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Showing posts from January, 2022

Fix the Darkness on the Kampala Express highway and the Northern By-pass

By Michael Aboneka Jr The Ministry of Works and Transport officially opened the Kampala Entebbe Express which is only accessible at a fee. The total project sum of this road is  USD 479,172,020  for 49.6km   and has been reported to be the most expensive road in the world. I use this road frequently and yes; it is good infrastructure as it eases movement. However, there is no single light post on the most expensive road in the world. The entire stretch after the toll gates is engulfed in darkness like an abandoned road. It is dangerously dark and hence forcing motorists to drive in full beam throughout which is also fatal.    How can the most exp ensive  road in the world lack lights? Or it was designed this way, not to have lights at all; or was it a design error? I have on several times called upon the Ministry  f or Works  and Transport  and the Uganda National Roads Authority to consider fixing lights on this highway-for goodness' sake, at least 30 light posts would be sufficie

It is wrong to force vaccination on Ugandans

 By Michael Aboneka Jr I do not know why the Ministry has for this long refused to take charge of the vaccination in a proper manner. I have time and again requested the ministry of health to take charge of the vaccination of Ugandans. We have all seen road blocks mounted on most of the major roads apparently under the command of RDCs who I presume are not acting on the directives of the Ministry. The Ministry has not come out to either claim they are in charge or condemn the actions.  Several passengers have been forced out of the cars, and subjected to forceful vaccination without proper orientation and counselling which is in total violation of the medical practice. Further, we are not sure whether those doing the forceful vaccination are medical personnel or not. In instances where one has not received their vaccination cards yet or forgotten it home, they will be forced to another round of vaccination per check point! The health condition of passengers being forced to vaccinate is

Government Must tame exorbitant school fees and unreasonable requirements by Schools

  By Michael Aboneka Jr For long, schools have been left to determine their own set of rules including school fees and other sets of rubrics which have been normalised even though they are out rightly illogical and unacceptable. Many have argued that schools like any other business are in a free-market economy and therefore are entitled to charge exorbitant fees and demand for requirements that are unreasonable. It is now over 2 years since schools have been officially closed and much attention and time has been drawn to discussing how they recover their loans and survival and little about reforming our education sector, especially the curriculum. We should have spent the 2 years discussing the ideal education for our economy, regulation of the education sector including fees charged. It is also the Government's duty to provide quality and affordable education services for its citizens in the acceleration to the attainment of SDG 4 on quality education. The Schools have now officia

The Ministry of Health should take charge of the Vaccination

By Michael Aboneka Jr The vaccination against COVID-19 has been ongoing amidst debates on many issues such as free will and consent, accessibility, possible expiry among others. The government and private actors have been also drumming up Ugandans to get vaccinated but little about teaching the masses about the vaccination so as to undo the already fixated mysteries around the vaccine. We have continued to see massive forceful vaccination of persons to the extent of the local leaders taking the law in their hands by ejecting unvaccinated passengers from public vehicles and forcing them to take the vaccine, albeit not even tested first. Many have continued to deny Ugandans services for lack of a vaccination card and all this is being done in the absence of a legal framework and at the watch of the Ministry of Health, which is sad.  One wonders whether the Ministry of Health is in charge or not. I have personally called upon the Ministry several times to come out strongly and take charge