Uganda Cranes over the weekend confirmed their place at the 2022 African Nations Championship (CHAN) after eliminating Tanzania 4-0 on aggregate.
Coach Milutin Sredojevic alias Micho was happy with the performance of his charges both home and away and stated the team had better preparations compared to Tanzania.
Coach Milutin Sredojevic addressing the media after the game.
“First of all, I am happy to guide Uganda back to CHAN for the sixth time but for me this is third time as a coach in charge,” he started before adding, “I take this opportunity to thank the players and the technical team for working together to get the best results and performance from the two games against Tanzania.”
Micho attributed the results to good preparation indicating having the team together for long helped to achieve a lot.
Uganda Cranes training at Kampala Quality School.
“I want to thank FUFA for giving us an enabling environment. We summoned the players during off season and thus we needed time to work on so many aspects including fitness of players before entering the competitive phase,” said Micho.
“Additionally, the friendly games against Ethiopia and Zanzibar helped to put us in good shape. We didn’t get good results there but we kept working on the grey areas and thankfully, the team did well against Tanzania.”
Uganda Cranes players celebrate a goal at Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium.
Uganda won the first leg 1-0 in Dar es Salaam before completing the task with a 3-0 win at St. Mary’s Stadium, Kitende on Saturday.
The 2022 edition will be played in January next year with Algeria hosting the biennial tournament only played by footballers playing in their native domestic leagues.Source FUFA
Works and Transport minister Gen Edward Katumba Wamala has distanced himself from taking the blame for the controversial appointment of Jenifer Bamuturaki as Uganda Airlines' chief executive officer.
While appearing as a witness before the parliamentary committee on commissions, statutory authorities and state enterprises (Cosase) which is scrutinizing the Auditor General’s Katumba was tasked by the committee chairperson Joel Ssenyonyi tasked to explain why as the overseer and supervisor of the board of directors, he could not advise President Yoweri Museveni when he irregularly directed him to appoint Bamuturaki, even when she lacked the requisite qualifications.
Foreign firm, PriceWaterHouse Coopers (PwC) had been hired to conduct the recruitment process for the CEO at Shs 99m, but Bamuturaki who did not even apply for the job was appointed before the process was completed.
“If indeed she was competent enough, why she was not subjected to the due process which is both legal and fair like the rest?” asked Ssenyonyi.
According to Ssenyonyi, legally binding procedures to facilitate the recruitment of a person to the position of CEO were flouted.
In his response, Katumba said he only wrote to the airline's board to follow the requisite steps to recruit the CEO. Ssenyonyi pressed Katumba to explain if he thinks the board indeed followed the requisite steps to recruit Bamuturaki. However, he said that it would be tantamount to micromanagement and can be misinterpreted to mean interference with the mandate of the board.
“The president wrote in his handwriting a letter stating that he had done due diligence and listed a number of reasons supporting his directive to the airline to appoint Bamuturaki,” Katumba said.
However Ssenyonyi retorted and said; "Honourable minister when you issue a directive, you follow up, you ask for a report. Micromanaging is when you go and do it for them. Here, we're talking about you indicated to them follow a process for this recommended person. I think you're duty bound as a person superintending over the entity to follow up and be sure have they done what you asked them to do, have they followed the process?" said Ssenyonyi.
But Katumba reiterated that he has no authority to question a presidential directive other than recommending it to the board of directors of the airlines.
"From the institution [army and police] where I came from, we respect orders and respect directives. So I had no reason to disrespect the president's directive. What I did was to write to the board and I told them; follow the process of appointing the recommended person to the position." he said.
But Mawokota County South MP Yusuf Nsibambi reminded Katumba that Uganda Airlines is a limited liability company and not a parastatal in which the government merely has shares among other shareholders. Nsibambi observed that the airline has no article within its articles of association giving powers to the president or the minister to legally appoint a CEO.
“It will be hard for you to attract the confidence of the public you intend to sell shares of the airline to while making illegal decisions that affect the management of the airline like this one...When you subject public institutions which are quasi-private with provisions for the public to invest to presidential directives, you are going to find it hard to keep any private investors because they would want to have a stake in making those management and governance decisions” Nsibambi said.
Nsibambi told Katumba Wamala that it would not be disrespectful to advise the president to follow the due processes even when he has given a directive.
”For the sake of exonerating and shielding both of you if, for unforeseen reasons, the directive yields damning repercussions in the future,” Nsibambi said. By URN/The Observer
Kitui governor Julius Malombe was on Thursday sworn into office at the Ithookwe showground during a ceremony that was witnessed by a mammoth crowd.
After taking the oath of office as Kitui governor for the second time, Malombe alleged that the county had been on a downward trajectory since he left office.
He was sworn to office by Machakos High Court Judge, Justice George Odunga.
Malombe pledged a consultative, participatory and inclusive approach to handling the affairs of the county.
In 2017, he failed to clinch his seat and was ousted by the now outgoing governor Charity Ngilu.
In this year’s polls, Malombe won back the seat even as the outgoing governor withdrew from the race.
Malombe said he was alive to the fact the expectations of the citizens of Kitui in his leadership were exceedingly high considering the extent to which service delivery had deteriorated over the last five years.
“Nonetheless we have no choice but to join hands and tackle the issues head-on. There is no room for retreat surrender or quitting. In this regard I request you indulge and join me in prioritization and focus on key developmental aspects in the next 100 days,” said Malombe.
He thanked the Kitui people for showing confidence in his leadership when he was the pioneer governor and giving him a second chance this time round.
Malombe also thanked Wiper leaders Kalonzo Musyoka and Azimio One Kenya presidential candidates for publicly endorsing his candidature ahead of the August 9 polls.
He said the overwhelming public display of admiration the people of Kitui had shown for him was a clear indication that they appreciated the hard work he would put in "reclaiming, restoring" and transforming Kitui County. - MUSEMBI NZENGU, The Star
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