Uganda’s Automotive industry flagship, Kiira Motors Corporation (KMC) ,fresh from showcasing its premuim products for the East African (EAC) regional markets in Dar es Salaam Tanzania, has now delivered a batch of new eight 8-Meter Kayoola EVS (fully electric ) buses produced at Luweero Industries Limited in Nakasongola to the Kiira Vehicle Plant in Jinja, bringing the total stock of Electric Buses produced in Uganda to fifteen (15).
This has signaled Kiira Motors’ readiness for delivering bespoke electric mass transit solutions for the African market.
The 2024 8-Meter Kayoola EVS is a fully electric city bus with a nominal range of 200 kilometres on a full charger and capacity of 56 passengers. It forms the latest offering from Kiira Motors’ rich portfolio of state-of-the-art Ugandan-made buses.
The bus is built to offer the utmost comfort and convenience with features like infotainment systems, CCTV cameras, E-Ticketing & Cashless Payment Systems, Wi-Fi, inclusive design for the elderly and persons with disabilities, USB charging, ample carrying capacity, and the highest quality and safety standards.
The convoy of 8 buses caused a stir as they weaved through traffic from Luwero to Kawempe, across the Northern Bypass for a brief stopover at the Kisaasi roundabout before proceeding to Bweyogerere and finally to Jinja covering a distance of 236 kilometres.
Prof. Sandy Stevens Tickodri-Togboa, Kiira Motors’ Executive Chairman, said, “Uganda’s push towards becoming a net source of e-Mobility Solutions in Africa is steadily getting closer and we are proud to be contributing to this agenda. This progress has been made possible by the strategic partnership we have fostered with National Enterprise Corporation and its Luwero Industries Limited subsidiary.”
He added that following World Environment Day – which is celebrated internationally on the 5th of June every year – and with the knowledge that Kampala’s air is nine times more polluted than the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s recommended limit – more Ugandan public and private sector players need to embrace environmentally sustainable means of mass transit for the good of the environment with solutions that offer quality and value for money like the Kiira Motors portfolio of products.
The company is also looking to mainstream the deployment and distribution of its fast-charging infrastructure to cater to its customers and other Ugandans who have embraced the electric vehicle transition.
Eng. Ian John Kavuma, Kiira Motors’ Quality Inspection and Testing Manager added, “We are in the process of onboarding several partners with whom we shall work to ensure that a robust charging network is established across the country in line with the National E-Mobility Strategy for a seamless electric vehicle ownership experience.”
Kiira Motors offers fast-chargers ranging between 60kW and 360kW.
The 2024 Kayoola EVS comes in the following variations: 18-meter EV with capacity of 120 passengers; 12-meter EVS with capacity of 90 passengers; 10-meter EVS with capacity of 70 passengers, 8-meter EVS with capacity of 56 passengers; and 6-meter with capacity of 20 passengers.
At Sauti 116, the counsellors working in 24 hour 7 days a week shifts are always at their workstation by 7 a.m. every day to receive calls from the public through a toll-free telephone service with a short-code 116.
Sauti 116 call center is a national mechanism to manage cases of child rights violations and Gender Based Violence (GBV) for children, women and men across the country operated by Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD). It has been acclaimed by many for helping to save lives, resettle victims of child abuse and GBV.
“Sauti” is the brand name of the Uganda Child Helpline. It is a Kiswahili word meaning voice which signifies the voice that the service gives to children and women to report cases of abuse and GVB.
At their modest offices in Kireka, Wakiso District, a committed team working eight-hour shifts, that includes social workers, counselors, and phycologists among others, receives an average of 1,000 calls per day through the Sauti/UCHL helpline currently running on a short-code 116.
The counselors are well trained professionals with capacity to deal with calls from traumatized victims of child abuse and GBV. Ms. Sarah Nahabi, is one of these dedicated professionals and the Sauti call center manager. She says that the team of counselors collectively speak at least 26 out of the 56 local dialects in Uganda.
“Each one of our team members can speak at least three or more local languages. This helps us to deal with all the calls we receive from the different parts of the country,” Nahabi explains.
Approximately, 30-50 of the cases received at the Sauti call centre are critical cases of Violence Against Children (VAC) that require immediate action, referral and follow up. Interestingly, 60 per cent of the callers are male while 40 per cent are female. But Nahabi hastens to add that women report the biggest number of actual cases of abuse and violence. The children who report cases account for 21 per cent.
The statistics from the helpline data show that child neglect is the most reported form of abuse at (46.5 per cent) followed by sexual abuse (16.0 per cent), physical abuse (15.2 per cent) while 22.3 per cent represent other forms of abuse.
Donors from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (GoVUK), Embassy of Sweden in Uganda, British High Commission and UNICEF officials pose for a group portrait after a successful visit at the SAUTI-116 Helpline offices in Kireka, Kampala on 4.04.2024.
Nahabi also noted that 80 per cent of the perpetrators are male and 20 per cent female while 61 per cent of VAC victims are female and 39 per cent male. She said that English and Luganda are the most spoken languages by the callers and calls are received from all regions in the country including, the Central, Western, Eastern and Northern Regions.
Nahabi further reveals that Sauti 116 has so far received 1.4 million calls out of which 14,378 cases have been closed since November 2021 when a new upgraded system that caters for GBV cases was installed at the centre. This means that as of 2023, Sauti 116 has registered a case closure rate of 40 per cent compared to 34 per cent in 2020.
Closure means that the reported cases have been processed to a logical conclusion and the victims have received justice, post-trauma support among other services and have been resettled.
It is clear from these statistics that the UCHL/ Sauti 116 is helping millions of Ugandans to deal with the rampant vices of child sexual abuse, neglect, exploitation and GBV.
As the UCHL celebrates 10 years of existence several development partners continue to visit the Child Helpline to understand the operations and functionality of the Child Helpline/Sauti 116.
Most recently Sauti 116 was visited by a delegation of UNICEF partners from the Embassy of Sweden – Tomas Lundstrom and the British High Commission Rebecca Bell and Sarah Ikanza to get a deeper understanding of how the facility is serving millions of vulnerable Ugandans across the country.
A delegation of UNICEF partners included Tomas Lundström, Deputy Head of Cooperation, Embassy of Sweden during a briefing meeting at the SAUTI-116 Helpline offices in Kireka, Kampala on 4.04.2024. The visit was scheduled to witness the on-ground services offered at the facility.
Mr. John Mugisha, the Senior Probation and Welfare Officer MGLSD and the National Coordinator of Sauti 116/UCHL informed the visiting delegation that that UCHL gives confidence to members of the public to report cases of child rights violations and GBV without fear of being identified for retribution.
“UCHL/Sauti 116 offers hope at a point when children and women who need help but have no one within their immediate environment to provide it. The UCHL does not replace other reporting mechanisms, but rather works along them to increase and improve reporting of violations and abuse against children,” Mugisha explained.
Mugisha said the helpline is also expected to strengthen child protection data collection, management, and reporting for better programming for children affected by violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
He further highlighted a range of services offered at Sauti-116 which include provision of child protection and GBV risk mitigation information to children and adults who contact the facility, toll-free telephone services and face-to-face guidance and counselling to children and adult survivors of abuse and violence. At Sauti 116 they also encourage walk-insand pick up cases of abuse reported from the radio, television, print media, U-report, Ministry offices and referrals.
The center also has a team of foot-soldiers who follow–up on the reported cases to ensure that the victims and affected persons receive justice, medical support, and other needed care from the different duty bearers across Uganda’s justice system these are called Case workers.
Sauti 116 carries out community education and awareness creation on childcare and protection. The centre also responds to reported cases of online child sexual abuse and exploitation which are also on the rise given the increased internet accessibility and offers mental health and psychosocial support.
The timely UNICEF support.
Mugisha says that Sauti 116/UCHL would not be in existence without the generous support from UNICEF and partners. “UNICEF has over the 10 years continued to support 80 per cent of the operations of the child helpline. These include the provision of internet, airtime, facilitation for case workers, counsellors, capacity building, fuel, and transport. Other services UNICEF is supporting at the center include case response emergency rescue, prevention-awareness raising in schools and communities, community case clinics with local government and police, referral and follow up,” Mugisha reveals.
With support from UNICEF, the district action centres were set up to offer monitoring and support supervision for case work in the districts. The child helpline receives most of the data on VAC and GBV and coordinates integrated multi sectoral case management services for children and women victims at the local district action centres.
SAUTI 116 functionality
“Sauti 116 offers a confidential mechanism through which children and adults report abuse and access supportive services to address the effects of abuse, while linking to statutory actors such as health centres and hospitals, police and courts of law to ensure that the perpetrators of child abuse are held accountable,” Mugisha notes.
“Our centre adopts a three-tier service delivery framework which includes the national call centre at Kireka where calls from affected persons are received by qualified staff/professional counsellors 24 hours, seven days a week, 365/6 days a year. The counsellors respond to calls and provide online counselling, guidance/information as required by the caller, and escalate cases requiring direct intervention to the district action centres as appropriate which are managed by the District Probation and Social Welfare Officers,” Mugisha stated.
It is expected that Sauti 116 will eventually be expanded to include text messages, chat messages, and emails.
The district action centres are now established in 120 districts. These centres are the point of integrated response to cases of child abuse, neglect, exploitation for VAC and GBV that are reported through the helpline.
The district action centres are managed by district probation and social welfare officers or community development officers who take responsibility for following up on reported cases and pool resources to address the needs of a particular reported case.
“In cases where children or victims of GBV are in danger or in an emergency, such cases are immediately responded to through the integrated case management system from the supervisors at the national call centre to the caseworkers at the established district action centres. This ensures that necessary steps are immediately taken to ensure that the child is linked to appropriate services for longer-term assistance,” says Mugisha.
The LCV Chairman of Bukomansimbi, Mr. Nyenja Fred Kayiira ,has urged the youth to use digital platforms to set up businesses , promote their products and improve their livelihoods.
“I thank UCC and Prime Time Communications for the opportunity offered to skill the youth of Bukomansimbi. I urge all the participants to use the skills they have acquired to improve their livelihoods. The world is digital regardless of where you are and this is an opportunity for us to fully participate in the digital economy,” Kayiira stated
The youth who undertook a week long skilling program organised by UCC in conjunction with Prime Time Communications Ltd in Bukomansimbi district
He was closing a week long youth skilling program which was held in the district by the Uganda Communications Commission and Prime Time Communications Ltd where over 100 youth acquired skills in the use of social media and other digital platforms to grow their businesses and increase their incomes .
“We request UCC and Prime Time Communications to also bring more such skilling programs not just for the youths but also others so that they aren’t left out. In the meantime I urge all the participants to pass on the skills to others so that we all develop together. If we all get skilled, the better for everyone,” Kayiira added.
In Masaka district , the Deputy RDC, and two time MP, Mr .John Bosco Lubyayi hailed the government for the investment it has provided to improve the internet penetration and access across the country. This is helping Ugandans the majority of whom are youth to tap into the local, region , continent and international opportunities and markets .
“ Ugandans can now grade anywhere in the world through the internet . Most of the youth are on social media and marketing digital platforms to sell their products and market their brands . This is good for economic growth and national development .
Masaka Deputy RDC John Bosco Lubyayi
We are happy that the youth in Masaka and rural areas generally are being empowered to grab these global opportunities . Everyone is excited about what they can get out of these global communication channels and we thank UCC and Prime Time Communications for providing the opportunity for the youth to acquire online skills, “ the Deputy RDC stated .
The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) rolled out a country wide skilling program for youth groups in information and communication technologies (ICTs) and multi-media.
The skills acquired will empower the youth to grow their business through the effective use of the various social media and digital platforms. Such digital platforms may include WhatsApp, TikTok, X (Twitter), Instagram, SnapChat, Teams/Zoom for virtual meetings
UCC through Uganda Communications Universal Service And Access Fund (UCUSAF) is set to enhance youths’ employability and self-sustainability by equipping them with ICT skills to enable them become competitive and better their livelihoods.Some 500 youth will be skilled in the districts of Masaka, Bukomansimbi, Kalungu, Lwengo and Sembabule.
“This is planned to be done through training the youth in ICT multimedia production tools,” said Mr. Denis Jjuko a Director at Prime Time Communications Ltd one of the carefully selected companies that are delivering the trainings .
Jjuko explained that by creating and building capacity of the youth including young women to adopt ICT tools and applications in multimedia content production and related business processes will enable them to not only fully participate in Uganda’s economy but tap into regional and international markets .
“ We are in the digital era where young people and entrepreneurs should be at the top of their game when it comes to multimedia content production and storytelling skills. We are introducing the young people to a myriad of ICT platforms that provide access to markets and networking linkages while promoting their businesses and their talents,” he stated .
The skilling program will also enable the youth and including young women entrepreneurs to identify opportunities to access finance and markets to transition from micro enterprises to small and medium enterprises as enshrined in the National Development Plan III and UCUSAF strategy.
Participants are from diverse backgrounds and some have benefited from the on-going government programs like the Parish Development Model (PDM) in each of the five districts in central region.
“We are creating a circular economy for youth and women entrepreneurs by providing avenues through which they can market their enterprises with each other through networking to enable them to grow, “ Jjuuko added.
Uganda Communications Commission
UCC is mandated under the Uganda Communications Act, 2013 (Act) to monitor, inspect, license, supervise, control and regulate the communications services, and to improve communications services generally and ensure equitable distribution of services throughout the country;
Uganda Communications Universal Service and Access Fund (UCUSAF) formerly (RCDF) was established in 2001 by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), and according to Section 3(g) of the Uganda Communications Act, 2013, UCC to create and manage a fund dedicated to the development of Rural Communications and Information and Communication Technology within the country.
It was majorly setup to contribute to the realization of universality in access and use of communications services in Uganda through establishment of communications projects in areas that are non-commercially viable – left unserved or underserved by the market operations.
The management at the national
career - Uganda Airlines have been patient but steadfast working out the numbers on their new dynamic
routes which are setting the pace to resolve a chronic challenge of intra-air connectivity on the African continent
.
This strategic thinking and
interventions being implemented by the new management team at Uganda Airlines
led by CEO Jennifer Bamuturaki has attracted the sponsorship of the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) who are among several international
development partners interested in seeing the Africa air space opened up for
trade and development. The vast minerals rich continent has an estimated population
of 1.3 billion people.
Uganda Airlines inaugural service toLagos Nigeria which was launched on Thursday
October 19th,2023 late afternoon is testament to the notion that
direct air transport connectivity is possible in Africa.
Flight UR 900 left Entebbe International Airport for Lagos Murtala
Muhammad International with 3 tons of cargo joining another Uganda Airlines flight from UR 430, which arrived earlier in
the day from Mumbai.
This meant that connecting
passengers and cargo had a direct flight from Entebbe to their final
destination in Lagos . The connecting passengers were joined by businesswomen
in the trade and tourism sectors who were sponsored by the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) to facilitate business-to-business linkages for export-ready
companies targeting opportunities in Lagos and the wider west African market.
As a strategic partner, the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is collaborating with Uganda Airlines to
unpack opportunities that the new route brings in the context of trade and
tourism for inclusive and sustainable development.
Uganda Airlines will operate the direct
Lagos route three times a week with flights lined up for Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays.
This inauguaral service is strategic
in nature and makes business sense because of the cargo volumes expected between
Mumbai India and Lagos –Nigeria via the new Entebbe connecting hub .
Industry players have welcomed this
business strategic thinking by Uganda Airlines noting that it will spur trade
across Africa ,boost tourism and showcase a working network model that can
encourage other airlines and governments to open up the African airspace for commerce
and free movement of people .
“But now that Uganda Airlines has connecting
flights its important that government through the Civil Aviation Authority
expedites plans to improve facilities at Entebbe international airport to allow
the travelers have a truly Ugandan warm- welcoming experience at the lounging
facilities . We must build capacity to handle huge numbers of both people and
cargo otherwise all the efforts being undertaken by Uganda Airlines will be
ruined ,” Francis Musisi an aviation expert told ugandaupdatenews.com
Uganda Airlines CEO Jenifer
Bamuturaki stated thus :“Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy while Uganda’s
central location on the continent makes it the ideal connection hub between
East, West, North and Southern Africa,” at the Lagos route launch event .
Bamuturaki explainedthe significant of Uganda Airlines network growth noting that apart from
alleviating the nightmare faced by travelers who endured long layoffs before
connecting to their final destinations via Europe , UA’s network is convenient and time saving .
“Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy
while Uganda’s central location on the continent makes it the ideal connection
hub between East, West, North and Southern Africa. The direct flights will
yield significant time savings for our guests who will be terminating their
journeys in Uganda and those who may wish to travel onward within our network
to Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro, Mombasa, Juba, Bujumbura,
Kinshasa, Dubai, Mogadishu or Johannesburg and Mumbai,” Bamuturaki stated .
Uganda Airlines should also bring forward
its plans to grow its fleet by adding a couple of mid-range aircraft to meet increasing
demand for its services especially for movement of cargo .
On touching down in Lagos the Uganda
Airlines 258-seat state-of-the-art
Airbus A330-800 neo was according the time-honoured tradition -water salute. In this welcoming ritual, also known
as a shower of affection, two fire engines parked on either side of the runway
use their water cannons to create a giant arc above a plane as it taxies to its gate on its successful maiden route
.
You can book your Uganda Airlines ticket on
their mobile App
Moses Paul Sserwanga Esq is a distinguished Ugandan professional . He is an Advocate of the High Court of Uganda . He is the MD/Managing Editor of ugandaupdatenews.com one of Uganda's leading online news publications.He is a Development Communication and Media Consultant.He has established himself as a leading Human Rights , Commercial and Environment lawyer. He has served as Editor at Saturday and Sunday Monitor. He has also Editor at Uganda's leading daily The New Vision newspaper. He has 20 years experience as an Advocate of the High Court of Uganda and 17 years experience as development communications consultant , respectively . He has 20 years experience as a reporter and editor .He has written widely about issues of media and communication ,law reform ,human rights, gender balance, public policy , national development , good governance and the rule of law and environmental protection in Uganda.He was served as a Trainer, Presenter, Rapporteur and Resource person at different fora. Email:msserwanga@gmail.com
