Members of Parliament have called on government to improve access to electricity in rural areas across the country to boost value-addition in the agriculture sector.

They made the call while debating a report by the Committee on Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries on the status of implementation of the Agriculture Cluster Development Project (ACDP), and a report on food and animal feed security interventions in the country.

The project aimed at raising on-farm productivity and marketable volumes of selected agricultural commodities in 12 specified agricultural clusters comprising 57 districts.

The reports were adopted by the House on Wednesday, 07 August 2024 during a session chaired by Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa.

Hon. George Bhoka (NRM, Obongi County) said there is need to extend electricity to rural communities at a time when the country is decentralising production processing and value addition to parish level.

“This move is running under the rural electrification programme and if we do not manage it well, we are setting ourselves up for failure because we are producing but we are failing to add value due to lack of electricity,” said Bhoka.

Kassanda District Woman Representative, Hon. Flavia Nabagabe, said there are no transformers in the district to enable the operation of food processing machines which beneficiaries received under the ACDP.

“We have two maize milling groups in Kassanda which have failed to work because their machines have been rendered redundant. Is there a way we can look at financing the transformers to avail the needed electricity for these machines,” Nabagabe said.

Hon. Julius Tusiime (Indep., Rwampara East County) noted that 179 factories were set up under the project in the district but only 86 of these have managed to access electricity for production.

“This is an appeal for the country to carry out a multi-sectoral approach where we can integrate all components of production. In my constituency, I have a water project which has failed to take off because it requires electricity to pump water uphill,” Tusiime noted.

While presenting the report, the committee chairperson, Hon. Linda Auma also noted that transportation of agricultural products was hampered by impassable roads due to the absence of road chokes.

Road chokes are non-tarmac roads that connect farmers to markets.

“The committee observed that all road chokes were either poorly constructed or suffered construction delays. There was obvious lack of supervision, and there was inflation of the cost of construction of some road chokes which was not commensurate to the work done,” Auma said.

Hon. Solomon Chelangat (NRM, T’oo County) added that poor road infrastructure has affected the ability of farmers in Bukwo District to get their produce to markets, yet provisions were made to improve market access roads.

The State Minister for Agriculture (Animal Husbandry), Hon. Bright Rwamirama, said contractors took on tenders to construct road chokes without the financial capacity to do so.

“Instead of the contractor starting with work on the choke, they start with the easy part of making the road and are given a certificate. So I supported my Permanent Secretary that if the choke is not done, we do not pay. This money went back to the Treasury rather than being paid for air,” said Rwamirama.

The minister also made an appeal for employment of more extension workers at local governments, and urged district leaders to monitor their work.

The Minister for Local Government, Hon. Raphael Magyezi, attributed challenges faced under the project at district level, to factors like late release of funds.

The House also adopted a motion by Hon. Elijah Mushemeza (Indep., Sheema County South) urging the Auditor General to carry out a forensic audit on the Agriculture Cluster Development Project, and give a report to Parliament.

The six-year ACDP project by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries was financed by a US$150 million loan from the World Bank through the International Development Assistance.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.

Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi spoke by phone with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer. President El-Sisi extended his congratulations to the British prime minister on the formation of the new government. The President expressed that Egypt looked forward to further enhancing cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the economic and investment fields, as well as increasing trade between the two countries.

The call also touched on the international and regional situations. President El-Sisi explained Egypt’s vision for restoring security and stability in the Middle East, which is currently experiencing a phase of ongoing escalation. President El-Sisi reviewed Egypt’s efforts to end the war in the Gaza Strip and to exchange captives. The President also emphasized the priority of allowing access to humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, alleviating their suffering, and advancing a political path based on the two-state solution.

The Spokesman for the Presidency, Counselor Dr. Ahmed Fahmy, pointed out that the British prime minister noted Egypt’s role and affirmed his commitment to maintaining intensive coordination with Egypt, within the framework of joint efforts to ensure security and stability in the region and to overcome the critical phase the Middle East is currently going through.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

In order to support and facilitate the preparations for the departure of three Sudanese citizens receiving the 2024 Darmasiswa Scholarship, the Indonesian Embassy held a virtual meeting on Thursday (8/8) with participants of the 2024 Darmasiswa Program.

In his remarks, Indonesian Ambassador Sunarko expressed his appreciation to all scholarship recipients who remain enthusiastic about studying amidst the current situation in Sudan. Ambassador Sunarko emphasized the importance of thorough preparation so that Darmasiswa participants can maximize this opportunity to get to know and learn Indonesian culture and language at several leading universities in Indonesia.

Furthermore, the PF. Pensosbud of the Indonesian Embassy in Khartoum delivered the Darmasiswa Pre-Departure Briefing to all participants, including ensuring that participants arrive in Indonesia on time, participate in the orientation program in Jakarta, participate in all series of activities and comply with the regulations that have been set before departure to Indonesia.

Darmasiswa recipients from Sudan expressed their gratitude and appreciation for the support and Pre-Departure Briefing facilities provided by the Indonesian Embassy in Khartoum. They hope that the Darmasiswa scholarship program can improve the relationship between the people of Indonesia and Sudan through people-to-people connectivity which will ultimately strengthen the bilateral relations between Indonesia and Sudan.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Khartoum, Sudan.

On 1 August 2024, Ms. Sasirit Tangulrat, Director-General of the Department of South Asian, Middle East and African Affairs, had a meeting with H.E. Major General (Retired) Gotsileene Morake, Ambassador of the Republic of Botswana to the Kingdom of Thailand with residence in Tokyo, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during his visit to Thailand to attend official functions in celebration of His Majesty the King’s 72nd Birthday Anniversary on 28 July 2024.

On this occasion, both sides discussed mutual cooperation in the areas of trade, investment and the possibility for the Thai side to help develop hospitality sector in Botswana. The Thai side also expressed its readiness to enhance development cooperation with the Botswanan side through annual scholarships and training programs as well as the Friends from Thailand Volunteer Programme (FFT).

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand.