Maternal deaths could be due to corruption in hospitals where doctors steal government drugs, President Yoweri Museveni has said.
Museveni said the problem may also be due to cultural factors where some communities prevent women from delivering in hospitals.
The President was accompanied by his wife, Janet, who is the Minister of State for Karamoja Affairs and MP for Ruhama County.
The President noted that more women were taking up leadership roles. He cited the example of 13 constituencies in Parliament which are represented by women and the 80 seats allocated to women at district level.
Museveni added that the Government will also give women modern cooking stoves to save them from moving long distances in search of firewood.
The Bushenyi Woman MP, Mary Karooro Okurut, thanked the President for supporting women.
New Vision 9th March 2010
UPC's Miria Obote storms Mulago Hospital
Police yesterday deployed at Mulago Hospital as women activists belonging to the Inter-Party Cooperation (IPC) marched to the hospital and donated items to the maternity wards.
Over 100 women led by the Uganda Peoples Congress party president, Miria Kalule Obote, forced their way into the hospital. The hospital authorities had earlier agreed to let in 30 of the women, but were shocked to see a bigger group marching into the hospital. Police officers were then deployed in the wards.
The activists carried placards with messages like “high infant mortality rates, we need change.” They also chanted slogans praising the IPC and criticising the Government.
Daily Monitor 9th March 2010
Masaka teachers protest delay of UPE Funds
Teachers at government-funded schools in Masaka have threatened to go on strike because of delays in the disbursement of funds to run the schools.
Funds for Universal Primary Education (UPE) have not been given to the schools since the term begun a month ago.Last year, Masaka district experienced similar delays. The money was finally disbursed after the third term ended.
Daily Monitor 9th March 2010
Kyambogo moves to replace four senior managers
Kyambogo University is to replace four senior officials named in an Inspector General of Government report that investigated corruption and mismanagement at the institution.
The institution has advertised the jobs of the university secretary, academic registrar, bursar and librarian all of which were subject of the IGG investigation last year.The IGG recommended to the University Council to retire Ms Semwezi and Dr Basima Mpandey who is currently the Deputy Vice Chancellor in-charge of Finance and Administration. The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Lutalo Bbosa, was retired after the report. The report also recommended that Mr Biganja, the bursar, Dr. Andrew Cula, current Academic registrar and Mr Justine Kiyimba, the university librarian, be warned for breaching the Leadership Code.
Kyambogo University is a merger of Uganda Polytechnic, Institute of Teacher’s Education and the Institute for Special Education.
Daily Monitor 9th March 2010
EC must reform and inform voters
Civic education especially that which empowers people with the information to register as voters and turn out to vote for candidates based on issues is a fundamental part of democracy. Ugandans intending to vote in next year’s election must have registered with the Electoral Commission by May 15, 2010. Few people know this because the Electoral Commission, which manages this process, has not bothered to inform the public and urge them to turn out and register. The EC says it will roll out an awareness campaign a month to the deadline. In all probability, this will spark off a mad rush for registration. In all likelihood, hundreds of thousands of potential voters will be locked out because they will not have the time to register, especially in the absence of guidelines on where and how to do it.