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MAKING SENSE OF THE POST-2015 DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK

Sustainable development goals: UN must take simple, sensible approach Progress on goals to succeed MDGs hinges on support from emerging and developing countries – and on clearing confusion MDG : Rio+20 : Sustainable development goals Closing ceremony of Rio+20 summit.

Left to right, UN general assembly president Nassir Abdulaziz Al Nasser, UN secretary general, Ban Ki-Moon, Brazil's president, Dilma Rousseff, Brazil's secretary of the conference, Luis Figueiredo Machado, and Rio+20 secretary-general Sha Zukang. Photograph: Andre Penner/AP The one important outcome of the Rio+20 summit was the agreement to develop a new set of goals to succeed the millennium development goals (MDGs) in 2015. It's been a painful birth, but it would be a very big reward to secure a set of global goals that are truly universal, that integrate development and the environment, and confront the root causes of our current crises. But we need a step change in approach if we're to secure them – learning lessons from Rio+20 and other multilateral processes. At present, there is an incredible amount of confusion around this within the UN, governments and civil society. Post-Rio, we need to take a step back from the many UN processes to discuss this. The fundamentals are simple. First, this is not about the UN process. Change will come out of the UN process, if we build the right movements around it. At this early stage, visible support for new global sustainable goals is coming mainly from environmental and development NGOs. Women's movements, trade unions, human rights movements and others are all considering whether the SDGs are a major opportunity to secure global commitments and national action. We don't need a single coalition but we do need a shared vision for what the goals must deliver, and a common analysis of how we maximise our influence. We need to define what is at stake – to put equity and sustainability at the centre of global action over the next decade, and establish national targets against which we can hold governments to account. This is by far the most urgent challenge, and deserves more attention than the UN's current deliberations. Second, we need a movement that is connected to the diverse and vibrant civil societies in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and in particular in BRICSAM countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and Mexico. These countries will be central to many of the goals that are set, and their voices must be central to the discussion on the new goals. For many southern countries, the SDGs may seem like a threat to the focus on poverty through the MDGs. Civil society meetings in Liberia and in Ethiopia over the next fortnight will be important stepping stones to address this. But it's also a matter of politics. Yet again, we've seen that no significant global agreement is possible with the support or acceptance of the BRICSAM countries and developing countries. Brazil and the G77 called Europe's bluff in the final stage of the Rio+20 negotiations. Could we or should we develop a shared vision from civil society in BRICSAM countries for the SDGs? Third, the UN needs to deliver a process which people understand and want to invest in. At present, even those who follow this closely are confused. Rio+20 agreed that a group of at least 30 countries will agree the modalities of future consultation on the new goals. There will also be a high-level panel to develop proposals. (The leak in the UK that David Cameron will one of the co-chairs of this panel before any announcement on other co-chairs or the terms of reference was a major source of mistrust in Rio.) A 55-country consultation, as well as nine thematic meetings, will seek to learn lessons from the MDG experience for the post-2015 development framework. In addition, a contact group of 30 countries will be convened informally by Mexico and Japan, and the UN has established a strategic outreach group and an SDGs expert group while some UN agencies have been seeking funding for other consultations. All of this is supposed to lead to one set of global goals. The UN must make sense of this prior to the general assembly in September. No NGO can follow such a complicated process, and it's distracting attention from building a shared set of demands that inspire public support and that we take at all levels to all governments. Finally, this process will lack credibility in both north and south unless it is matched by a far stronger push by all countries to deliver on the existing MDGs. It is mid-2012, and a huge amount is still at stake. For instance, 61 million children still don't have the chance to go to school, and only 18 out of 131 countries are on target for all girls to go to school by 2015. This is partly about money. Europe and other developed countries again learned the hard way in Rio that if you don't keep your promises then you lose credibility and traction in international negotiations. A financial transaction tax in Europe, with at least 50% of the revenues committed to development and climate change, would be one way to rebuild that trust quickly.

THE DEATH OF FLORENCE BAGUNYWA'S MOTHER IS VERY SAD

Florence Bagunywa Nkalubo is a daughter of Owek. Arthur Bagunywa, former Minister at Mengo, whose wife passed away. Te Funeral Service shall be held at Namirembe Cathedral, Friday, 6th July at 10.am and burial will be on Saturday, 60 miles along Hoima road. May the Almighty God grant the Late Mrs Bagunywa eternal rest. BALUNYWA IN PARLIAMENT Wednesday 22nd September, 1999. Parliament met at 2.28 p.m at Parliament House, Kampala. MR. BAGUNYWA ARTHUR (Mityana South, Mityana): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to congratulate Members of the Committee and particularly the Chairperson, for producing a report that is very comprehensive. It has enlightened us given us the status of education, social services and gender issues. I shall restrict my remarks to the education sector, in the interest of time. When I read on page six that the review of the curriculum, volume 1, of primary school syllabus is ready, I got a bit worried. As a life long student of education, I thought we were back to square one. I know what volume one was: english, mathematics, science and social studies. But fortunately for me, I was partly relieved last night when the Minister for Education came out with an announcement that local languages will be included as a medium of instruction starting January, 2000. Having been at the centre of this curriculum reform, I thought that was a very good decision. Indeed, there are many ways of justifying the inclusion of local languages in our curriculum. In the first instance, I am convinced that the level of creativity of our educational institutions went down the moment we emphasized English as a medium of teaching. I was the first education officer for Kampala, just after Independence, and I knew how we wanted our African children to join the former Asian and European schools. The thing to do was to get them to learn English. Over the years, although I have not carried out tracer studies, I am sure - from common observation - that we do not have many creative writers since 1962 when children dropped their local languages. Most of our writers are those who were exposed to their local languages. And professional educators agree that creativity is the hallmark of good education. That is the apex. As long as we go down on creativity, and our education institutions produce less and less creative people, our education system has something wrong with it. The other reason is of course a very obvious one. Most of us who are here in Parliament won elections because we could speak local languages. We addressed the voters during the campaigns in the local languages, that is a very obvious one. Those who do not know their local languages might be at a disadvantage in future. So I congratulate the Minister of Education upon the decision to recognize local languages. But we should go beyond that. In the curriculum that we think will make a difference in primary and even secondary education, we have to strike a balance between the traditional academic subjects and production skills. Or a balance between the academic knowledge of social studies, science, mathematics and communication, and production skills. As well as face up to the problems of cultural refinement, we should offer comprehensive education, starting from primary schools, by including ethical and spiritual values. So far we do not have any mention of an all round curriculum. I do hope it is in the process. And when it finally comes, I hope we will go all the way and include subjects that will be examined, even if it is by continuous assessment. If recognized that these subjects are important and are part of the curriculum, the marks obtained in the production skills of simple agricultural, technical, business and managerial skills, will bear fruit. I tried it and found it quite possible to get something like Shs.400,000 per month on a quarter of a hectare and practise piggery, poultry and have clonal coffee nurseries. If that is possible, and I have done it with children of the age of 14, then we can really find the right relationship between education and economic development. We should follow through with secondary education. At the moment, we have not carried out any reform on secondary education, and I feel we ought to do similar reform to secondary schools like that done in primary schools' curriculum. We have a problem where you admit people to teacher training colleges, particularly primary school colleges, to teach a subject called social studies, when they themselves have never been exposed to social studies as a subject. All they know is their geography and history yet social studies combines a lot of things including civics and politics. They cannot teach it in the primary schools effectively. So we also need to go down to the secondary schools and change the curriculum at that level too. Tertiary level. The problem with tertiary education as I see it at the moment, is the mushrooming of universities, all offering social work and social administration, bachelor of education degrees, and all the traditional degrees. You find that it is just like everybody selling tomatoes in what is now called "toninnyira mu kange", the market down on Channel street. All our universities, including the theological university at Mukono, offer social work and social administration and education. I think we need to diversify our education at that level, so that we can cater for talent. It is one thing to have a Department of Music at Makerere, it is another to have a school of music at a different institution, because there you bring out talent. African instruments are just as difficult to play as Western instruments, and if you do not start young, you cannot do it by just going to the Department of Music, Dance and Drama at Makerere. And there they will admit you on a different criteria, not talent. So we need to diversify our institutions so that they are not all offering the same type of qualifications and therefore creating a problem of youth that cannot be employed. It is bad enough to be unemployed, it is worse to be "unemployable." I am sorry, time has run out. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday 28th August, 2000. Parliament met at 2.53 p.m. in Parliament House, Kampala. MR. BAGUNYWA ARTHUR (Mityana South, Mityana): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to join my hon. colleagues in thanking the Committee for producing a comprehensive report, although it is a bit concise in some areas. I would like to address myself to three aspects of the Ministry of Education s policy. So, I will restrict myself to the Ministry of Education and its policy. One of the aspects of the education policy that worries most professional educators, and I happen to be one, and even informed lay men in the field of education, appears on page 27 of this report. It is indicated, under the observations on the National Curriculum Development Centre, that the committee was concerned about the level of manpower of the department and wondered whether training teachers to implement volume II of the primary school curriculum has started. The Committee has put its finger on the right spot here. Educators agree that we take children to school to teach them three things: knowledge, which addresses educating the head, skills for training the hand, and values for educating the heart, according to Dr. Aggrey. For a long time in this country, we have addressed ourselves to educating the head, and the four subjects in volume one of the primary school curriculum address knowledge for educating the head. They are taught English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. We neglect the other two components, which are very important! We neglect teaching them or training their hands to exploit some of the agricultural potential of this country. They can be taught very simple skills in agriculture. All this is in volume II that has not yet come out. We are delaying it all the time. They can be taught some very simple skills in business and in technical education, and exposure and sensitivity to skills that they will need to be able to repair implements on the farm. They can be taught home management and also management of any other enterprises. But now all this has now been left out, it is waiting. It is in volume II and we do not know when that will come. A very important aspect is the balancing of the curriculum of the primary schools, or balancing of the curriculum at any other level, except university probably, where balancing is not required. Another aspect of the curriculum, which has been left out, and which is in volume II, is training in values or teaching of values. We have yet to agree on ethics. Some people have told us that you go hunting for integrity when you want to appoint people in Uganda Revenue Authority, and so you look for those who are professed balokole or saved. I am not so sure whether that is the case. I am not so sure that people cannot claim to be saved when they are not. So, that may not be the criteria for teaching values, but we all know that values are very important. Ethics must start when children are young, and it is possible, and it was designed in the curriculum in volume II, but it has not come on board yet because some people think we can afford to delay that. I remember, when I was a child, to prove our honesty, our parents used to hide a 50 cent coin below the carpet. So, when you sweep the room, if you were honest enough, you would go and say, I found this 50 cent coin under the carpet , and you returned it. They would begin assessing your honesty, it would be developing. You have to start when young. Our attempt to try and get honesty and reliability at the adult stage is futile. It will not get us there. Neglecting balancing of the curriculum at the primary school level, by leaving out the two important components and addressing ourselves only to educating the head, is giving them knowledge without skills. And when we talked about skills, very often, we meant literally skills or reading and writing, but now we mean production skills, exposure and sensitivity to agricultural skills for production which is perfectly possible at that age. We can give an example, under the Namutamba project, which we started at one time, children of the age of fourteen could produce on half or quarter an acre of land and get anything up to Shs 500,000 per month. I have tried it in my own area, and I can prove it. We are playing into the hands of the donors, and if I may be allowed to ride my hobbyhorse, this is what I call toothpaste economics . That is how we play ourselves into the hands of the donors. They give us money because we have said we want UPE, and under the curriculum, of course, we stress, and rightly so, the fact that every one of these children, six million plus, in school now must brush his or her teeth at least once a day. That will mean a tube of toothpaste costing Shs. 2,000 per month. That is when you are not very generous, and if you multiply six million children and 2,000/=, you get 12 billion shillings on toothpaste, and in a year, Shs. 144 billion in primary school alone. I am leaving out secondary school, university, the adult stage and so on. If you go and check with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, you will find that the new cars coming in do not cost even a quarter of that amount. So, we are likely to play into the hands of the donors. When we announce Universal Primary Education, they will probably dance in the streets because they know they will hold us to it. We will have all the time to buy their toothpaste. Somebody asked why we do not make our own toothpaste. How can we do it when WTO does not allow us to do that? We do not have protection for Nile Toothpaste so we cannot sell. That is one aspect of it. The faster we can balance our curriculum, the better. The other aspect is an inside story, only probably known to educators. How do we get effective primary school teachers? We have gone in for people who pretend to teach what they do not know. There was a time when we picked the best brains at primary school level and we said that, if they went for teacher training, they did not have to pay. There was not even any cost sharing. If they went for secondary school education, they paid. So, at that level, we divided them. Some good brains came to us for teacher training because they knew they were poor and they were orphans, as is the case now. They would not have to pay, but they were good at mathematics, English or languages, music, science, they were good at everything. This is the G-factor in education, for those people who know educational psychology. The person who is good at everything is way above that one who has special ability in a single subject. We have now failed to attract good brains in our primary Teacher Training Colleges. I happen to be on the board of governors of Nakaseke Core-PTC. We have failed to attract people with at least a pass in mathematics in a good college like that one. We say they should come with at least a pass in mathematics, a good credit in English and so on, but we do not get them. Maybe we should have thought of changing our tactics slightly and looking at this cost sharing that is talked about at the bottom of page 33. The Committee says that cost sharing at PTCs is turning away students. The Committee wanted to know whether the Ministry of Education and Sports could waive or put cost sharing on hold for some time. I believe they have put their finger again on the right spot. If we can waive cost sharing for primary teacher education, we will attract good and effective brains with a G-factor. They will be good at everything and, therefore, they can effectively teach in a primary school. If we expect primary school teachers to have mathematicians who teach nothing but mathematics, musicians who teach nothing but music, or science teachers who teach nothing but science, we will not get there. It will be too costly. So, we better get back to attracting the right brains, people who have the G-factor in them, to teach in these schools. I would have gone on to the third aspect, but this has been pointed out by two previous speakers, who addressed the entry age for primary education. UPE is beginning to pay diminishing returns. As we went round in the South West and in the East, we saw people being applauded for sending so many children to school. Some children were three years old, and they were sent together with those who were aged six years. Parents are very anxious to get their children into school. Once you announce that it is universal primary education, they get them there. Educators know that if you put the mental age of six over the chronological age of three and you multiply by 100, you get 200 per cent. There are very few people in this world who have got IQ of 200 per cent. We are making a great mistake. We will be producing repeaters for a very long time, and it will be very wasteful for the system. It is gets us nowhere. The sooner we start issuing birth certificates, even through other Ministries, the better. I know, at one time, village chiefs would issue birth certificates, I cannot see why under the LC system, they cannot issue these birth certificates, so that we know the age of the children when they come to school. I would have gone on and on, but at least those three worry me. The entry age to primary school and the way we putting ourselves at a disadvantage, admitting them at the age of three and applauding people or over anxious parents who do so. It is all wrong, and they will end up repeaters. Some of them will be frustrated and will not like school by the end of the third year of school, because they are trying to work with people who are above their age group. The balancing of the curriculum is the other one and the last one was the effective primary school teacher, who must have a G-factor in intelligence. We should attract people with special abilities, and the sooner we can put cost sharing on hold, as the Committee has recommended, the better our education system will be. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

BLACKLISTING COMPANIES BY WORLD BANK WAS LONG OVERDUE

If donors to Uganda can stop paying lip services when they give money to the Government more so where Ugandans have to pay in the future it will be great as they are best placed to evaluate and find whether it is value for money after the execution of the works. It is believed that a number of developments around the country are a result of funds which are diverted and individuals instead of the Uganda public end beneficiaries. William Kituuka Kiwanuka -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12 UGANDAN COMPANIES/INDIVIDUALS BLACKLISTED BY WORLD BANK The World Bank has blacklisted 12 companies and Ugandan individuals from having the World Bank financed contract for a period of between two years to six years. Among the banned companies are Eastern Builders and Engineers, Babcon Uganda, Dhema Agencies, Vital Supplies and Logistics, Nexus Uganda and Ayemo Investments, among others. Among the individuals banned from receiving the financed contract are Alex Opua, managing director of Ayemo Investments, Allan Makabayi, John B. Katende, Rogers Segawa and Gurdyal Singh who was banned for 3years. The reason for banning the individuals and firms/companies is because of getting involved in fraudulent practices in connection with the procurement of the World Bank financed contract. According to the New Vision, the managing director of Ayemo Investments, Alex Opua allegedly submitted false reports and two false bank guarantee documents to the World Bank which led to its being blacklisted. The same company has been under suspension by Uganda’s Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA)for causing financial loss to the government after breaching the ethical code of conduct by submitting forged payment and performance guarantee of sh207m and sh103m and was paid sh245m in return. Dhema Agencies on the other hand submitted 2 false bid bonds for a contract under the Uganda Private Sector Competitiveness project and was also suspended by PPDA. The firms are among the 83 companies and individuals which were blacklisted worldwide for breaking the World Bank procurement guidelines.

SURELY, 1,500 POLICEMEN IN BUKOTO SOUTH, THIS IS MADNESS

The 1,500 Policemen deployed in Bukoto South is not a good image for Uganda, moreso at a time when we are 50 years Independent. The problem is two fold. The elections is the sure way to earn free money in Uganda. Secondly, the NRM 's unwillingness to make judgement even when their candidate cannot make it successfully in an election as is the case of Nsambu given his tainted image in Buganda. William Kituuka Kiwanuka

UGANDA HAS CRITICAL PROBLEMS NOW NOT THE 5th TERM FOR MUSEVENI

It is absurd that some people including a whole Doctor can be so myopic and imagine that a 5th term for the overstayed President Museveni is priority for Uganda. It is a great shame. The country whose debate should be on how to fine tune the messed economy, how to make better the wrong priorities, can have people shamelessly campaigning for another term for Museveni, shame upon the misguided advocates. It will make a lot od sense if the current Parliament bails the country from the problem of succession. It is sad that some people want State House to start giving them favours because they advocate for Museveni's other term. This points to problems of countries like Uganda which are under developed not because they don't have people with ideas, but they have those so-called doctors who are useless as regards the prospects for the countries future. Instead of coming with strategies for a better country, they are looking for favours from state House. Shame! Uganda deserves better. We want the succession clearly spelt out. William Kituuka Kiwanuka ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MUSEVENI 5th TERM LAUNCHED IN SHEEMA Sunday, 01 July 2012 21:58 Written by Wilber Muhwezi

President Museveni (with hat) in Sheema on Saturday where the youth launched his 5th term bid Sheema – The Sheema North MP, Dr Elioda Tumwesigye, on Saturday led the district youth leaders to launch the 2016 presidential bid for Yoweri Museveni. Mr Museveni had just commissioned Kihunda health centre III in Kagango sub-county, Sheema district, when Tumwesigye made his move. The youth leaders gave President Museveni a spear and a stool and urged him to sit on the stool and hold the spear. These traditional instruments are symbols of power in the culture of Ankole and many other parts of Uganda. Museveni has ruled Uganda since 1986 and by 2016, he will have been in power for 30 years. Although various political, religious and civil society leaders have urged the president to retire in 2016, to allow peaceful transition to new leadership, Saturday’s events must have pulled his thoughts in a totally different direction. “The president, after receiving these traditional tools of power from Sheema district youth leaders, hereby launches the fifth term bid for presidency,” Tumwesigye said. “As you know, the youth are the majority voters; therefore, if they throw their weight behind the president together with other Ugandans, the president will win,” he added. He implored Museveni not to worry about walk-to-work activities of the opposition because he still had solid support in Uganda. While acknowledging NRM’s recent loss of the Bushenyi-Ishaka municipality parliamentary seat to FDC’s Odo Tayebwa, the first such loss in Museveni’s Ankole home sub-region, Tumwesigye swore the precedent would be contained and not be allowed to extend to any other constituency in the sub-region. In his speech, Museveni never commented on the launched 2016 presidential bid; he only thanked the people for voting him overwhelmingly in the 2011 presidential elections. As the president commissioned the Kihunda health centre and visited former UPC strongman Chris Rwakasisi, in Rutooma village, Kabwohe-Itendero town council, Sheema district, the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, attended a fundraising function at Nkinga SS, Mitooma district, invited by Maj Gen Kahinda Otafiire. Sheema and Mitooma districts were carved out of Bushenyi district in June 2010. At Kihunda, Museveni urged people to concentrate on wealth creation as government works on service delivery. He warned men who spend all the time drinking alcohol, playing cards and leave the work of production to women. He warned them to rethink and embark on development. Museveni also warned people against listening to radios and political bimeezas (call-in programmes) all the time. “By the way, Mengo [seat of Buganda Kingdom] spoilt its youth by involving them in listening to talk shows and bimeezas instead of engaging in development,” he said. “I have taken many months without listening to radios and I am going on well with my usual work,” Museveni added. He said those who stole money meant for local councillors’ bicycles had been arrested and the bicycles would soon reach the intended beneficiaries. This statement was prompted by a plea by the chairperson LC1 of the area who complained of lack of transport while doing his work. Museveni pledged to extend electricity to Kihunda health centre III and surrounding areas, and an ambulance for the district. wmuhwezi@yahoo.com

AS UGANDA CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE, BASAJJABALABA'S DEALS ARE UNFORTUNATE

The stories connected with Basajjabalaba are part of the unfortunate developments during President Museveni's term of office. In a country of absolute poverty, it disturbs to read stories to do with Basajjabalaba. William Kituuka Kiwanuka ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BASAJJA LOSES SHS 13BN IN FAILED LAND DEAL Publish Date: Jul 02, 2012

Court cited a court injunction ignored at the time of the said land transfer. By Anne Mugisa Businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba has lost sh13bn in a bad land transaction which involved the State minister of lands, Sam Engola and Asians of Ugandan and British citizenship. The court judgment on Thursday cancelled the transfer of the said land in Lubowa, Wakiso District, totaling to 300 acres from Kikonyogo Investment Ltd to Basajjabalaba's Haba Group (U) Ltd. Justice Joseph Murangira ruled that the transaction was illegal and ordered that the land be reverted to Lakeside City Ltd. The land in question, according to the High Court, had been irregularly transferred to names of different owners in 2010 by the Acting Commissioner for Lands Registration, Sarah Kulata Basangwa, who is currently on interdiction. Lakeside City Ltd sued Haba Group (U) Ltd jointly with Engola, Kikonyogo Investments Ltd, another company called Lakeside Township Ltd and the Attorney General. The complainants sued for breach of contract, fraudulent sale and transfer of the said land. The judge noted in his ruling that at the time of the transfer of the said land to Basajjabalaba's company, there was a court injunction but the two companies ignored it. The court also noted that Kulata refused to transfer the land from Engola's names to those of Lakeside City Ltd, which would have been legal. Instead, Kulata who is a lawyer, drafted a memorandum of registration, which according to the Judge, was a document not known in law and used it to register Lake Side Township Ltd as the owner of the land. The land had been sold to Engola by Lake Side City Ltd and later sold to Lake Side Township Ltd then to Kikonyogo Investments Ltd and finally to Basajjabalaba's Haba Group (U) Ltd. The three who were referred to in the case as the 2nd, 3rd and 5th defendants, according to the court, “as non-citizens cannot in law hold and own the land as their holding or owning it is illegal and unconstitutional. Justice Murangira ordered that the title for Haba be cancelled and instead the Lands Office registers the Land in Lakeside City's name. “The transfer forms of the 2nd to the 3rd defendants and transfers from the 3rd to 5th defendant were not duly executed and attested in accordance with the provisions of the law and therefore, null and void. The transfers from the 2nd to the 3rd defendants and from the 3rd to the 5th defendants are hereby cancelled…,” Justice Murangira ruled. The judge also stated that the transfer from Engola to Lakeside City Ltd which Kulata rejected was legal. He ordered that Commissioner Lands Registration to register Lakeside City Ltd as the owner not later than 10 days after the judgment.