Primary Five pupils waiting for their teacher as sheep occupy part of their
classroom. The classrooms are separated by poles.
Photo by Francis Mugerwa
By Francis Mugerwa
Posted Friday, July 25 2014
The government-aided school in the oil-rich Hoima District has only two structures which are falling apart.
Hoima- It is a windy and sunny afternoon. Classes are ongoing at Kyehoro Primary School, one of the public schools in Hoima District. The government-aided school with an enrolment of 272 pupils, is located in Kabwooya Sub-county, about 92km from Hoima Town.
The school which is in Nkondo parish in the Albertine grabben, is in the same village where oil explorers have discovered the Ngassa-1 Oil Well.
Teaching and learning sessions in the P5 and P6 classes are under an iron-roofed shade that is built with poles.
The teachers reveal that the sorry structure was built by parents. The floor in the classes is bare and dusty. But inside the classes, are also goats and sheep.
While others are standing, other domestic animals are lying on the floor of the classes. The school’s Parents Teachers Association (PTA) chairman, Mr Isaac Oryema, who had turned up at the school for routine supervision, told this newspaper that, pupils sharing classes with domestic animals is not strange in the area.
“The animals are from the communities where these pupils come from,” he explains.
The community in the village is largely comprised of fishermen and subsistence farmers who live on the shores of Lake Albert and neighbour the Kabwooya-Kaiso-Tonya Game Reserve.
The livestock farmers use a free-range grazing system where animals roam freely in communal grazing grassland. The school is not fenced and part of the school land is used by the community for grazing. Consequently, the animals stray into the school premises and often enter classrooms.
The stray animals are a challenge to the health and environment at the school. They drop dung in the premises and classes. They destroy trees but parents and pupils seem comfortable with co-existing with animals at school.
The school head teacher, Mr Robert Kugonza, said the school lacks adequate funds to fence off the school or maintain the compound. “Yes, these structures are in a sorry state however, we have accordingly notified district authorities,” Mr Kugonza said.
He said parents are reluctant to contribute any funds to the government-aided school. Kyehoro Primary School implements the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme.
The school was started by the community in 1996 and basing on requests from the community it was taken over by government in 2004.
The roaming goats and sheep eat grass in the school’s compound which the authorities fail to regularly slash apparently due to inadequate funds which the school receives.
An investigation by this newspaper reveals that domestic animals are not the only challenge at the school. It lacks any permanent structure. It has a shade that accommodates P6 and P5 classes. The P7 class which is in a mud and wattle house is also used by the head teacher as his office.
Children in P1, P2 and P3 classes study in a wooden- structure, painted green. It is, however, iron-roofed but the floor of mud.
Mr Kugonza says each quarter, the school receives an average of Shs1 million as UPE grant which is spent on instruction materials, co-curricular activities and administration expenses.
Ironically, despite the sorry state of the school, statistics availed by the Hoima District education office reveals that it is one of the relatively good performing schools in the district.
According to UNEB results obtained by this newspaper, Out of the 19 candidates that sat for PLE in 2012 at the school, eight passed in second grade, six passed in third grade, three passed in fourth grade and two were ungraded.
In 2012, Kyehoro Primary school performed better than Butema BCS Primary school which has permanent buildings for all seven classrooms and offices.
Out of the 43 candidates that sat for PLE, five got second grade,12 got third grade,four attained fourth grade,13 got U while nine were ungraded.
In 2011, six candidates sat for PLE at the school and five passed in second grade while one failed.
In 2010, out of the 12 candidates that sat for PLE, six passed in second grade, five got third grade and one was in fourth grade.
The Hoima district Education Officer, Mr Godfrey Sserwanja, concedes that the school is in a sorry state but asked parents to be patient until Tullow hands over the new structures.
“We anticipate the new structures to be handed to us by September. We have met parents and urged them to be patient,” he said.
He however said parents who are impatient can temporarily relocate their children to Kaiso Primary School which is less than a kilometer away from the school.
Mr Sserwanja said the community in Kyehoro loves education, teachers are committed and parents who are mainly fishermen provide scholastic materials and food to their children.
He said that explains why it is performing better than some schools that have permanent structures, have adequate teachers and are near Hoima Town.
“If we send the best teachers and adequate teaching instructions to those rural schools, where children feed on nutritious food unlike town-based pupils who go without lunch and stay at school playing during lunch time, we can tap some of the best brains of this country,” he said.
Uganda is one of the countries in the world that committed itself towards achieving the Millennium Development goals.
Goal 2 requires countries to achieve Universal Primary Education.
“Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling,” Target 2.A of the goal states.
The learning conditions at Kyehoro Primary School call for the country to increase its support to schools with such sorry conditions in order for Uganda to achieve the goal.
CORPORATE INTERVENTION
According to the school headteacher, Mr Robert Kugonza, parents are hesitant to contribute funds to improve facilities at the school because Tullow Oil, a firm that discovered commercially viable oil deposits in the area, is building structures for the school about 300 metres away from the current school.
Tullow Oil Uganda’s communications executive David Onyango says the school will be finalised by the end of this year.
As part of its social investment, Tullow oil is building four classroom blocks, a Kitchen, six staff houses and four VIP latrines for the school.
“Social Investment is a social performance tool for managing social impacts associated with our operations and leveraging the benefits which our business can bring to host countries and communities through education, local content and capacity building initiatives so that people can participate in the industry supply chain.
To that end, Tullow Uganda is implementing infrastructure projects in Buliisa and Hoima districts to support community development in the EA2 operation area,” Mr Onyango said in an email response to this newspaper about the company’s interventions in the area.
THE STATISTICS
Hoima District has 135 government-aided primary schools and 120 private primary schools. This year, the district has a total enrolment of 79,355 pupils.
According to Mr Sserwanja, the district has a teacher to pupil ratio of 1:58 compared to the national average of 1:53. While the national desk to pupil ratio is 1:3, Hoima’s ratio is 1:5.
He said Hoima’s classroom to pupil ratio is 1:58 compared to the national average of 1:53.The pupil to book ratio is 1:6 in Hoima compared to the national average of 1:3.
During the 2012/2013 financial year, Hoima District passed a budget of Shs19.7 billion out of which Shs8.8 billion was allocated to the education sector.
During the 2013/2014 financial year, the district approved a budget of Shs21.2 billion out of which Shs9.8 billion was allocated to the education sector.
The district’s budget for the 2014/2015 financial year is Shs21.2 billion out of which Shs9.5 billion is for the education sector.
An analysis reveals that the budget for the education sector 2012/2013 financial year increased from Shs8.8 billion to Shs9.8 billion in the 2013/2014 financial year. However, it has reduced to Shs9.5 billion in the 2014/2015 financial year.The Midwestern regional Anti Corruption Coalition (MIRAC), a regional Anti Corruption agency has urged government to increase the budget for the health and education sectors.
The coalition’s Programme Officer Mr Herbert Monday said under the Strengthening Citizen Urgency Project, MIRAC has documented cases of poor supervision, monitoring, inadequate scholastic materials, and absenteeism at various schools and health facilities in the district.
fmugerwa@ug.natonmedia.com
Government issues new tough rules for private schools in Uganda's education systems.

The vice chairperson, National Private Education Institutions Association,
Ms Zaujah Ndifuna, addresses private schools teachers and owners in Kampala recently.
By AL-MAHDI SSENKABIRWA
Posted Friday, August 29 2014
Kampala-No proprietor will be licensed to start a private secondary school unless they have at least seven full-time teachers—three of whom should be teaching sciences or mathematics.
Also, whoever heads a school must be a university graduate.
The order is among a new set of guidelines the government has issued for people seeking to open private schools.
On enrolment, one will only be allowed to open a private primary school if they have at least 55 pupils enrolled in each class while the minimum number for secondary schools is 40 students per class.
According to Mr Ismail Mulindwa, an assistant commissioner in the Education ministry, the guidelines have been prompted by a recent survey which revealed that many private schools were operating in contravention of the Education Act 2008.
“These new guidelines will serve as benchmarks for our efforts to ensure quality in private sector education provision,” he said in an interview yesterday
New schools, according to the guidelines, will only be registered between October and December and registration certificate will be valid for only five years for secondary schools while primary schools will have to renew their certificates after every two years.
More requirements
“Proprietors intending to register their schools in any given year must ensure that their files are with us by June 30 of the previous year to enable us carry out inspection. Issuing of a new licence will only be done after revalidation of the school,” said Mr Mulindwa.
For boarding schools, dormitories will be inspected and issued with an occupancy permit before students are allowed to take residence. Also to be affected is the nomenclature of schools. No school will be allowed to tag the title “college” or ‘academy’ to its name.
A school will only use the title ‘college’ if its attached to a university or college to demonstrate skills taught there while an ‘academy’ will be one that offers a particular set of skills like military, music or drama.
Mr Mulindwa said although the guidelines are for new schools, the older ones will have to comply with the directives before their current licences are renewed. For those that already have the title ‘college’ or ‘academy’, he said would be advised to change names.
“It was oversight to allow them to operate but we shall sit with the proprietors and ask them to change the names,” he said
Reacting to the new guidelines, Mr Hassadu Kirabi, the head of research at the National Private Educational Institutions Association, protested the conditions on registration, saying they are unfair and will lock out many potential investors.
“We agree with other changes but the issue of putting a limit on the period we are supposed to register is unfair. Registration is not a one-day deal and given the paper work involved, they should leave it open,” he said yesterday.
In 2009, government closed a total of 398 schools for failure to meet minimum operational, safety and security standards as stipulated in the Education Act, 2008.
This followed several school fires which destroyed property worth billions and in some cases—deaths of students.
A recent report by the ministry revealed fewer private schools were adhering to set minimum standards compared to the public ones.
Overall, 45.8 per cent of schools inspected were rated fair, followed by 27.7 per cent as unsatisfactory, 25.2 per cent scored “good” while only 1.2 per cent were rated very good.
Also, grading of private schools in 2011 by government saw no school make it to the “excellent” category while only nine of the 2,073 made it to “class B”.
Some key rules
Ownership: Change of school ownership or location will only be allowed at the end of year to avoid interrupting school operations
Qualification: Matrons must have a minimum academic qualification of primary seven and not below 30 years.
Security: School guards must be on surveillance of premises 24-hours and must have basic security knowledge
Medical checkups: Matrons and school cooks must be examined medically every after six months
Exits: Two emergency exits in each dormitory is a must
Fire: Erect secure fence and installing fire protection systems.
Sanitation: Dustbins and incinerators as well as erecting appropriate kitchens with utensils dying racks must be provided
Names: School names with a relationship with other countries /organisations will only be used with explicit written permission from embassies of those countries.
assenkabirwa@ug.nationmedia.com
How Pupils and teachers in Uganda share the broken down outside toilet facilities.

The four roomed latrine facility at Bukalasa C/U Primary school shared by the
pupils and teachers.
The VBCs who visited the facility claim the latrine is almost filled up which put
the lives of both teachers and pupils at a health risk.
By Dan Wandera
Posted Thursday, August 28 2014
Community leaders under the Village Budget Clubs (VBC) in Katikamu Subounty, Luweero District have condemned the act of teachers and pupils in schools in Katikamu Subcounty sharing latrines.
This they said infringes on both teachers’ and pupils’ privacy.
The VBCs currently engaged in the monitoring process for the different community programs in the area claim that the inadequate latrine facilities has created a situation where teachers and pupils (both male and female) from schools in the area share the same latrine facility and thus should be addressed by both the parents and District leaders before it worsens.
"We are very surprised that both female and male pupils plus teachers at Bukalasa C/U Primary School share the same latrine facility some of which have broken doors and almost filled up. Users risk contracting sanitary related diseases ", said Ms Nawume Nakandi the VBC chairperson.
Luweero Distrct Education Officer, Ms Florence Bbosa Ssekitoleko tolds the Daily Monitor that her office was not aware of such a sensitive situation in any of the schools in the area.
"It is true that we do not have enough funds to do everything in schools but some situations call for emergencies. The head teacher of that school has to explain this situation. He is not supposed to keep quiet in a situation which endangers the lives of both the children and the teachers", Ms Ssekitoleko said.
However, Luweero District Council Speaker, Ms Prossy Namansa said her office will take up the matter to ensure that the situation is addressed before the pupils report back for third term.
The District Chief Administrative officer, Mr George Eustace Gakwandi also said he would follow up on the matter to establish whether the affected schools are among the priority areas for support in construction activities. He also admitted that schools with such challenges could be many in the district.
Ekisulo ky’e Kasasa kiyidde abayizi ne bazirika olwomukka:
Kasasa, Masaka | Oct 29, 2014
Bya JOHN BOSCO SSERUWU
NNABBAMBULA w’omuliro akutte ekisulo ky’abayizi abawala ku ssomero lya St. Charles Lwanga SSS, Kasasa ebintu by’abayizi abasoba mu 200 ne bisirikka.
Abayizi abawerako baazirise ng’ekisulo kino ekyamalirizibwa okuzimbibwa mu July w’omwaka oguwedde ne kibbulwamu Omutuukirivu Padre Pio kiyidde.
Okusinziira ku bakulira essomero lino okuli Bro. Anthony Lubwama ne Fr. Deus Ssekabira, omuliro gwatandise ku ssaawa 2.30 ez’akawungeezi ku Mmande kyokka tebannategeera kwe gwavudde kubanga gwabaluse omulundi gumu okuva mu buli nsonda ya kizimbe.
Baayongeddeko nti mu kiseera we gwabalukiddewo, abayizi bonna baabadde bagenze mu bibiina kusoma ne bagamba nti kyayambye abayizi obutakosebwa wadde ng’era abamu baazirise olw’ebintu byabwe okutokomoka.
Poliisi ezikiriza omuliro ng’ekulembeddwa omuduumizi wa poliisi mu Masaka Region, Maxwel Ogwal we yatuukidde ng’ebintu by’abayizi ebisinga omuli emifaliso, engoye, ebitabo n’ensimbi nga biweddewo kyokka baasobodde okutaasa ekizimbe wadde ng’oludda lwakyo olumu lwatendewaliddwa
ne luyiika.
Omusumba John Baptist Kaggwa n’omubaka wa Kalungu East mu Palamenti Vincent Ssempijja nabo badduukiridde enduulu era mu kwennyamira Bp. Kaggwa yagambye nti kuno kusoomoozebwa kwa maanyi kubanga babadde baakayita mu bugubi obutagambika okuweza ensimbi ezaamalirizza ekizimbe kino.
Bp. Kaggwa yasabye poliisi okusitukiramu enoonyereze ku kivaako amasomero okuggya nti kubanga kati ne mu Masaka kweyongedde n’awa ekyokulabirako ky’amasomero ag’e Kyabakuza n’e Kimaanya nago agaakookebwa omuliro.
Omubaka Vincent Ssempijja yagumizza abayizi naddala abali mu bibuuzo byabwe eby’akamaliririzo, nti kino ekiguddewo tekibatwalira nnyo birowoozo nti kubanga nakyo Katonda yandiba ng’akireese nga kigezo.
Abamu ku bayizi abaazirisse kuliko Levin Nakawungu S2, Flavia Nassali S6, Peninah Naginda S2, Patricia Nabukeera S1, Cathy Kyokunda S1, Jane Nakiberu S5 ne Resty Nakononi owa S1 nga baatwaliddwa mu ddwaaliro e Masaka okufuna obujjanjabi.
Lwaki amasomero nnansangwa mu nsi Buganda gatandiseewo amatabi?
Kampala, Buganda
May 03, 2015
NGA bizinensi y'amasomero yeeyongera ebbugumu buli olukya, amasomero gannansangwa nago gatandise okweyubula era agamu gatandise okugaziwa n'okuteekawo gannaago okusobola okutwala abayizi abawera.
Tutuukiridde amasomero gano ne googera ku nsonga n'enkola gye gagenda okulondoolamu amatabi ge batandiseewo okulaba nti nago gatambulira ku musingi gwago gwennyini:
GAYAZA JUNIOR SCHOOL:
Lino lya bawala bokka, lisangibwa Gayaza nga lyatandika mu 1905 kati gye myaka 100 be ddu. Omwezi oguwedde omukulu w'essomero lino, Margaret Kibuuka yayanjudde enteekateeka y'okuzimba essomero eddala nalyo erigenda okuyitibwa Gayaza Junior School ku luguudo lw'e Nakawuka nga lino ligenda kuyambako okut-wala abamu ku bayizi abaleetebwa ku Gayaza Junior kyokka ne bafikka.
Agamba: Ekirowoozo kino nakifuna olw'okuba twalaba ng'abantu bangi abaagala es¬somero lyaffe era batuleetera abaana nga bangi ddala ne twesanga nga tututteko batono be tusobola, olwo abalala ne tubagoba ekitasanyusa bazadde.
Buli kibiina tubadde tufuna abayizi abasoba mu 300 kyokka nga twewaliririza ne tutwalako nga 150 kyokka. Buli kibiina kirimu ebiwayi bisatu nga buli kimu tukissaamu abayizi 50. Kino kibadde kitukaluubiriza oluusi ne tuyingiza abasoba mu 150 ne tubassa mu biwayi bina nnya olw'obungi bw'abayizi.
Kwe kusalawo tuzimbe ebi¬zimbe ebirala mu kifo ekigazi ku ttaka lye twagula e Jjungo ku luguudo lw'e Nakawuka. Tetukoze ssomero ddala wabula tugaziyizza Gayaza Junior School okusanyusa abazadde abatwa¬gala tutwale abayizi bonna be batuleetera.
Era mu kugaziwa kuno, twagadde okukendeeza ku muwendo gw'abayizi abangi be tulina mu buli kibiina, olwo buli kiwayi kibeemu abayizi 40. Kino kijja kuyamba omusomesa okutuuka ku buli muyizi.
Enteekateeka eno twa¬gyanjulidde abazadde era ne bagisiima. E Jjungo tu¬suubira okuteekayo essomero ly’ebyemikono nga n'abayizi baffe nabo bajja kuba bagan¬yulwa mu ssomo lino wadde nga lijja kuba n'abayizi abava awalala kuba ku Gayaza Junior ebyemikono tubyettanira.
Mother Kevin Primary School e Nsambya, lino ttabi lya Namilyango Junior Boys School.
Olw’okuba eno wagazi, tusuubira okuteekayo ebintu bingi omuli ebidiba ebiwugir¬wamu, ekisaawe ekinene era eky'omulembe nga mulimu ebisaawe omuzannyirwa emizannyo egy’enjawulo omuli n’okuvuga endogoyi.
era kino olunaggwa tugenda kutwala abayizi ebibiina bisatu okuva ku P.2 okutuuka ku P.5. Abazadde abamu baasanyukidde Jjungo nga bagamba nti kumpi ne gye babeera era abo abaana baabwe gye bajja okutwalibwa. Okulonda abanaagenda e Jjungo tujja kukuba kalulu, omuzadde k’anaalonda eyo omwana we gye tujja okumutwala. Kyokka singa omuzadde anaalemerako ku wa gy'ayagala omwana we asomere ate naye tujja kumuwuliriza.
Tetugenda kukyusa basomesa
Abasomesa tugenda kukozesa bano bennyini be tulina mu ntandikwa wabula era kijja kutwetaagisa okufunayo abapya kubanga omuwendo gw'abayizi gugenda kweyongera era singa kineetaagisa bajja kuvanga eno bagende e Jjungo nayo basomeseeyo n’abeeri nabo bajje eno e Gayaza. ‘Center number’ ey'ebibuuzo kwe tukolera PLE eri Gayaza era egenda
kusigala ng’eri emu eri abayizi bonna. Emikolo gy'essomero tujja kugigabanya ng'omwaka guno bwe gibeera e Jjungo ogujja gibeera Gayaza.
Kyokka obukulembeze bugenda kusigala wano e Gayaza era omukulu w'essomero agenda kusigala omu ne yunifoomu tugen¬da kukozesa emu eya kkaki owa kiragala (ku bayizi aba bulijjo) ne bbulu ow'amazzi eri abakulembeze b'abayizi
NAMILYANGO JUNIOR BOYS SCHOOL
Lino ssomero lya Pulayimale era lya balenzi bokka. Lyatandikibwawo omubiikira Mother Kevin Kearney mu 1932 nga kati liri mu myaka 83. Ono ye yali akulira era eyatandikawo ekibiina ky'ababiikira ekya ‘Little Sisters of St. Francis of Assis’ e Nkokonjeru. Omumyuka w'omukulu w'essomero lino, Ignatius Mugavu agamba:
Abayizi be tufuna beeyongera buli olukya. Twakizuula nti abantu bangi baagala essomero bwe tutyo mu 2008 ne tufuna ekirowoozo okuteekawo ettabi eddala era nga lino twaliteeka Nsambya. Kyokka tetwalituuma Namilyango Junior Boys School twalibbulamu erinnya ly'omutandisi w'essomero lyaffe, Mother Kevin nga twagala okumu-jjuukirirako.
Mu ntandikwa abayizi ‘Interviews’ baazikoleranga wano e Namilyango nga mwe twalonda abaatandikawo Mother Kevin P/S e Nsambya. N'abasomesa twasooka kukozesa baffe wano, oluvan¬nyuma ne tufuna abapya era ne tubatendekera wano e Namilyango okutuusa lwe twalaba nti batuuse ku mutindo gwe twetaaga.
Yuni¬foomu twasigala tukozesa y’emu.
Okusooka obukulembeze twalina bumu nga Namilyango y’etwala Mother Kevin wabula mu 2012 bwe twalaba ng'essomero likuze nga n'omutindo gwaffe tumaze okugutereeza obulungi, twalita ne lyetongola era kati likulirwa Sr. Mary Pauline.
Embeera y’ebisulo bya Yunivasite e Makerere yennyamiza; byavunda dda!
Kampala | Jun 09, 2015
Yunivasite ye Makerere
Bya GEORGE BUKENYA
EMBEERA y’ebisulo ebimu ebya Yunivasite y’e Makerere yennyamiza era tebikyasulikamu kuba bitonnya ate ne kaabuyonjo ziri mu mbeera mbi.
Ekisulo ekya Lumumba ekisinga obunene era ekyasuzanga abayizi abangi kati kye kisembayo okusuza abayizi abatono bw’ogeraageranya n’ebisulo by’abalenzi ebirala.
Ekimu ku bizimbe by’ekisulo kya CCE byakubwako amabaati waggulu okukitangira okutonnya.
Akulira okulabirira abayizi mu Yunivasite eno, Cyriaco Kabagambe agamba nti bali mu nteekateeka y’okuddaabiriza ebisulo bino era baddaabirizaako ebimu nga basiiga langi n’okutereeza kaabuyonjo naye ssente ze bafuna ntono nga kino kye ky’okusoomooza kye balina.
Mu 2009 baatandika okuzimba olukomera nga baali baagala kulwetoolooza ettendekero lyonna naye baali baakatandika ekisenge ekyasooka ne kigwa.
Kaabuyonjo ezimu zaakuukamu enzigi
Kaabuyonjo nvundu ddala era zisaasanya ndwadde
Omwogezi w’ettendekero lino, Ritah Namisango agamba nti mu 2014 omumyuka wa cansala wa Yunivasite, Polof. Ddumba Sentamu ng’awerekeddwaako abakulembeze abalala baasisinkana pulezidenti ne bamunnyonnyola ebizibu bye basanga ng’ekimu ku byo kyali kya kuzimba lukomera n’abasuubiza okubawa ssente.
Gye buvuddeko Pulezidenti Museveni yakyaddeko e Makerere n’ayogera eri abakulembeze b’abayizi n’alagira babawe obuwumbi butaano batandike okuzimba olukomera amangu ddala.
Nb
Bananyini Ssommero lino bebano abamaliridde okuwamba ettaka eddala lingi nyo mu Buganda okuzimbako ebizimbe ebikyamu.
Digital TV migration equipment installed at Vision Group in Uganda:
Publish Date: Aug 06, 2015
Engineers from Signet install microwave links at Vision Group offices.
Photo/Richard Sanya
By John Odyek
Signet, the sole company licensed by Uganda Company Communications Commission to distribute digital TV signals in Uganda has installed its equipment at Vision Group head offices in Kampala for picking digital TV signals.
Engineers contracted by Signet were on the roof of Vision Group installing microwave links.
They also installed indoor equipment such as encoders, which digitize TV signals in the Vision Group TV studios.
Mark Walungama head of Television, Vision Group said Signet was installing their microwave link for sending digital signals to the Kololo mast owned by Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC).
Signet is a sister company to UBC that is responsible for distribution of digital TV signals.
Walungama said no agreement had yet been reached between Signet and the broadcasters on the fees for distributing digital signals.
He said when an agreement was reached, the TV signal distribution would start.
"We have no agreement yet with Signet. They are installing the equipment to be ready. They had delayed to install the equipment," Walungama said.
Bruce Xion, project manager Gospell Digital Technology said they were installing the microwave links and indoor equipment for digital TV signal broadcasts.
Xion said the equipment had delayed at customs by one month. "In China customs clearance is done in one week. But in Uganda it has taken a week. I don't know why it takes so long," Xion said.
Xion said the equipment was imported from USA. He added that installation could take a day and the equipment would be ready for use. He said they were subcontracted by Complant Ltd to do the work.
TV Broadcasters have asked government to suspend the digital migration from analogue to digital TV broadcasts as the necessary infrastructure and agreements are not yet in place.
The Uganda Communications Commission last month began enforcing the International Telecommunications Union set June 17 2015 deadline of transiting from analogue to digital broadcasts.
UCC switched off free to air of analogue broadcasts in Kampala leaving people using analogue TVs and those without Pay TV in 'TV darkness'.
UgandaTelecommunication is trying to wake up to start taking part in the modern global communication business:
October 13, 2017
Written by Justus Lyatuu
Uganda Telecom and West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC) have partnered to offer high speed internet, shaking up a market where data services are increasingly encroaching on the voice market.
Officials from the two companies said their new internet service will be cheaper than what is offered on the market. Otaremwa Otuhumurize, the company’s management support officer, said the partnership with WIOCC will assist the company’s drive of widening connectivity and will boost the availability to deliver high-capacity internet.
“We will now be able to deliver high-capacity mobile broadband via our microwave radio and fibre optic network infrastructure,” he said during the launch of the initiative in Kampala.
The Uganda Telecommunication Headquarter house in the city of Kampala.
The announcement comes at a time when government is trying to turn around the company, which remains under receivership.
Government advised all agencies to utilize UTL’s data network to reduce their costs and help the telecom firm back on its feet.
Otuhumurize noted that data prices in Uganda are the most expensive compared to other countries in the region, and that through the partnership, UTL will have to cut its prices.
“This partnership will close the data gap. Rwanda, Kenya and Burundi charge $50 per megabyte-per-second, yet telecom companies charge up to $300 per megabyte-per-second. At UTL, we sell at $100 per megabyte-per-second. Our target is to get to $50 per megabyte-per-second before the end of this financial year.”
WIOCC is jointly owned by 14 major African telecommunication companies, including UTL. UTL owns 9.13 percent of WIOCC.
Mustapher Ntale, manager, Liquidation at Uganda Registration Services Bureau, which is in charge of managing UTL, said UTL’s investment in the company (WIOCC) is enabling it to purchase 7.5 gigabits – megabyte-per-second (GBPS) of internet connectivity on competitive commercial terms.
“We believe when we purchase internet at good prices, this will allow us to pass on the coefficiencies to our consumers in Uganda. This will also give UTL the ability to implement significant improvements in price, quality and quantity of internet in Uganda,” Ntale said.
James Wekesa, WIOCC’s chief commercial officer, said the company provides a range of core wholesale services to carriers, internet service providers, over-the-top-players (OTT) and content providers throughout Africa.
“WOICC supports UTL on its transmission backhaul between Mombasa and Kampala. Also, the company provides UTL with quick restoration options through an alternative route in case of interruptions in traffic on its fully redundant operations,” he said.
WOICC’s network includes 55,000km of terrestrial infrastructure and also investments in over 60,000km of submarine cable assets.
There should be one smartphone for every classroom in the schools if the African child has got to catch up with the modern global technology.
One believes that all the sponsors of African Education are eager to pay more for such a service to the children.