The Judiciary department of the Ugandan government has decided to increase the number of judges and magistrates in an attempt to clear the current case backlog in the law courts of the country. The chief Justice Benjamin Odoki told members of parliament who paid him a visit at his chambers on 18th of august 2009 that there is need for increments at various court levels. The supreme court is expected to add 5 judges to the current 7 to make it 12 in total, court of appeal needs an additional 7 to the current 8 to make it 15 in total, High court of Uganda requires additional 32 to the current 50 to make it 82. This follows a series of mob justices that has taken toll of Uganda and complaints about the case backlog in courts. Whether this new attempt of the judiciary will yield fruits can not be ascertained now, but the reality on the ground indicates that many Ugandans have lost faith in the judicial system of this country.
There have been claims by a number of ordinary Ugandans and opposition members who have expressed that the Ugandan judiciary is very corrupt. And although chief justice Odoki, insist and shifts the blame to the police and Director of Public Prosecution who delay due process in courts, many Ugandans are convinced that judicial officers are to blame for the case backlog in this country. Examples demonstrating the corruption in the judiciary is not farfetched because not too long ago Moses Ndifuna a grade one magistrate of Mbarara district in Uganda was arrested for receiving a bribe of 2oo,ooo shillings to alter he’s judgment in favour of an accused person who was appearing before him. The case is before the anti-corruption court of Uganda and investigations into the case is still going on.
And although Odoki insists on telling us that there is reduced growth of case backlog from a 13% growth in financial year 2007/2008 to 4.0 during the current financial year, the increasing number of mob justices in the country suggests otherwise. This is because the rising crime level and mob justices indicate the loss of trust by the people of Uganda in judicial services of this country. People prefer to take matters of the law in their own hands because they are skeptical that the judiciary will fail them.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Counterfeits are indeed a serious problem that can no longer be ignored!
Counterfeits are a predicament that has put our countries in a complex dilemma as counterfeits continue to take toll of our entire social- economic development. In Uganda massive fake products have inflated our markets without any prohibition, raising both safety and health concerns throughout the country. The recent fake four hundred bags of cement impounded by Uganda Revenue Authority is a case in point.
The hazardous consequences of counterfeits are very clear and it beats my understanding that there are some people in this country who have no conscience. They go ahead and trade counterfeits in the markets knowing very well that what they are selling to the public could harm their lives.
Early this year there were rampant collapse of buildings under construction in the city, at that time we only concentrated on blaming the engineers at the building site. we did not stop to think that these buildings could have possibly collapsed because the cement used for their construction was perhaps not genuine. Uganda's treasury is also losing vast amounts of revenue to the unpaid taxes of counterfeits which usually doge taxes. This creates a very awkward situation and pushes a way the genuine products from the market, creating a catastrophic situation.
This situation encourages the genuine investors and manufacturers to forfeit investing in our country. investors are thus pushed a way from the market because they continue to incur loses and compete unfavourably with fake products which are usually sold at convincing low prices. whatever happened to the phrase that cheap things are expensive in the long run? These cheap products turnout to be ineffective for the purposes for which they are meant for and at the worse stage it can cost us our lives. We need to embrase this phrase and shun fake products but this is complex. yes, it's complex in the sense that many of us lack the sense of decernment to establish whether agiven product is fake or genuine.
Therefore even as we fight the nuisance of counterfeits whiich is eating us up like a cid consuming a person's skin, we must understand what constitutes counterfeits for various products. the commonly counterfeited products include drugs, shoes, soap and detergents although Ugandans have added construction products like cement. So my appeal to Ugandans is that they should be sober and observant when purchasing products. And they should also report people selling counterfeits to authorities because the fight against counterfeits needs a combine effort.
Counterfeits are indeed a serious problem that can no longer be ignored or allowed to continune any more. It must be put to an end immediately if we are to curb economic loss in our country.
The hazardous consequences of counterfeits are very clear and it beats my understanding that there are some people in this country who have no conscience. They go ahead and trade counterfeits in the markets knowing very well that what they are selling to the public could harm their lives.
Early this year there were rampant collapse of buildings under construction in the city, at that time we only concentrated on blaming the engineers at the building site. we did not stop to think that these buildings could have possibly collapsed because the cement used for their construction was perhaps not genuine. Uganda's treasury is also losing vast amounts of revenue to the unpaid taxes of counterfeits which usually doge taxes. This creates a very awkward situation and pushes a way the genuine products from the market, creating a catastrophic situation.
This situation encourages the genuine investors and manufacturers to forfeit investing in our country. investors are thus pushed a way from the market because they continue to incur loses and compete unfavourably with fake products which are usually sold at convincing low prices. whatever happened to the phrase that cheap things are expensive in the long run? These cheap products turnout to be ineffective for the purposes for which they are meant for and at the worse stage it can cost us our lives. We need to embrase this phrase and shun fake products but this is complex. yes, it's complex in the sense that many of us lack the sense of decernment to establish whether agiven product is fake or genuine.
Therefore even as we fight the nuisance of counterfeits whiich is eating us up like a cid consuming a person's skin, we must understand what constitutes counterfeits for various products. the commonly counterfeited products include drugs, shoes, soap and detergents although Ugandans have added construction products like cement. So my appeal to Ugandans is that they should be sober and observant when purchasing products. And they should also report people selling counterfeits to authorities because the fight against counterfeits needs a combine effort.
Counterfeits are indeed a serious problem that can no longer be ignored or allowed to continune any more. It must be put to an end immediately if we are to curb economic loss in our country.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Managers and employers should be sensetive when relaying bad news to their employees!
The Story about the Mwiri teacher(Mwiri is a single sex secondary school in eastern Uganda in Jinja district.)who commited suicide over his transfer’ is a clear indication that the increasing number people depressed in Uganda should be cause for alarm to the entire public of Uganda.In a study conducted by world vision in 2001, it was found that 21% of adults surveyed in selected HIV and AIDS-affected communities in south-western Uganda were clinically depressed in this country. This study concentrated on HIV/AIDS affected communities but it can work as a pilot test to show us that there are quite a number of people who are depressed.The previous reports of the media about a man who murdered he’s family and the recent one about the Mwiri teacher is an indication that the levels of depression are rising not only as a result of HIV/AIDS but also because of the existing high levels of poverty and other related problems.According to World Health Organization depression is a common mental disorder that presents with depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy, and poor concentration. These problems can become chronic or recurrent and lead to substantial impairments in an individual's ability to take care of his or her everyday responsibilities. At its worst, depression can lead to suicide, a tragic fatality associated with the loss of about 850 000 thousand lives every year.In light of the article that was published in the daily monitor of February 2009, one would assume that life is worthless. The diseased David Kaggwa’s suicidal death clearly indicates that some people in Uganda do not treasure the sacredness of life and thus ignorantly devalue it in preference of what exists around us such as our jobs, houses, cars which we assume are a better bargain than our pressures lives!Therefore while some people strife to exercise, eat well, do regular check ups, pray and protect their lives, some ignorant ones just commit suicide. The paradox here is whom I’m I angry with? Is it those who commit suicide? Or those who ignore depressed people? and trample over them making them less hopeful and helpless. In this particular case my pointing figure is accusing the Head teacher of Mwri who did not pay attention to the emotional weakness of Mr. Kaggwa because he was busy cruelly relaying the transfer details to Mr. Kaggwa without putting into consideration he’s emotional state before giving him the bad news of he’s referral to the Ministry for posting elsewhere.This brings to light the negligence of poor managers who luck the skill to council and prepare stuff for the bad news that awaits them. Bad news of any sort has never been an easy thing to digest. I’m sure that all of you out there know that catastrophic news can send anyone in their right senses to become crazy enough to attempt to or take their own life. One requires emotional backup from an understanding person in order to absorb and digest bad news. Cooperate leaders, Directors, Managers and employers should know that we entrust them with lives of our loved ones. If you are a boss out there, Know that you have a responsibility of looking out for your subjects. Device a more appropriate means of relaying bad news to your subjects in a less traumatic manner. The reasons that acted as a catalysts drive for Mr. Kaggwa to commit suicide was the short notice announcement from the School head teacher. He’s depressed state caused by overwhelming financial problems could not enable him bear the news of being unemployed.
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