A New poem I am working on for my next book

A woman’s work…

I know little about women

what they want

what they wear

and I have littleno clue about the things they talk about

and how they walk, this I know

I have not yet seen another beautiful thing on God’s wide earth

that undulateswiggles her hips like that

well some women are presidents

some are queens

some play sports

some write poems and novels

well I know little about women

weather be a president or queen

I know little about women

and their jobs

women

birth

babies

breast feeding

Jeremykimbugwejjemba 

The debate is the things, a poem by Justice James Ogoola

Justice James Ogoola's poem, The debate is the thing, at the presidential debate

The debate is the thing.

Candidates decked in their rainbow of colours

Speaking the speech of rhetoric

Dissecting the discourse of oratory

Displaying the skill of eloquence

Portraying the politics of persuasion

All ready to compete in the marketplace of ideas.

The debate is the thing.

Electors tuned on the ear

Intent to listen,

Viewers with a sharp hawk’s eye

Keenly scouring the screen

To judge the agile from the docile,

To assess the adept from the inept,

To choose the winner

From the losers

All sitting in Solomon’s chair

To do the above.

The debate is the thing.

Here

No cheap drama of the political rally,

Here

No base speech of the idle and the vulgar,

No shrill voice and tone of demagoguery

No mundane politics

Of the empty pledge or hollow promise.

Here only the nobler ideas and ideals of the mind

Take pride or place

To titillate the political soul of the electorate,

On the campaign trail

Candidates stand on the shifting sands of populism,

At the debate

The candidates stand on the solid platform of fundamental ideals

And critical ideas.

With firm figures and facts to wow the audience

With wit and humour to charm the electorate,

The debate soothes the politics of rancour

Binds the wounds of the mundane

Truly the debate is the thing.

The case against term limits in Uganda

He had just ousted the regime of Gen Tito Okello Lutwa after a five-year liberation struggle that had also seen his National Resistance Army rebels fight Dr Apollo Milton Obote’s (1980-85).
On that day, President Museveni delivered his now memorable line to a very euphoric nation: “No one should think that what is happening today is a mere change of guard; it is a fundamental change in the politics of our country.”

He went on and promised to run a frugal and responsible government and told the country: “We want our people to be able to afford shoes. The honourable excellency who is going to the United Nations in executive jets, but has a population at home of 90 per cent walking barefoot, is nothing but a pathetic spectacle. 

Yet this excellency may be busy trying to compete with [then US president Ronald] Reagan and [then USSR president Mikhail] Gorbachev to show them that he, too, is an excellency.”
On top of this speech which won him hearts both home and away, he even promised to rule for only four years.

Thirty years later, his name is inked in history books as one of the longest serving non-traditional leaders of the world in the eighth position.

The metamorphosis
After capturing power in 1986, the Legal Notice Number One was established as a basis of legality for the new NRA government as elections were prepared. It also vested legislative powers in the then National Resistance Council –NRC-[interim Parliament] and the President.

In 1989, the NRC was expanded from 98 appointed members to 278 elected representatives (68 of which were still nominated by the President) through the first national election since 1980 and transformed into the Constituent Assembly.

Several accounts have put it that President Museveni started to change colours when he asked for another five years to lay a foundation for the drafting and implementation of a new Constitution.

Former Supreme Court judge George Kanyeihamba, and who was minister of Justice at the time, writing in his weekly column in this newspaper two weeks ago said: “At the time, I believed the policy of extension was genuinely executed and our extension team, which I led as minister responsible, worked out a detailed programme which was to be adopted and implemented for the next five years in the realisation of the peoples’ expectations and wishes.”

The new Constitution was drawn and promulgated in September 1995 with a specific article 105(2) setting two terms for the incoming president. President Museveni sought an elective term which he indicated would be his last and won with 74 per cent.

Before that term would end, he launched a bid for another one. In 2000, while campaigning for the referendum to retain the Movement system, he then likened himself to the chameleon. At least 90 per cent of the 50 per cent voter turnout voted in favour of the Movement system in June that year.

The chameleon manifests
At the Wakiso rally, Museveni was quoted to have said the reason why leaders like UPC’s Milton Obote lost power twice through coup d’états was because they failed to read the situation properly, thereby failing to change accordingly.

A year later, he got a serious political challenger in his former personal physician during the Bush War, Dr Kizza Besigye, who two years earlier had authored a document criticising the NRM of derailing from the principles that in the first place had inspired them to go to the bush.

Amid Besigye’s mounting popularity, Museveni threw in a solemn political promise that this was the last term he was running and would retire thereafter; this is repeated 21 times in the NRM manifesto.

“I am once again offering myself to serve the people of Uganda because of my conviction. I am taking on the challenge of contesting for a last presidential term for the following reasons.”

He polled 69 per cent in the elections while Dr Besigye came second with 27 per cent, results which he challenged in the Supreme Court citing electoral malpractices. The court condemned the electoral process, but declined to overturn the results.

Until we solve our political differences; Uganda will always be caught between a stone and hard rock 

The case for term limits in Uganda

“A wise politician should be like a chameleon to change colour when necessary. When I am at Wakiso I have no problem, I can be like a dove. But when facing my enemies and murderers, I turn into a lion,” Museveni said.

That was 15 years ago, and that metaphorical reference has played out in reality in the Museveni’s approach to statecraft and political management of Uganda and beyond since then. 

When he wanted more years than was permitted under the 1995 Constitution, he engineered the lifting of the presidential term limits to contradict his 1986 position, on assuming office, that Africa’s problem was not the people but “leaders who overstay in power”. 

Now making three decades on Tuesday, Mr Museveni is Africa’s fifth longest-serving president.

He has revised his inaugural January 29, 1986, narrative to justify his changed position by arguing that what he castigated at the time was “leaders who overstay in power without election”.

The President’s changing positions has prompted critics to suggest a possible shadow boxing between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ Museveni if the two versions, which they say contrast, met.

The ruling NRM party chairman and presidential flag bearer a fortnight ago told journalists at a press conference in Ntungamo District that he cannot leave power now, especially when all that he planted is starting to bear “fruits”.

“We can’t be in the middle of a forest and want the old man to go. This is not right. We must concentrate on development, my time will come and I will go. I don’t fear going because I have where to go, but we must first see where we go,” he said.

And true, talk of where to “go”, throughout his campaign trail for a fifth elective term in office, Mr Museveni has been promising that the next term, running up to 2021, is to steer the country where it should be. 
“After the liberation struggle, recovery phase and building foundation, Uganda is ready for take-off. NRM will stick to prioritisation in development planning to address Uganda’s challenges,” he says.

Indeed, the one thing he cannot be accused of having failed to do is provide grand plans and visions for Uganda, a habit that dates way back to when he was still a guerrilla fighter.

His recent proclamation came on the heels of another he made last November in Arua District, again at a press briefing, that he is willing to hand over in case he lost power.

“I have got my job; I am a cattle keeper. I am not power hungry, but mission hungry. So I have got a mission of economic transformation of Ugandans,” Mr Museveni said.

‘New breed leader’
On Wednesday, January 26, 1986, President Museveni stood on the front porch of the Parliamentary Building before a rudimentary desk and took the oath as the 9th president of Uganda.

Wonderful woman

Wonderful woman 

I Think of You As The Wonderful Woman You Are. 

You Are The Perfect Woman In My Opinion.  

Tender And Passionate, Dear And Special Lover. I´m Honored For Being Your Biggest Admirer. I Feel Proud Of Being With You, That´s For Sure.

I Also Have My Secret And This Revelation I Only Tell You, You Who Is The Most Amazing Woman I Ever Knew. 

I Want You And I Have You, So I Deem Myself The Happiest Man In The World. 

Keep This Secret In Your Memory, So No One Else Can Have Access To It. 

Do Not Forget The Fact That Your Biggest Appointment Is With Me.

 I Want To Continue To Be The First Name In The Schedule Of Your Heart. 

Congratulations To You, my dear love,  You Better Know That You Are The Most Loved One Of Your Kind…

Jeremykimbugwejjemba

Pigs

The animal’s cost of management is affordable boosted by its’ quick maturity ability. According to Hellen Nantaba a farmer in Buikwe district, she spends about UGX140, 000 to raise a porker in four months. At four months, the porker can weigh between 60-65kilos. Retailing at about UGX7000 per kilo I get over UGX400,000 from one porker in a spun of 4months a fact that renders my venture very lucrative. In the market, pork retails depending on the location, value addition, and demand. On average a kilo retails between UGX 8000 to 30000.

Best cows to breed in Uganda

These are my reasons: 
Heat stress. Because of the predominant black colour, it absorbs heat more than other breeds. During the dry season, even if you keep the same breeding conditions, its milk production will drop by more than half.
It works in developed countries, they regulate heat because they are kept indoors. It is not also by accident that all the traditional cows in this region are mostly brown in colour.

Soft skin. Of all the cattle breeds, the Friesian has the softest skin and is also very hairy. A tick will bite and stick on any part of the body. 
It is not by accident, that for the other breeds, ticks concentrate on ears and underbody because other parts are hard and they fall off.
Therefore, Friesians fall victim of tick-borne diseases more than other breeds, hence they are more expensive to maintain on account of treatment. 
High consumption. 

The Friesian is the highest feed consumer in the world. Would it be sensible to keep this breed if you cannot get the highest productivity from it? 

Photo dynamic dermatitis (Obukomangwa). This is a disease, which attacks the white patches. Over 95 per cent of Friesians are still on free range, therefore susceptible. They have many white patches; this is not a problem with other breeds.

Lack of fat. 

A pure Friesian has no fat, it was developed for dairy. Almost all our farmers do not use cattle for dairy only, they also use sales to butcheries as a major source of income.
A dairy farmer buys the cow expensively and at disposal, he/she may sell it at less hence making losses.

Lack of capacity to move distances. 

Although we are advocating modern farming, the current situation is not the ideal one. In some or many circumstances, many farmers need to move their cattle in search of water or pasture. The Friesian cannot move like this.

Sight loss. 

In a herd on free range, you will find almost 20 per cent blind, which is not with other breeds.

The cow project

The project requires that the families invest in their farms by building a zero-grazing shed for the cow, planting sufficient grass to feed a cow, and implementing sanitation requirements for the family and the cow, to keep the cow in top health.  Once all eligibility requirements are met, the family is granted a living loan of a pregnant cow, valued at $800.  Once the calf is born, a cow gives around 20 liters of milk a day.  The family uses about two liters for their own nutritional needs and sells the remainder to the Caritas MADDO Dairy, which provides the family a small but steady income. The loan is paid back by raising the calf for 9 to 12 months, and then passing along that calf to another family that is trained and ready.

As an additional living loan, the family may pass along a future calf in exchange for installing a biofuel system on their farm.  The biofuel made from the waste products of the cow and produces clean and Earth-friendly methane which is used for cooking and lighting.  The remains from the bio-fuel are then used for fertilizer for the banana trees, which are the main food in Uganda.  Biofuel saves time and money, especially for the women who tend to be the ones preparing meals.  Firewood, which is scarce, can take 1 to 2 hours daily to gather, and adds another 45 to 60 minutes of time to cooking any meal.

Although the Cow Project is self-sustaining, there are still 2,000 families trained and waiting for a cow to begin their journey out of poverty!  Purchase a cow and be an integral part of this transformative process helping the rural poor in Uganda.

Milk in Uganda

He adds that it is during the rainy season when the prices of milk are low with a high supply because the animal pasture and water are in plenty. During this season, he purchases 50 litres of local cow’s milk at Shs30,000 and Shs25,000 of the exotic breed cattle. 

He buys a litre of local cow’s milk at Shs600 and sells it at Shs1,200 while a litre of exotic breed milk is bought at Shs500 and sold at Shs1,000.

Mwesigye notes that prices of milk will always be low or high depending on the season. During the dry season, the supply is low. He buys 50 litres of local cow’s milk at Shs60,000 and Shs50,000 for the exotic breed cattle. 
Here, he purchases a litre of local cow’s milk at Shs1,200 then sells it at Shs1,600. But he buys a litre of exotic breed milk at Shs1,000 and sells it at Shs1,400. 

According to Mwesigye, farmers who deal in exotic breed cattle get more milk than those dealing in local breed. However, those with local breed will sell more because of the quality.

Eddy Byamugisha of Fresh Dairy in Makindye adds, in most cases, milk prices are hiked during the dry season because most of the pasture and water sources are dry.

“The dry season not only affects the pasture, but also the cattle. Most of them fall sick and others die off hence lowering the supply leading to high prices,” he explains. Byamugisha, who only deals in exotic breed, milk buys 60 litres at Shs60,000 during the dry season. He says he buys a litre at Shs1,200 and sells it at Shs1,400.

When the supply is high during the rainy season, he buys 60 litres of milk at Shs40,000. During that time, a litre costs him Shs700. He sells it at Shs1,200. 

In Uganda, milk is mainly gotten from Mbarara, Kyakwanzi, Nakasongola and Bulemezi. These areas are known for cattle rearing.

Cement Cost in UGANDA

At the quarry
Katosi, the lakeside town on the northern shores of Lake Victoria in Mukono District, is more than the fishing and witchcraft hub you could have heard about. In fact, when you step on the Mukono-Katosi Road, you will see more tipper-trucks raising clouds of dust along the road, than fish trucks. These tipper-trucks will be on their way, back and forth Katosi, where sand mine after sand mine clutter its coast. 

Sand traders in Kampala confirm that Katosi is one of the leading sources of sand used around the Greater Kampala, among other sources like Lukaya near Masaka, Buleemezi in Luweero, and Bugerere in Kayunga District. So severe has been the case of sand mining in Katosi that many large quarries (the size of about three football pitches) have run out of sand, leaving the place arid and depleted with large ugly gullies. 

Most of the sand quarries seem to belong to no one, at least according to the miners. It is only in the case of quarries found in privately owned land where miners pay a premium of say Shs5,000 per truck to the landlord, miners say. 

A truck driver, normally of the large 10-wheel Isuzu Giga truck kind, locally called magulu kumi, drives into the quarry and purchases sand from miners. These miners are the ones who dig into the quarry for the sand, sieve it, and pile it up into knolls. They say they will fill up a magulu kumi with floor sand to above its brim level and create a sort of hill on top, for Shs80,000. The truck owner will then also part with Shs20,000 for the potters who fill the truck with sand. 

The magulu kumi thus drives out of the quarry having paid Shs110,000 for a trip of floor sand. 

The small trucks like the Isuzu Forward truck will fill for Shs41,000, with Shs6,000 paying potters, and the rest to the miners. The Isuzu Elf will cost Shs15,000 to fill up, with Shs5,000 going to potters. 

Along the way
When the trucks leave the quarries, they then encounter additional costs on the road in the form of local council taxes that they have to pay for ferrying the sand. This will cost about Shs25,000 for the magulu kumi, Shs15,000 for the Isuzu Forward truck and Shs10,000 for the Isuzu Elf truck. 

Truck drivers say this form of taxes is the easy part, because it is largely fixed. The hard part is when traffic police officers take over the Katosi-Mukono road and use any excuse to make money off the drivers. One truck driver says, “They (cops) can leave legitimate queries like the local council receipt and start looking at your tyres, then they threaten to fine you.” 

Drivers say this part is more complicated because they cannot determine how much the cops will ask for in bribes. “One day you pay Shs20,000, another day, you can even pay Shs100,000 when they accuse you of speeding, having bad tyres and expired insurance,” the drivers say. They add that there is hardly a return trip they make to the quarries in Katosi without paying a bribe to a police officer. On top of these, drivers say, some residents in the villages block the roads and require the truck drivers to pay off a small amount, of say Shs5,000 as maintenance fee for the road.

Sand markets
There are various yards in towns around Kampala, which act as sand markets. Trucks drive in from whichever quarry and dump the sand here. These yards are filled with large collections of sand, just waiting for a buyer. 

There are such markets in Kyetume (along the Mukono-Katosi Road) and in Kireka towns; and here, the magulu kumi trucks arrive and sell the sand at Shs320,000 and Shs350,000 respectively, according to traders. 

It is here that the drivers who ferry the sand from quarries hand over to the traders. Although truck drivers insist that paying bribes leaves them at near losses, by the time they hand over the sand, they have made themselves a healthy profit. Even when you take modest estimates for bribes to police officers, of even Shs50,000, the drivers, who paid Shs110,000 at the quarry, Shs25,000 to the local council authorities, Shs55,000 for fuel, and even Shs5,000 for road maintenance, would leave with a clean Shs105,000. Even if the bribes came up to Shs100,000, they would still make Shs55,000 off the trip.