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The East African Community (EAC) has reaffirmed its commitment to ongoing efforts to restore peace and stability to the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

EAC Secretary General Hon. (Dr.) Peter Mathuki said that the lessons learned from the deployment of the EAC Regional Force (EACRF) present opportunities for the Community to strengthen its role as the primary guarantor of peace and security in the region through the Institutionalisation of the EACRF’s achievements.

Dr. Mathuki said that the EAC will seek to strengthen its ability to respond to peace and security challenges of Partner States by the reinforcement of the successes of the regional force through the formulation of appropriate policies, guidelines, frameworks and instruments pegged on best global practices.

“The development of key instruments will further enable the EAC to respond more effectively to regional peace and security challenges through holistic conflict management,” said Dr. Mathuki.

“From this experience, the EAC has proven to be adaptable to handle security challenges and can be relied on as an able partner to respond to complex conflicts affecting the region.

Dr. Mathuki was speaking at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania during the hand-over ceremony of the flag by the EACRF following the end of the peacekeeping mission to DRC on 21st December 2023.

The Secretary General hailed the EACRF members as gallant soldiers who had put their lives on the line for the sake of ordinary East Africans residing in eastern DRC, adding that the peacekeeping mission had been highly successful despite some challenges it faced on the ground.

The EACRF Force Commander, Major General Aphaxard Muthuri Kiugu, handed over the flag to the Secretary General.

Speaking at the event, Major. Gen. Kiugu said that the mission had registered various successes key among them the protection of civilians, a core function of the mandate that was achieved through the facilitation of the ceasefire between the DRC Armed Forces (FARDC) and the M23 rebel group.

Maj. Gen. Kiugu said that the partial opening of the main supply routes of Goma-Rutshuru, Bunagana-Rutshuru, Sake-Mushake and Sake-Kitchanga-Mweso, enable the free movement of goods and persons.

“Further, EACRF deployment helped defuse direct physical threat to Goma and Sake towns,” said the Force Commander.

“The sum effect of these actions was the gradual return of internally displaced persons to their homes, especially in Sake, Kirolirwe, Kitchanga and Mweso, within Masisi territory and in Kibumba, Rumangabo, Kiwanja and Bunagana in Nyiragongo and Rutshuru territories.

Maj. Gen. Kiugu further said that humanitarian agencies’ activities increased with close collaboration between EACRF and humanitarian organisations such as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Committee of the Red Cross/Crescent (ICRC).

“Additionally, EACRF through coordinated Civil-Military Cooperation activities was able to offer limited humanitarian assistance to the local population in their areas of deployment, including medical care and casualty evacuation.

President Yoweri Museveni, who is also the National Chairman of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), on Friday 2nd February 2024 met the party's parliamentary caucus at State House, Entebbe.

During the meeting, the President and the Members of Parliament discussed the Rationalization of Government Agencies and Public Expenditure (RAPEX).

“This subject we are dealing with is a strategic one. If you don't answer strategic answers correctly, you end up with problems and when you answer them correctly, you win,” he said.

Museveni further informed the caucus members that if the government decides to carry out rationalization now, they will save Shs1 trillion a year.

“When we talk of rationalization, we are talking of first of all, doing things which are rational and save money.”

He added that during rationalization, the whole structure of the government should be geared to support the wealth creators, since they are vital in the development of the country.

“This issue of rationalization is a strategic one and the way to handle it is to start by asking the question that Adam Smith answered in 1776 when he wrote a book titled “The source of the wealth of nations”, the question is where does wealth come from? Because there's no way any group of leaders will succeed if they do not answer that question. That is why you find a lot of chaos in so many parts of the world,” the President said.

“Wealth creation is the issue of enabling families and companies as well as individuals to produce goods and services and sell them and do so with “ekibaro”. Now who are these wealth creators? Number one, the commercial farmers, the second are the manufacturers, the third are the service providers and then ICT. So, what do this need? They need peace, the infrastructure (such as the roads, railways, electricity), they also need capital, skills and technical support.”

The President also advised the legislators that if they want to be successful politicians, they must help the people they serve to create wealth through sensitising them to embrace the four sectors of the economy.

The Government Chief Whip and Chairperson of the NRM Parliamentary caucus, Denis Hamson Obua, said as a caucus they support the rationalization of government agencies and public expenditure through the enactment of legislation in Parliament, sector by sector.

During the same meeting, Bukoto South MP, Twaha Kagabo, who belongs to the opposition-National Unity Platform (NUP), committed himself to work with the ruling party for the betterment of the people he serves.

President Yoweri Museveni recently witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government of Uganda and the Luokung Technology Corporation and Shiftings Limited at State Lodge, Nakasero.

The memorandum that aims at promoting environmental protection and sustainable development in Uganda was signed on behalf of the government by the Minister of State for Environment, Beatrice Atim Anywar together with the Permanent Secretary- Ministry of Water and Environment, Alfred Okot Okidi and the Deputy Attorney General, Jackson Kafuuzi.

The Chief Executive Officer of Luokung Technology Corporation, Wu Ying, signed on behalf of her Company in the presence of the company's Chairman Song Xuesong.

On the other hand, the Chief Executive Officer of Shiftings Limited based in Nairobi Kenya, Shakhalaga Khwa Jirongo signed on behalf of his company.

According to Okidi, Luokung Technology Corporation intends to explore the possibility of setting up a platform in Uganda that will be used to create a carbon exchange for trading carbon not only in Uganda but also in the rest of Africa.

“The platform will store information about carbon in Uganda and the rest of Africa,” he said.

President Yoweri Museveni has said the government cannot pay good salaries to public servants if there's no socio-economic transformation in societies.

“How will the state pay good salaries if there's no socio-economic transformation? Where does it get money from? When we took over the government, we were earning very small salaries for a long time, even now I earn a small salary,” he said.

Museveni who is also the patron for Patriotism Clubs in Uganda made the remarks on Saturday 3rd February 2024 while passing out 413 secondary school headteachers from greater Western Uganda, Mubende, and Kasanda Districts who have undergone ideological orientation training at the National Leadership Institute (NALI) in Kyankwanzi.

Museveni urged that if families undergo socio-economic transformation, they create jobs, people get income, and they will be able to pay taxes.

“When they are able to pay taxes, the government gets more money then it will be able to put up infrastructure, deal with peace and security, and also pay good salaries to public servants,” he noted.

The President also reiterated why the government decided to increase the salaries of scientists at the expense of their Arts counterparts.

“Recently I was in a small war with you, the teachers. When we got a little bit of money, we decided to enhance the salaries of scientists. That is where the war started. We need these scientists more because we need engineers, and medical doctors, among others. I studied Arts but I cannot come with my Shakespeare to put up a bridge,” he said.

Museveni further urged the headteachers to work towards the realization of the four principles of the National Resistance Movement which are patriotism, Pan-Africanism, socio-economic transformation, and democracy. The President said these will enable all Ugandans to be prosperous.

The President added that socio-economic transformation has four avenues where Ugandans can transform themselves and these include commercial agriculture with “ekibaro”, manufacturing, services, and ICT.

The Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni appreciated Museveni for his continuous guidance to the education sector and his availability, whenever they call on him to facilitate their capacity-building programs.  

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Soldiers from the Uganda Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF) on January 16, 2024 burned 15 fishing boats, fishing nets, and other important instruments vital to the livelihoods of local villagers in the Kingfisher Development Area, where China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has long been developing oil and gas operations.

Civil Society Coalition for Sustainable Development, a group of Ugandan environmental and human rights civil society organizations, said the boats and supplies supported over 60 families. Over 19 community members were arrested.

This unprecedented act of large-scale destruction ripped hundreds of villagers from their primary means of livelihood overnight and signals an alarming escalation in the ongoing military deployment around the Kingfisher installations.

The NGOs said local communities have reported rising deployment and activity of UPDF soldiers to guard CNOOC’s installations. If seen near the lake, villagers have been beaten or apprehended. Military forces have also arbitrarily seized several fishing boats from the community without notice or explanation.

Project-affected community members say the promise of development and prosperity the project was meant to bring, brought false hope, as one community member told the coalition.

“They came promising us heaven and earth, but they have delivered nothing. Now, they harass us for the oil they found here,” members of the Kingfisher community speak anonymously for fear of their and the community’s safety explains that the affected community have aired their concerns regarding recent developments but this has only led to further reprisals on the impoverished community robbed of their primary means of survival.

“Our people endure beatings, arrests and burnt boats. How can we survive? Our businesses collapsed during Covid. As we try to recover, CNOOC's operations destroy our only hope…they must learn to respect the people they found here.”

Development on the Kingfisher oil fields has been marred by numerous grievances since inception. According to estimates by government, over 700 people have been forcefully displaced from their land, with many of them remaining landless to this day due to inadequate compensation. The project has also caused significant environmental harm, including the heavy pollution of water sources used by communities for their households and livestock.

Around the shores of Lake Albert, project-associated military deployments have created an environment of intimidation and threats. But the recent targeting of fishing apparatus – upon which the local populations rely for their primary means of livelihood – threatens the communities’ most basic ability to survive.

“As the leading project proponent in the Kingfisher oil development area, CNOOC has a responsibility to call for the end of the use of excessive forces by the Ugandan government in annihilating the only source of livelihood of the local project-affected fisher families. The extreme violations run counter to China’s state commitment for the security and prosperity for the local population when CNOOC began the project”, said Wawa Wang director of Just Finance International.