated air molecules within a solar box escape, primarily through the cracks around the top lid, a side "oven door" opening, or construction imperfections. Cooler air from outside the box also enters through these openings.
HEAT STORAGE
As the density and weight of the materials within the insulated shell of a solar box cooker increase, the capacity of the box to hold heat increases. The interior of a box including heavy materials such as rocks, bricks, heavy pans, water, or heavy foods will take longer to heat up because of this additional heat storage capacity. The incoming energy is stored as heat in these heavy materials, slowing down the heating of the air in the box.
These dense materials, charged with heat, will radiate that heat within the box, keeping it warm for a longer period at the day's end.
MATERIALS REQUIRED
There are three types of materials that are typically used in the construction of solar box cookers. A property that must be considered in the selection of materials is moisture resistance.
* Structural material
* Insulation
* Transparent material
* Moisture resistance
STRUCTURAL MATERIAL
Structural materials are necessary so that the box will have and retain a given shape and form, and be durable over time.
Structural materials include cardboard, wood, plywood, masonite, bamboo, metal, cement, bricks, stone, glass, fiberglass, woven reeds, rattan, plastic, papier mache, clay, rammed earth, metals, tree bark, cloth stiffened with glue or other material.
Many materials that perform well structurally are too dense to be good insulators. To provide both structural integrity and good insulation qualities, it is usually necessary to use separate structural and insulating materials.
INSULATION
In order for the box to reach interior temperatures high enough for cooking, the walls and the bottom of the box must have good insulation (heat retention) value. Good insulating materials include: aluminum foil (radiant reflector), feathers (down feathers are best), spun fiberglass, rockwool, cellulose, rice hulls, wool, straw, and crumpled newspaper.
When building a solar cooker, it is important that the insulation materials surround the interior cooking cavity of the solar box on all sides except for the glazed side -- usually the top. Insulating materials should be installed so that they allow minimal conduction of heat from the inner box structural materials to the outer box structural materials. The lower the box heat loss, the higher the cooking temperatures.
TRANSPARENT MATERIAL
At least one surface of the box must be transparent and face the sun to provide for heating via the "greenhouse effect." The most common glazing materials are glass and high temperature plastics such as oven roasting bags. Double glazing using either glass or plastic affects both the heat gain and the heat loss. Depending on the material used, the solar transmittance - heat gain - may be reduced by 5-15%. However, because the heat loss through the glass or plastic is cut in half, the overall solar box performance is increased.
MOISTURE RESISTANCE
Most foods that are cooked in a solar box cooker contain moisture. When water or food is heated in the solar box, a vapor pressure is created, driving the moisture from the inside to the outside of the box. There are several ways that this moisture can travel. It can escape directly through box gaps and cracks or be forced into the box walls and bottom if there is no moisture barrier. If a box is designed with high quality seals and moisture barriers, the water vapor may be retained inside the cooking chamber. In the design of most solar box cookers, it is important that the inner-most surface of the cooker be a good vapor barrier. This barrier will prevent water damage to the insulation and structural materials of the cooker by slowing the migration of water vapor into the walls and bottom of the cooker.
DESIGN AND PROPORTION
Source:
Box cookers without reflectors
PARABOLIC COOKERS
Curved concentrator cookers, or "parabolics," cook fast at high temperatures, but require frequent adjustment and supervision for safe operation. Several hundred thousand exist, mainly in China. They are especially useful for large-scale institutional cooking.
PANEL COOKERS
Panel cookers incorporate elements of box and curved concentrator cookers. They are simple and relatively inexpensive to buy or produce. Solar Cookers International's "CooKit" is the most widely used combination cooker.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
THE PEOPLE OF UGANDA CAN DECIDE TO BOYCOTT AN ELECTION
The opposition can decide to boycott the General Elections when they are convinced that things are not well. If Government deliberately refuses to print Voter cards for millions of people, it is not wrong for people who are now used to a cheating NRM to assume that this is a strategy to cheat. The reading on the wall is clear, 25 years in power, President Museveni is just trying to see that he remains in power, otherwise in eyes of people who think that this country can have a better future as currently there is no future worth mentioning, change is the way to go. Meseveni initially promised to be in power for 4 years, today, 25th January, it is exactly 25 years since his army captured power and has sine used tactics and tricks together with the army to see him continue as President, so when people come and complain that certain things are not right, they have a point. While people should be longing for a change, funny opinion polls show that he has over 60 which cannot be under normal circumstances.
The way leaders cling to power shows how many have failed to learn from history. Just on Tuesday 25th January 2011 I saw with my eyes youthful boys and girls who were from training at Bweya 8miles Entebbe Highway. Why does the NRM Government keep training such youths who are the most disadvantaged during its leadership? The formula used in getting these youth is not clear either. This is how dictators stay in power. They use machinery to threaten people, otherwise if Government was not having hidden agenda why would they expect people to be not to e peaceful? They now know that some unknown people may appear on polling stations and this type of youth should be ready to deal with them. Yes, because we are under developed and dominated by dictators, we at times have no choice but to resort to prayer.
God remember Uganda.
William Kituuka Kiwanuka
Opposition party FDC fails to block polls Tuesday, 25th January, 2011
By Andante Okanya
THE High Court in Kampala has dismissed a case filed by the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) seeking to compel the Electoral Commission (EC) to issue voting cards to about four million newly registered voters before next month’s general elections.
Court presided over by Justice Eldad Mwangushya dismissed the case on grounds that a voter’s card is not the only document that can be used to identify a voter.
“My understanding of these provisions regarding issuance and introduction of voters’ cards is that a voter’s card is one of the instruments by which a voter can be identified at a polling station but is not the only instrument,” Mwangushya said.
The FDC on December 22, 2010 petitioned the court to compel the EC to issue the cards before the February 18 elections.
The EC had announced in October last year that it would not issue the cards since the internal affairs ministry was about to issue national identity cards.
Through its lawyer, Wandera Ogalo, FDC argued that the EC’s decision to allow the four million people to vote without cards would lead to abuse of the electoral process.
If the court had ruled in favour of the FDC, it would have meant delaying the elections to enable the EC print and issue the cards to the millions of new voters who registered last year.
The case arose on December 22 last year after FDC filed an application for a judicial review against the EC’s decision.
But in his ruling, the judge agreed with the EC that any person, whose name appears in the register, would be allowed to vote.
He dismissed the claim by FDC vice-president Salaam Musumba that the four million voters risked being disenfranchised.
When court heard the application on January 12, Ogalo submitted that according to Section 35 of the amended Presidential Elections Act 2010, it is a mandatory duty for EC to print and issue voters’ cards.
But EC lawyer Christine Kahwa argued that even without a voter’s card, a voter can still be identified on the polling day using the new photographic register, as opposed to the old text register.
The judge said FDC’s fears were based on speculation and that all stakeholders were duty-bound to ensure that vices like ballot stuffing are avoided.
“I do not understand how this would disenfranchise voters who have not been issued with voters’ cards. They will be allowed to vote,” the judge said.
He, however, added the matters raised by FDC should be considered to contribute to the better management of the polls.
Speaking after the ruling, Ogalo expressed dismay at the court’s decision but ruled out an appeal.
Lukyamuzi said the court should have considered the imperfections that have marred the previous polls.
POLLS IN A CRISIS?
By Isaac Khisa
Posted Tuesday, January 25 2011 at 00:00
With barely three weeks left, opposition leaders yesterday demanded next month’s elections be postponed until voters’ cards are issued to more than four million newly-registered voters to avert a possible crisis.
The government, however, responded that “it is not possible to postpone the elections because voters’ cards are not a pre-condition to voting”.
Road map
Information Minister Kabakumba Masiko told this newspaper last evening that the EC drew a calendar of the election roadmap which is being adhered to.
“We have a clean and credible register and we as government are doing everything possible that the elections are free and fair,” said Ms Masiko, who accused the opposition of wanting to delay the elections and plunge the country into chaos.
The call for rescheduling was made during a joint press conference held at Kampala’s Christ the King Church premises, following a meeting earlier in the day with the Electoral Commission, at which the leaders warned that the “voters register is fatally flawed”.
There are 13.9 million voters according to the provisional register released by the EC which figure the opposition and other stakeholders have questioned for a country where 56 per cent of its 32 million people are recorded as being younger than 18, the threshold of adult voting age.
Dr Abed Bwanika of PDP, Mr Olara Otunnu of UPC, People’s Progressive Party candidate, Jaberi Bidandi Ssali and an Independent Sam Walter Lubega convened the press conference. They also proposed an emergency summit to be attended by all eight presidential candidates, religious leaders and civil society organisations before polling day to find a way forward.
“We are laying the case that if we go to the elections, will it make sense to the electorate? The summit will give all stakeholders an option. However, the best option we see now is to stretch this election so that the EC has good time to provide remedies,” said Dr Bwanika.
Dispelling talk of boycotting polls, he added: “This is because in Africa, boycotting elections cannot make sense. It will only be Dr Bwanika boycotting and not the people of Uganda. If the country slips into violence, my people will also be killed.”
The opposition leaders say absence of voters’ cards, proliferation of ghost polling stations, a bloated voters register, multiple registration, and with foreigners and under age voters preparing to participate, the elections won’t be free and fair.
Calls for a postponement come weeks after the FDC sued the electoral body, seeking a declaration compelling it to issue cards to newly-registered voters.
EC Secretary Sam Rwakoojo has contended that Section 35(3) of the amended Presidential Elections Act, 2010, provides for voting without the voters cards as long as one is able to prove to the polling officer or assistant that his or her name and photograph appear in the register. Hearing of the case continues.
In the meantime, FDC leader Kizza Besigye, and his compatriots in the opposition vow they will announce their own version of the results. The opposition, whose repeated demands for broad electoral reforms were ignored by government, is adamant that the EC is not impartial in the matter and cannot be trusted to return an impeccable result.
Dr Besigye has unsuccessfully contested the last two elections which the Supreme Court found were not conducted in accordance with the law, were marred by irregularities, including rigging, but that the rigging was insufficient to have a substantial effect on the final result.
EC Spokesman Charles Willy Ochola yesterday said: “We are doing this legally and we should be allowed to do (our work) instead of being pessimistic.” He emphasised that no voters cards will be issued within the three weeks left to the polling days.
But unless the proposed summit restores the confidence of all interested parties, the country faces the real possibility that the official results released by the EC could be rejected.
Dr Bwanika warned that “we do not want to see what happened in Kenya, in Rwanda, in Zimbabwe and now in Ivory Coast.”
Police chief, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura last week confirmed that they were investigating about 10 known vigilante groups. The Force has, however, repeatedly said that the crime preventers are being trained to help maintain law and order.
But the opposition says that these groups numbering 30 individuals per village were recruited from amongst ruling party sympathisers – a claim Ms Masiko denied.
The way leaders cling to power shows how many have failed to learn from history. Just on Tuesday 25th January 2011 I saw with my eyes youthful boys and girls who were from training at Bweya 8miles Entebbe Highway. Why does the NRM Government keep training such youths who are the most disadvantaged during its leadership? The formula used in getting these youth is not clear either. This is how dictators stay in power. They use machinery to threaten people, otherwise if Government was not having hidden agenda why would they expect people to be not to e peaceful? They now know that some unknown people may appear on polling stations and this type of youth should be ready to deal with them. Yes, because we are under developed and dominated by dictators, we at times have no choice but to resort to prayer.
God remember Uganda.
William Kituuka Kiwanuka
Opposition party FDC fails to block polls Tuesday, 25th January, 2011
By Andante Okanya
THE High Court in Kampala has dismissed a case filed by the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) seeking to compel the Electoral Commission (EC) to issue voting cards to about four million newly registered voters before next month’s general elections.
Court presided over by Justice Eldad Mwangushya dismissed the case on grounds that a voter’s card is not the only document that can be used to identify a voter.
“My understanding of these provisions regarding issuance and introduction of voters’ cards is that a voter’s card is one of the instruments by which a voter can be identified at a polling station but is not the only instrument,” Mwangushya said.
The FDC on December 22, 2010 petitioned the court to compel the EC to issue the cards before the February 18 elections.
The EC had announced in October last year that it would not issue the cards since the internal affairs ministry was about to issue national identity cards.
Through its lawyer, Wandera Ogalo, FDC argued that the EC’s decision to allow the four million people to vote without cards would lead to abuse of the electoral process.
If the court had ruled in favour of the FDC, it would have meant delaying the elections to enable the EC print and issue the cards to the millions of new voters who registered last year.
The case arose on December 22 last year after FDC filed an application for a judicial review against the EC’s decision.
But in his ruling, the judge agreed with the EC that any person, whose name appears in the register, would be allowed to vote.
He dismissed the claim by FDC vice-president Salaam Musumba that the four million voters risked being disenfranchised.
When court heard the application on January 12, Ogalo submitted that according to Section 35 of the amended Presidential Elections Act 2010, it is a mandatory duty for EC to print and issue voters’ cards.
But EC lawyer Christine Kahwa argued that even without a voter’s card, a voter can still be identified on the polling day using the new photographic register, as opposed to the old text register.
The judge said FDC’s fears were based on speculation and that all stakeholders were duty-bound to ensure that vices like ballot stuffing are avoided.
“I do not understand how this would disenfranchise voters who have not been issued with voters’ cards. They will be allowed to vote,” the judge said.
He, however, added the matters raised by FDC should be considered to contribute to the better management of the polls.
Speaking after the ruling, Ogalo expressed dismay at the court’s decision but ruled out an appeal.
Lukyamuzi said the court should have considered the imperfections that have marred the previous polls.
POLLS IN A CRISIS?
By Isaac Khisa
Posted Tuesday, January 25 2011 at 00:00
With barely three weeks left, opposition leaders yesterday demanded next month’s elections be postponed until voters’ cards are issued to more than four million newly-registered voters to avert a possible crisis.
The government, however, responded that “it is not possible to postpone the elections because voters’ cards are not a pre-condition to voting”.
Road map
Information Minister Kabakumba Masiko told this newspaper last evening that the EC drew a calendar of the election roadmap which is being adhered to.
“We have a clean and credible register and we as government are doing everything possible that the elections are free and fair,” said Ms Masiko, who accused the opposition of wanting to delay the elections and plunge the country into chaos.
The call for rescheduling was made during a joint press conference held at Kampala’s Christ the King Church premises, following a meeting earlier in the day with the Electoral Commission, at which the leaders warned that the “voters register is fatally flawed”.
There are 13.9 million voters according to the provisional register released by the EC which figure the opposition and other stakeholders have questioned for a country where 56 per cent of its 32 million people are recorded as being younger than 18, the threshold of adult voting age.
Dr Abed Bwanika of PDP, Mr Olara Otunnu of UPC, People’s Progressive Party candidate, Jaberi Bidandi Ssali and an Independent Sam Walter Lubega convened the press conference. They also proposed an emergency summit to be attended by all eight presidential candidates, religious leaders and civil society organisations before polling day to find a way forward.
“We are laying the case that if we go to the elections, will it make sense to the electorate? The summit will give all stakeholders an option. However, the best option we see now is to stretch this election so that the EC has good time to provide remedies,” said Dr Bwanika.
Dispelling talk of boycotting polls, he added: “This is because in Africa, boycotting elections cannot make sense. It will only be Dr Bwanika boycotting and not the people of Uganda. If the country slips into violence, my people will also be killed.”
The opposition leaders say absence of voters’ cards, proliferation of ghost polling stations, a bloated voters register, multiple registration, and with foreigners and under age voters preparing to participate, the elections won’t be free and fair.
Calls for a postponement come weeks after the FDC sued the electoral body, seeking a declaration compelling it to issue cards to newly-registered voters.
EC Secretary Sam Rwakoojo has contended that Section 35(3) of the amended Presidential Elections Act, 2010, provides for voting without the voters cards as long as one is able to prove to the polling officer or assistant that his or her name and photograph appear in the register. Hearing of the case continues.
In the meantime, FDC leader Kizza Besigye, and his compatriots in the opposition vow they will announce their own version of the results. The opposition, whose repeated demands for broad electoral reforms were ignored by government, is adamant that the EC is not impartial in the matter and cannot be trusted to return an impeccable result.
Dr Besigye has unsuccessfully contested the last two elections which the Supreme Court found were not conducted in accordance with the law, were marred by irregularities, including rigging, but that the rigging was insufficient to have a substantial effect on the final result.
EC Spokesman Charles Willy Ochola yesterday said: “We are doing this legally and we should be allowed to do (our work) instead of being pessimistic.” He emphasised that no voters cards will be issued within the three weeks left to the polling days.
But unless the proposed summit restores the confidence of all interested parties, the country faces the real possibility that the official results released by the EC could be rejected.
Dr Bwanika warned that “we do not want to see what happened in Kenya, in Rwanda, in Zimbabwe and now in Ivory Coast.”
Police chief, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura last week confirmed that they were investigating about 10 known vigilante groups. The Force has, however, repeatedly said that the crime preventers are being trained to help maintain law and order.
But the opposition says that these groups numbering 30 individuals per village were recruited from amongst ruling party sympathisers – a claim Ms Masiko denied.
Monday, January 24, 2011
PNEUMONIA VACCINE 'TO SAVE THOUSANDS OF LIVES'
"Pneumonia has been called the forgotten killer. It does not get the same attention as HIV/Aids or malaria. Yet it claims the lives of more young children worldwide than both of them combined. ”
image of Fergus Walsh Fergus Walsh Medical correspondent, BBC News
Fergus Walsh By Fergus Walsh Medical correspondent, BBC News
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12263356
A new vaccine against pneumonia is being rolled out in Africa which estimates suggest could save more than half a million lives a year globally.
The Gavi Alliance, a global health partnership of public and private sectors for immunisation, says 19 countries will get the jab at first.
Kenyan children have begun receiving it and Sierra Leone, Yemen, Honduras and Guyana will follow this year.
Infants in Nicaragua also started receiving the vaccine a few weeks ago.
Many more countries could benefit if the funding becomes available.
Gavi says it needs an extra £500m ($800m) annually for the next five years to meet a shortfall in immunisation for existing and new vaccines.
The pneumonia vaccine is given as a series of three injections
Preventable illnesses
The pneumonia vaccine protects against pneumococcal disease, the leading cause of severe pneumonia in children. It also guards against a form of meningitis and blood poisoning.
Pneumonia kills more children than any other illness, claiming around 1.7 million lives every year.
At the Langata health centre in Nairobi, scores of mothers brought their babies along for the first of three injections.
Beatrice Aching's son Wesley died from pneumonia in November. She brought her three-month-old daughter Tamara to be immunised. She said: "My son's death happened very suddenly. Wesley got sick in the morning and by evening he had died in hospital - I don't want that to happen to Tamara."
Nurse in Langata health centre, Nairobi, Kenya (January 2011) The pneumonia vaccine is given as a series of three injections
Leah Otieno's nine-month-old son Emmanuel got pneumonia before Christmas but recovered after antibiotic treatment - she says she is delighted to get him protected.
The charity Save the Children has launched a report, No Child Born to Die, which highlights the potential funding shortfall for global immunisation.
The report also says there is a critical shortage of 3.5 million health workers in poor countries, without whom millions of children will face illness and early death.
"Too many children are dying every day of vaccine-preventable illnesses and from the lack of basic healthcare," said Catherine Fitzgibbon from Save the Children. "The money needed for basic immunisation is in doubt, let alone for this effective new vaccine against pneumonia."
Price deal
In June 2011, the UK government is hosting a meeting of Gavi in London which will be attended by world leaders. The UK provides a quarter of all Gavi's funding - more than any other nation.
Continue reading the main story
Pneumonia has been called the forgotten killer. It does not get the same attention as HIV/Aids or malaria. Yet it claims the lives of more young children worldwide than both of them combined. ”
image of Fergus Walsh Fergus Walsh Medical correspondent, BBC News
Save the Children says it will be campaigning for rich nations to increase support for global immunisation, and for the pharmaceutical industry to lower the price of vaccines.
The pneumococcal vaccine costs £2.20 ($3.50) in Africa compared to £38 in Europe as a result of a deal between Gavi and two manufacturers: Pfizer and GSK. The roll-out in the developing world comes just a year after the same vaccine was introduced in the United States.
GSK said the discounted price is only fractionally above the cost of production. A spokesman said the vaccine takes a year to produce and is the most technically sophisticated of all its vaccines.
A second vaccine against rotavirus - the main cause of serious diarrhoea - is also being ready to be rolled out. But this, too, is far more expensive than the basic childhood vaccines against diseases like measles, whooping cough and polio.
Pneumonia and diarrhoea account for a third of all deaths in young children in the developing world. Gavi and Save the Children say a comprehensive roll-out of the pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccines could potentially prevent more than one million deaths annually.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
WHY DO PROFESSIONALS LEAVE THEIR CAREERS AND OPT FOR POLITICS IN UGANDA?
WHY DO PROFESSIONALS LEAVE THEIR CAREERS AND OPT FOR POLITICS IN UGANDA?
The Principles of Decentralization are entrenched in Uganda’s Constitution and the Local Government Act. These provisions empower Local Governments with responsibilities of allocation of public resources, integrated participatory planning and budgeting, local resource mobilization and investment management within their areas of jurisdiction. The decentralization policy aims at improving service delivery, accessibility to services and reduction of poverty.
The reason why people who are well qualified (Medical Doctors, Engineers; to mention some) leave their would be paying professions and opt to compete for Local Government positions can be found in the study below which was undertaken by The Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC).
THE PRIVATE TENDER SYSTEM IN DISTRICTS STUDIED HAD VERY SERIOUS DEFECTS – ‘A GIGANTIC RIP-OFF.’
The Economic Policy and Research Centre (November 4, 2003) presented their study which showed that the private tender system in 6 districts studied that is: Mbale, Kamuli, Mubende, Masaka, Ntungamo and Arua had ‘very serious defects’ and amounted to little more than a transfer of money from the ordinary often very poor tax payers, to the pockets of richer tax collection agents and their associates. “Given that gross profit margins to tenderers vary from between 100% to almost 1,000% in the above districts, the private tendering system amounts to a gigantic rip off,” said Professor Frank Ellise, a Senior Consultant on the EPRC study team.
This happens because tax collection contracts for market places, fish landing sites and parishes are tendered out on the basis of an “assessed” reserve price that is supposed to represent the amount of tax likely to be collected from that market or site. Tenderers are usually permitted an “official” profit margin of about 20% above this reserve price. In other wards for an assessed revenue potential of 1million shillings, the reserve price would be shs 800,000. It is in the assessors’ interest to keep the reserve price low so that the tenderers have the potential to make very high unofficial profits on the taxes they collect… profits that can ultimately be shared with corrupt district officials, tender board members and local politicians.
The gap between revenue actually collected and the official tender price represents profits of as much as 407% in Kamuli, 558% in Masaka and an alarming 970% in Ntungamo. This money could have been obtained by councils if there was participatory involvement of the people. This situation is very discouraging especially when we consider that it is the poor who are being hurt the most and, in this type of circumstances, because there is a revenue gap in the local governments, the local governments continue to search for new ways to generate higher incomes hence burdening the residents with ever increasing numbers and types of levies, licences, fees and taxes to the point that multiple local level licensing and taxation, and its maladministration, is now among the leading cause of poverty in Uganda. (The Monitor, Monday, November 17, 2003).
The Principles of Decentralization are entrenched in Uganda’s Constitution and the Local Government Act. These provisions empower Local Governments with responsibilities of allocation of public resources, integrated participatory planning and budgeting, local resource mobilization and investment management within their areas of jurisdiction. The decentralization policy aims at improving service delivery, accessibility to services and reduction of poverty.
The reason why people who are well qualified (Medical Doctors, Engineers; to mention some) leave their would be paying professions and opt to compete for Local Government positions can be found in the study below which was undertaken by The Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC).
THE PRIVATE TENDER SYSTEM IN DISTRICTS STUDIED HAD VERY SERIOUS DEFECTS – ‘A GIGANTIC RIP-OFF.’
The Economic Policy and Research Centre (November 4, 2003) presented their study which showed that the private tender system in 6 districts studied that is: Mbale, Kamuli, Mubende, Masaka, Ntungamo and Arua had ‘very serious defects’ and amounted to little more than a transfer of money from the ordinary often very poor tax payers, to the pockets of richer tax collection agents and their associates. “Given that gross profit margins to tenderers vary from between 100% to almost 1,000% in the above districts, the private tendering system amounts to a gigantic rip off,” said Professor Frank Ellise, a Senior Consultant on the EPRC study team.
This happens because tax collection contracts for market places, fish landing sites and parishes are tendered out on the basis of an “assessed” reserve price that is supposed to represent the amount of tax likely to be collected from that market or site. Tenderers are usually permitted an “official” profit margin of about 20% above this reserve price. In other wards for an assessed revenue potential of 1million shillings, the reserve price would be shs 800,000. It is in the assessors’ interest to keep the reserve price low so that the tenderers have the potential to make very high unofficial profits on the taxes they collect… profits that can ultimately be shared with corrupt district officials, tender board members and local politicians.
The gap between revenue actually collected and the official tender price represents profits of as much as 407% in Kamuli, 558% in Masaka and an alarming 970% in Ntungamo. This money could have been obtained by councils if there was participatory involvement of the people. This situation is very discouraging especially when we consider that it is the poor who are being hurt the most and, in this type of circumstances, because there is a revenue gap in the local governments, the local governments continue to search for new ways to generate higher incomes hence burdening the residents with ever increasing numbers and types of levies, licences, fees and taxes to the point that multiple local level licensing and taxation, and its maladministration, is now among the leading cause of poverty in Uganda. (The Monitor, Monday, November 17, 2003).
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