HiPipo Money

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President Yoweri Museveni has hailed MTN Uganda and its partners that sponsored the 2013 MTN Marathon for massive fundraising to provide safe and clean water to the people of Karamoja.

The president was speaking at the commissioning of the water project in Nabilatuk village, one of the places in the two sub-counties of Nakakapiririt district where 18 boreholes were constructed using the proceeds of the 2013 MTN Marathon

Museveni urged the district leaders to work with Corporate companies like MTN, Stanbic, Huawei and New Vision to construct at least three boreholes in each village to increase access to clean and safe water in the district.

“I would like to urge the district leaders to work with MTN and the other partners and help these women reduce the hours they spend lining up to get water. We need to have at least three bore holes in each of the villages. Government will also construct Valley tanks for cattle in each of the 36 parishes while in the long run, we will plan to bring piped water into the towns”, President.

The project brings a new dawn to the people of Karamojawho have been experiencing water strain.

 The function was attended by senior officials from MTN Uganda and its 2013 Marathon partners Huawei Uganda, New Vision, Stanbic Bank, Uganda Athletics Federation UAF and Rwenzori.MTN and partners also used the occasion to launch the 2014 Marathon.

Giving an insight into the region largely dominated by pastoralists, Mrs. Janet Museveni thanked MTN and its partners for choosing Karamoja as a beneficiary of what she referred to as a noble project that will go a long way in solving the problem of a lack of clean and safe water in Karamoja.

Speaking at the event, MTN CEO Brian Gouldie said MTN Uganda was committed to continue partnering with other Corporate Companies and with the Government of Uganda as developmental partners to spearhead life changing initiatives

Gouldie added; “We take pride in the fact that every participant who took part in the 2013 Marathon, joined hands with MTN to make a difference in the lives of the people of Karamoja.  At MTN, we have over the years dedicated ourselves to the cause of improving the society we live in by harnessing the passion that we as Ugandans have within ourselves. We have done this through many avenues, including the MTN Kampala Marathon”.

Following the 2013 Marathon with the theme “Run for water” MTN Uganda and partners handed over the UShs. 400 million collected to Water Aid Uganda to implement a 6 months water project in Nakapiripit- part of the Karamoja sub region and deliver safe and clean water to the people of Karamoja. This resulted into the construction of 18 boreholes in two sub-counties.

The two beneficiary Sub Counties Moruita and Nabilatuk in Nakapiripirit that were selected due to the fact that they have the least water coverage of 34% and 46% respectively.The selection of Karamoja as beneficiary was further reinforced by the Uganda Human Development Report 2005 (UNDP 2005) which ranked Karamoja Region as the second last in the country Human Development Index of 0.24 where high levels of poverty were attributed to frequent drought and insecurity.

It was upon that basis that WaterAid was also tasked to implement the project and also to monitor sanitation and hygiene among the communities and engage them through hygiene education and promotion activities including drama shows, village improvement campaigns, and household hygiene and sanitation follow-ups in 8 villages. 

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Zambia’s Resa and Mozambique’s Mira became the first two housemates to be evicted from Big Brother Hotshots on Sunday 12 October, after the first week which saw the housemates going all-out to impress the continent with their Hotshot talents.

All the housemates, excluding Laveda, who won the title of Head of House after scoring highest with the studio audience during the talent show, were up for eviction this week. Africa voted, and with twelve housemates failing to win a country vote, the tie-breaker rule came into effect. The end result, independently verified by auditors SizweNtsalubaGobodo, was that Resa and Mira had drawn the least support from the continent, and were sent home.

It was a busy first week, with the housemates getting to know each other and delving into their first challenges. They won their first task advertising their Hotshots talents with posters, impressing Big Brother with their skills. Cliques formed, the first signs of mischief caused a stir and some housemates got quite close. Mira planted kisses on Luis and Nhlanhla during the very first party and Idris and Goitse hooked up just about immediately, though they’re playing it cool.

The housemates also got to participate in their first Extravaganza Task. Head of House Laveda chose the two teams and immediately caused dissention when it appeared she’d pitted the ‘artists’ against the ‘intellectuals’. As it turned out, team Waka Waka – the ‘intellectuals ‘ – impressed viewers most with their performance and won immunity from nomination this week. Unluckily for group members Mira and Resa, that prize came too late, but it does give Sheillah, Nhlanhla, Luis, Macky2, Trezagah, Mr. 265, Sipe, Idris, Ellah, Butterphly and M’am Bea some room to breathe this week.

After checking out how the week had played out, IK called the housemates to order. After a trademark dramatic pause, IK revealed that Resa was the first housemate to be evicted from Big Brother Hotshots. After she said her goodbyes, she was philosophical when she joined IK on stage, declaring herself “at peace” and saying that she’d miss Sipe the most. The housemates weren’t off the hook yet, though, as IK took viewers back into the house and informed the Hotshots that someone else would be leaving immediately. Mira’s name was the next to be read out, sending the Mozambican home. After checking out her highlights on stage, she admitted that she’d gotten close to Luis during her brief stay, no surprise as she left the Namibian in tears after an embrace and kiss on her way out of the house.

Nigerian hip hop ambassadors Phyno and Olamide kicked off the show with their hit ‘Ghost Mode’ and returned again later on with a medley of their finest offerings.

With the housemates now offered a taste of reality after a week of settling in, things are going to get interesting during week two! Don’t forget to tune in to Monday’s Nomination Show (20:00 CAT on AfricaMagic Showcase & Maisha Magic and 21:30 CAT on AfricaMagic Family, AfricaMagic World on GOtv), – and then switch across to DStv Channel 198 straight afterwards to see what Big Brother has up his sleeve for the nominees.

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• Over 130 million litres of diesel to be supplied in Kenya and Uganda over 3 years
• 65pc increase in RVR’s annual fuel consumption following addition of 25 locomotives

Hass Petroleum Limited, a major regional oil marketer and distributer has won a sh385 billion ($148 million) tender to supply diesel to rail operator Rif Valley Railways over the next three years.

Under the agreement Hass Petroleum will provide RVR with an estimated 130 million litres of automotive gas oil (diesel) over a period of three years (the equivalent of over 4,300 fuel tank loads) toRVR’s keyoperational centersin Uganda and Kenya.  

Hass Petroleum was awarded the contract after edging out five other large regional oil marketers and distributors.

Speaking at the contract signing ceremony at RVR’s offices, RVR’s chief executive officer Carlos Andrade said: “The 20 American-built locomotives we are acquiring over the next five months in addition to the five we’re refurbishing locally will double our cargo haulage capacity and increase our diesel consumption needs by 65 per cent this year alone.”

He said diesel consumption is expected to rise each year of the contract period with further increases in the locomotive fleet.

Mr. Abdirizak Ahmed, Kenya Country Manager of Hass Petroleum said: “We are happy indeed to have won this contract emerging with the best bid amongst our peers. This is yet another major milestone by Hass Petroleum Group and not only does it articulate the strength and market position of Hass Petroleum but is also shows the confidence  Rift Valley Railways has in working with Hass Petroleum. We are confident that we shall continue to dominate our industry’s landscape with a greater footprint than we have had before.”

A service level agreement requires Hass Petroleum to manage fuel facilities and ensure minimum stock levels in RVR’s operational hubs of Kampala and Tororo, and in Changamwe, Eldoret and Nairobi in Kenya. 

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Uganda’s head of state H.E Yoweri Museveni has officially commissioned the construction of the 37 km Ntungamo-Mirama Hills road. The groundbreaking ceremony wasattended by Uganda’s Minister of Works and Transport, Hon. Abraham Byandala, acting Executive Director, Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), James Okorir, TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) Director General, David Stanton and TMEAs Uganda Country Director, Allen Asiimwe, among other dignitaries.

TradeMark East Africa is funding construction of the $22 million road which will be implemented by the Uganda National Roads Authority. Construction is expected to take 18 months with the road ready for use in April 2016.

The Mirama Hills road route offers a shorter and less difficult route to Rwanda than passing through the Katuna/Gatuna border post. This unpaved section of 37 Km of Northern Corridor road network was a major constraint to the better operationalisation of a one stop border post at Kagitumba and Mirama Hills and is expected to decrease the time for goods to be transported between Kampala and Kigali and increase the volume of traffic using this route.

“This road construction marks another significant milestone in Uganda’s commitment towards enhanced regional integration. It fits well with our northern corridor infrastructure projects including the border post at Mirama Hills. We expect this road to promote increased trade with Rwanda. Coupled with the construction of the one stop border post at Mirama Hills, Ugandan and Rwandan traders will experience reduced times and costs. The government of Uganda is grateful to its development partners and in particular, TradeMark East Africa for supporting us on improving the much needed trade infrastructure”, said H.E. Yoweri Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda.

TradeMark Director General David Stanton noted that trade infrastructure is critical to East Africa’s prosperity, and in creating the much needed jobs in the region. Currently East Africa’s trade corridors are characterized by long transit times and high costs.  Freight costs per kilometre are more than 50% higher than costs in the United States and Europe, and for the landlocked countries, transport costs can be as high as 45% of the value of exports.

“This support to the government of Uganda is expected to cutdown significantly the time and cost of transporting goods to Rwanda and through the Mirama Hills one stop border post. This is an important project that will make a substantive contribution to the development of both the country and the East Africa region. We expect to see increased trade activity between Uganda and Rwanda. This investment in modernising the transport infrastructure is the catalyst needed to bring about prosperity to the region,” said Stanton.

The project focuses on upgrading and paving of the road to bitumen standards from Ntungamo to Mirama Hills Border (aprroximately 37 Km long). The works consist of upgrading the road from gravel to Class II Bitumen Standard, with 7m-wide carriageway of asphalt concrete surfacing and 2No. 1.5m-wide double surface dressed shoulders. The project is related to the TMEA supported projects that will provide: 

• Improved IT infrastructure; 
• Harmonised working procedures on both sides of the border;
• Training for border agency staff, freight forwarders and traders;
• Construction of the Kagitumba OSBP and Mirama Hills OSBP; and
• Construction of Kagitumba Bridge.

TMEA is providing financial assistance to the Government of Uganda (GoU) to assist in the financing of the project. The Works will be executed by a Construction firm and Quality Assurance will be ensured through a permanent supervision of works backed up by Project Managers from UNRA and TMEA. Both the Project Managers and Consultancy supervision firm will report to the UNRA/TMEA joint established Technical Oversight Committee (TOC), which will approve all project implementation decisions.

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Following his pivotal role in the European Team’s winat Gleneagles this weekend, the former US Open champion Justin Rosecontinued to soar high by demonstrating his shot making skill from the wing of a British Airways Boeing 747.

Celebrating  the  partnership  between  British Airways and the 34-year-old Englishman,the  airline  helped to raise funds and awareness for the Kateand  Justin  Rose  Foundation, which was set up by the golfing star and hiswife to inspire children through nutrition, education, and experiences.

Rose was joined by former England football captain and BBC Match of the Daypresenter  GaryLineker,  Ex-Liverpool  midfielder  Jamie Redknapp, formerEngland  and Arsenal striker Ian Wright and fashion icon, Jodie Kidd at theairline’s engineering hangar in London. Standing  on the wing of a British Airways 747, which has a wingspan of 64mand average height of 6.1m above the ground, Rose hit a succession of ballsat a target 180 yards away to secure flights for the charity.Gary  Lineker,  Jamie Redknapp, Ian Wright and Jodie Kidd, who are all keengolfers,took  turns  practicing their swing before trying to emulate Rose’s successaiming at the 160 yard target.

Representing  Europe  in  his  third  Ryder Cup but his first on home soil,Justin’s   emotions  were  still  running  high  after  the  team’s  secondsuccessive victory in the biennial tournament. “The team played outstandingthis  weekend  and it’s a fantastic feeling to come out of the Ryder Cup asthe  winning team again, to carry that adrenaline with me on to the wing ofthe British Airways 747 before flying the aircraft back across the Atlanticwas  a special thrill,” said Rose. “I have thoroughly enjoyed the challengeand  I am grateful to British Airways for donating flights towards the Kateand  Justin  Rose  Foundation  –  it  will  make  a  huge difference to ourcampaign.”

Frank  van  der  Post,  British  Airways  managing  director  of brands andcustomer experience, said: “We are delighted to work with Justin once againas  he is one of British sports’ most iconic characters. We were pleased toalso provide flights to the Justin and Kate Rose Foundation and support thegreat work they do.”

Rose,  who  became the first English player in 17 years to win a major whenhe  lifted  the  US Open title last year, will head to Dubai in November tocompete  in  the  European Tour’s finale of the Race to Dubai, the DP WorldTour  Championship,  held  at  the Jumeirah Golf Estates in the United ArabEmirates.