UN prepares new camps for South Sudan refugees

 Internally displaced South Sudanese stand among makeshift tents in Malakal on March 3, 2014.

JUBA

Tens of thousands of South Sudanese civilians sheltering in UN peacekeeper bases fearing revenge attacks after weeks of conflict are to be moved to new camps, UN officials said Monday.

More than three months since fighting broke out, some 77,000 civilians are still inside eight UN bases across the troubled nation, in overcrowded conditions that are worsening with the early arrival of torrential rains.

UN peacekeepers opened their gates to protect civilians after brutal fighting broke out in December with reports of massacres and targeted ethnic killings.

But the temporary shelter has stretched into months, and with fighting ongoing and a ceasefire in tatters, civilians are too fearful to leave.

Aid officials had hoped the thousands would be able to return to their homes, but are now being forced to prepare more permanent sites for people.

Toby Lanzer, the UN humanitarian chief in South Sudan, said there was "desperate overcrowding" for the 25,000 civilians crammed into the UN's base in war-ravaged Malakal, the state capital of oil-producing Upper Nile.

Aid agencies and the UN are preparing a new "protection of civilians" site in Malakal, which will also free up space inside the UN camps for normal operations.

Those in the camps say they fear the creation of enclaves but are too fearful to return home.

"I don't want to live a life stuck in a camp, but my neighbourhood in Juba is in ruins, and I would not be safe there," said John Nyoun, a student in the UN base in the capital.

"At my family home in the countryside... that is where the fighting is."

South Sudan's government has been at war with rebel groups since December 15, when a clash between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and those loyal to sacked vice president Riek Machar snowballed into full-scale fighting.

Over 930,000 civilians have fled their homes since fighting began, including over quarter of million leaving for neighbouring nations as refugees, the UN said.

In the capital Juba, some 10,000 civilians squeezed into one UN base, a swampy area used previously only as a sports ground, are being moved to another UN camp in the city, as work is done on a new site.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) an agency supporting those in the camps, warned of "deplorable conditions" for all those who had fled their homes.

"People are still afraid to go home but also fear living knee-deep in water amid dangerously unsanitary conditions," IRC country director Wendy Taeuber said

Go slow on gay issues, global body cautioned

Kampala.

The Commonwealth should exercise caution while engaging its African members on the polarising homosexuality debate because it is a “sensitive” matter owing to cultural differences, a senior official has said.

Tanzania’s Foreign Affairs minister Bernard Membe, who chairs the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) responsible for monitoring the group’s adherence to political values on Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) issues, warned that “imposed Western cultural norms on the African continent or elsewhere is more likely to lack legitimacy and acceptance.”

“…the Commonwealth needs to go very slowly and carefully when it deals with the cultural norms and ideologies in the continent,” he said at a press conference in London on Friday.

This was in response to a journalist seeking the Commonwealth’s official position on the West’s sanctioning of Uganda over the anti-gays law and whether it shared President Museveni’s view point that homosexuality is a form of “social imperialism”.

No definite position
However, Commonwealth secretary-general Kamalesh Sharma, who was the first to answer the question, said the body had no agreed position on matters of sexual preferences and LGBTI.

“I want to make it absolutely clear that the Commonwealth opposes discrimination on any grounds and stands up for the principles of equality, non-discrimination, non-victimisation [and] non-criminalisation.”

The Commonwealth Secretariat’s communications director, Mr Richard Uku, originally convened the press conference to announce CMAG’s decision to suspend Fiji from the Council of Ministers of the Commonwealth instead of its full membership as prescribed under a previous penalty.
This is after the South Pacific Ocean Island country agreed to undertake electoral reforms ahead of the scheduled September ballot.

Museveni warns youth against Western culture

 President Museveni inspects traditional foods during the launch of a students’ cultural gala at Busitema University in Busia District on Saturday.

Tororo.

President Museveni has urged the youth to exploit the economic opportunities in the country to create jobs instead of copying Western cultures.

Speaking at the launch of the students’ cultural gala in Busitema University at the weekend, the President said whereas most of the Western cultures look modern and interesting to the youth, the African culture is richer in promoting social identity and discipline. Mr Museveni urged Ugandans to stand firm and abhor, especially the divergent sexual orientation or society will be dragged into danger.

The President also challenged students to scrutinise cultural practices and shun those that do not favour their survival.
“How do you just inherit your late brother’s wife when you are aware of what he was suffering from? I know there are cultures in Uganda still encouraging widow inheritance but this must end,” he said.

Mr Museveni tasked Busitema University to create a faculty of marine sciences so that the country trains and produce experts who can build boats, operate marines as well as maintaining them instead of hiring foreign experts.

The Vice Chancellor, Prof Mary Okwakol, appealed to supporters of the university’s business master plan to enable the university source for resources to boost government assistance for the smooth running of the institution.

“We have fought taking raw milk in Western Uganda without boiling successfully. We shall continue fighting bad cultures that have negative impacts on us,” President Museveni

Gossip,Radio, TV Presenters Drown In Booze At BBQ

Last week on Thursday, Radio and TV personalities from different media houses were drowned in booze at the centenary park based BBQ lounge during the Nominations List release of 2014 RTV academy awards scheduled for May 2014.






 After gunning down several bottles, shedding the tears of joy was the best he could do.


Due to the fact that the awards are sponsored by Nile Breweries, it was automatic that brownish and green like bottles were going to in plenty so the Radio and TV presenters came prepared to gun down the bottles.
The situation was normal during the early stages of the drinking spree but it later changed when they swallowed more bottles.

Tv and Radio presenters enjoying the booze

Our snoops revealed that the presenters began to bring in a sense of euphoria and a warm sensual feeling.
“As they continued to drink, their sense of reality become clouded and distorted. They then lost their inhibitions and many did things they would have never done when sober like dirty dancing,” snoop further revealed.

It was time to pull out the rare strokes…….The booze was indeed working

It is believed that some of the presenters up to now do not exactly know how they reached home since they were walking in a zigzag motion.

Gulu Lecturers Furious Over Delayed Salaries

Up to 154 lecturers at Gulu University have gone two months without pay due to financial irregularities at the Ministry of Public Service.





According to Ambrose Eger Apili, a lecturer in the Faculty of Business and Development Studies, many of the lecturers last received their salary in December last year and are currently struggling to live.
He says that lecturers are failing to transport themselves to the University due to lack of money and also most of the children of the lecturers are at home since they have not paid school tuition.
He says some people were paid January salary while majority are still waiting for last month’s pay despite a letter from the ministry that the lectures would be paid on the 28th day of last month.
Eger noted that the problem arises from the failure by the ministry to deduct Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and also the new harmonized finance management system in the Ministry of Public Service.
Eger noted that there are many irregularities in the payment systems since many have been paid incorrect amounts.
In December last year more than 3000 Gulu University students missed some of their end of semester examinations following a strike by lecturers over accumulated allowances.
The lecturers laid down their tools to coincide with the start of the examinations. A professor at Gulu University earns 2.9 million shillings while a Teaching Assistant earns 1.4 million shillings.
Jack Nyeko Pen- Mogi, the Gulu University Vice chancellor said  that he is also among the people who have not received salaries.
He says he cannot explain the reason for salary delays but emphasised that many civil servants were experiencing the same challenges.
When contacted, Jonas Tumwine, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Service stated that he is not aware of the matter but promised to verify.

Pastors to support Museveni’s fifth term

Kampala

The Uganda Pastors’ Network, an organisation of more than 1,000 born-again Christian pastors, has said they would work with government a head of the 2016 polls.

The announcement was made by Pr Moses Ngolobe on Sunday at Terbenacle Center International in Namungoona during a function orgainised to pray for the nation as well as thanking God for President Museveni’s decision to sign the anti-gay law.

The function was graced by Vice President Edward Ssekandi. “We thank God for our leaders and the President in particular. We ask God to grant this government another term in office,” said Pr Ngolobe. He said there had been a gap between pastors and government; however, he added pastors had formed a network that would bridge the gap.

Speaking to a visibly excited congregation the Vice President said the anti-homosexuality law was not made in bad faith but in the spirit of protecting Uganda’s culture values and norms.

Church ready to split from England on homosexuals

Kampala.
The Archbishop of Church of Uganda (CoU) has responded to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, saying Uganda is ready to break away from the Church of England if its views on homosexuality are not respected.
Addressing Christians at St Andrews Church, Bukoto yesterday, Archbishop Stanley Ntangali said the Ugandan-born Archbishop of York John Sentamu recently wrote to him, saying the Church of England was concerned about the CoU’s anti-homosexuality stand.

“I have written back to Archbishop Sentamu. I told him it does not matter even if we do not work with them because the Church of England is a product of repentance and USA is founded on Christian values but they seem to have become spiritually blind,” Bishop Ntangali said.

Blinded
He accused Americans and the British of trying to play double standards by preaching homosexuality yet they sent Church missionaries to spread the gospel of Christ.

“Many people have spiritual blindness but let us not mix issues. One hundred and thirty six years ago, the Church of England sent graduates from Oxford University to Africa to evangelise. America is a super power built on Christian principles... but in all this money is involved,” he said.

During the service, a 32-year-old man, Mr George Oundo, testified of how ex-communicated bishop reportedly sodomised him for 17 years.
When the press approached for a comment, the accused waved journalists away.
Bishop Ntangali urged the police to avoid bribes to curb the vice.