Express fans to raise funds for player transfers

Express chairperson Florence Nakiwala Kiyingi with club brand ambassador Bobi Wine and CEO Ahmed Rama Hadji recently. PHOTO BY DENIS BBOSA 

In Summary

Soccer. New chairman Florence Nakiwala Kiyingi and a coach will be unveiled to the Red Eagles fans at Wankulukuku Stadium today.

When Express chairperson Florence Nakiwala Kiyingi was appointed last month, she promised to revive the club’s fortunes and address their financial woes collectively.

Today, Nakiwala will officially be unveiled to the club fans at a thanksgiving party at Wankulukuku Stadium and will spearhead a campaign geared towards collecting funds so that the club can wrestle with other giants in the ongoing local transfer window. “The party is free of charge to all fans. We are going to have a lot of activities like club re-branding, a celebrity match between club legends and celebrity supporters like Bobi Wine, Geoffrey Lutaaya and Dax Kartel as well as opening club offices, merchandise shop, recognizing former leaders and donors, fundraising and entertainment,” Express publicist Musa Kagimu, revealed.

Budding musician Sulaiman Ssebunya aka Dax Kartel of ‘Bakuzaala mu Baala’ fame promised to sing for free because he has supported Express since he was a kid.
According to Robert Mujjabi, the Express technical director, they are going to take today’s fans gala to introduce a new head coach since current tactician Wasswa Bbosa doesn’t meet Fufa’s required CAF license A qualifications.

Relatedly, the Red Eagles confirmed the sale of star midfielder Ibrahim Kayiwa to Uganda Cup kings Vipers and promised to keep the rest of the established stars for next season. “We want to fund-raise over Shs100m this Friday (today) so that we can kick start our rebuilding process. We have sent invitations to big shots in the country like President Yoweri Museveni who is our supporter, Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala and among others,” Ahmed Rama Hadji, the club CEO, revealed.

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com

Ssemwogerere calls for more decisive play

Ssemwogerere (C) wants his strikers to ditch their fancy playing style and become more aggressive in-front of goal in the MPL Hockey League. PHOTO BY MAKHTUM MUZIRANSA 

KAMPALA.
Kampala Hockey Club (KHC) Stallions hope to narrow the gap on leaders Wananchi as the first round of the MPL National League concludes this weekend at Lugogo.

The unbeaten Stallions are in second place with five points and take on third-placed Simba, on four, but their profligacy infront of goal, which stretches to nearly two seasons, lingers on and threatens their aim to win the league this season.

While KHC have some of Lugogo’s most skilled forwards in Albert Kimumwe, Habib Sewava, Collines Batusa, Samuel Wakhisi and Dulf Musoke, their captain Richard Ssemwogerere, has called on them to compromise their fancy stick-work for more directness.

“I think we are holding onto the ball too much in the D instead of being decisive. We need to always create easy situations where strikers can run straight at goal,” Ssemwogerere said.

The captain was coy on whether it is the team’s possessive style of play that has caused the poor returns infront of goal but he believes fellow midfielders should regularly get among the goals.

“Instead of taking balls straight to marked strikers, if a midfielder holds on to the ball and gets in the D, he should have the confidence to get a shot on goal,” he added.

Playing tomorrow
M: Stallions vs. Simba
W: Gazelles vs. Jaguars
Sunday
W: Swans vs. Wananchi
M: Rockets vs. Weatherhead

mmuziransa@ug.nationmedia.com

Russian firm pulls out of Uganda’s $4 billion oil refinery project

An expert watches a flaring experiment at one of the wells in the oil Albertine Graben. A Russian consortium awarded a controversial $4 billion contract to build an oil refinery in western Uganda has walked away from the deal in unclear circumstances. FILE PHOTO 

In Summary

–Sources in the Energy Ministry confirmed on Thursday that the Russian consortium which had been selected to negotiate the principal agreements had “failed to negotiate in good faith” and had “failed to execute” a shareholders’ agreement.
–The refinery had been expected to commence production of 30,000 barrels per day in 2018, rising to 60,000 but those plans will now have to be re-examined.
–Energy PS Kabagambe Kaliisa said “If RT Global choses to come back the door are still open, but we are now going to start negotiations with SK Group.” South Korea’s SK Engineering was the alternate bidder.

A Russian consortium RT Global Resources, which was announced as the best preferred bidder for the financing and construction of the $4 billion greenfield oil refinery in Hoima in western Uganda has walked away from the deal in unclear circumstances.

Sources in the Energy Ministry confirmed on Thursday that the Russian consortium which had been selected to negotiate the principal agreements had “failed to negotiate in good faith” and had “failed to execute” a shareholders’ agreement.

The sources also said the ministry had cashed in a $2 million bid bond which RT Global Resources consortium had executed with a local bank.

The consortium was a surprising choice when the announcement was first made in February 2015. Led by Rostec, a Russian defence and technology corporation whose businesses include manufacturing of weapons such as the AK-47/Kalashnikov rifles, it also included Russian oil producer Tatneft and VTB Capital, the investment banking unit of Russia’s second-largest lender VTB. Others partners included GS and Telconet Capital Partnership from South Korea.

The Energy ministry Permanent Secretary Kabagambe Kaliisa confirmed the development to this newspaper in a telephone interview but defended “it was not a walk away as such.”

“They had demonstrated all it takes, and in fact we had finished negotiations with them and closed all the envelopes,” he noted. “But they kept going back and forth over the concessions we had given them, negotiated and finished. We gave them all the time.”

He added “as a procedure they were supposed to get the necessary clearance back home and it was what we were waiting for. However we received communication they were withdrawing the bond.”

A performance bond is a surety bond issued by an insurance company or a bank to guarantee satisfactory completion of a project by a contractor.

Dr Kaliisa however discounted claims that RT Global Resources had cashed in their performance bond. “That is a claim that is totally cooked up; as far as we know they have to forfeit that.”

Rostec’s East Africa regional representative Andrey Kozenyashev told this newspaper from Moscow that “there is nothing to comment about.”

Negotiations between government technocrats led by Dr Kaliisa and RT Global started in March last year. But one year down the road the negotiations, according to insiders, dragged-on over haggling on several agreements namely; Project Framework Agreement, Shareholders’ Agreement, Implementation Agreement and the Escrow Agreement.

The consortium beat three others including Japan’s Maruben Corporation, China’s Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPPB) and South Korea’s SK Engineering & Construction Group in the last stage for the multibillion dollar midstream infrastructure.

SK Engineering was as alternate bidder. The consortium had their work cut out when the would be financing partner, SK-KDB Global Investment Partnership Private Equity Fund, pulled out before the consortium could submit the final round bid. This sparked off concerns on how funds would be raised to finance the deal which left SK Group with no financier for the project in case they got the deal.

Dr Kaliisa said “If RT Global choses to come back the door are still open, but we are now going to start negotiations with SK Group.”

South Korea’s President Park Geun-Hye was in Kampala in May and held discussions with President Museveni about increasing her country’s investment in Uganda.

Just like a final

In Summary

EURO 2016: Super heavyweights Germany and Italy meet tonight in a clash of in-form favourites that could easily have been the crowning moment and yet dangerous hosts France still lie in wait, if they, too, can overcome giant-killers Iceland.

Paris. Germany face familiar foes Italy for their Euro 2016 quarter final clash at the Stade Matmut-Atlantique in Bordeaux tonight.
Germany had an easy route to the quarter finals so far and are yet to concede a goal in the tournament. They had one off-day against Poland in the second group match. Other than that they looked dominant in all matches. And they looked like a more organised and settled team in the 3-0 win against Slovakia in the round of 16. But there might be slight worries at the rate at which this team is converting scoring chances. Thomas Muller, who topped the scoring charts for Germany in the last two world cups is yet to score a goal.

Italy outfoxed Spain in their round of 16 clash and earned a 2-0 victory to book their place in the quarter finals. Their performance against Spain on Monday is arguably the best in this edition of the tournament so far. Antonio Conte seems to have got every decision right as Italy ended their barren run against Spain in major tournaments. The Azzuri, who qualified to the knockouts as Group E winner, feel to an unexpected defeat against Ireland in their final group game. Other than this they looked solid in rest of the matches.

France vs. Iceland
Polar opposites here. The uber-talented host nation against the guys many expected to be nothing more than the answer to a trivia question. Iceland’s performances have been otherworldly thus far. If you don’t believe they’re channeling some kind mystic Viking spirit, you’d have to assume that all that running and exertion will catch up with them sooner rather than later. (Then again, that may be what England thought as well and we saw how that turned out.)

Les Bleus will be without the suspended Adil Rami, which might not seem like a huge loss until you realize Eliaquim Mangala could be the man to replace him. Defence is not the French strong suit, though it has arguably performed better than their attack, where Olivier Giroud has fired too many blanks, and midfield, where Didier Deschamps’ incessant tinkering is doing him no favours.
Could the host nation stumble against Iceland? Probably not. There are too many weapons in the French arsenal, from Dimitri Payet to Antoine Griezmann to Paul Pogba, and, as they showed against Ireland, they’re resilient too.
Payet and Griezmann have risen to the occasion with crucial goals.

Six killed in Kenya bus ambush

Six people were killed on Friday when suspected Islamist gunmen fired on two buses in Kenya’s far northeast close to the Somalia border, police said.

“Police on the scene have found six persons shot dead,” said police chief Joseph Boinnet. “The hunt for the terrorists is under way.”

Boinnet said two people were also injured. It was unclear whether the casualties were civilians or police officer guards aboard the buses.

The early morning ambush happened near El Wak in Mandera county, an impoverished rural part of the country where similar deadly attacks in the past have been claimed by the Somali-led Al-Qaeda group, the Shabaab.

The deadliest raid was in November 2014 when gunmen flagged down a commuter bus, separated passengers by religion and executed 28 non-Muslims.

A similar raid in December 2015 left two people dead, after Muslim passengers shielded their Christian fellows.

The Shabaab has fought to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu since 2007, but turned its sights on Kenya when the army was sent into Somalia in 2011 to fight the Islamic insurgents.

Since then the Shabaab has carried out frequent attacks on civilians in different parts of Kenya, including a Nairobi mall, a northeastern university and coastal villages.

On Thursday the US State Department issued a warning to its citizens to “avoid travel to the border areas of Kenya because of threats by the terrorist group Al-Shabaab” with El Wak and Mandera among the areas ruled off-limits.

A senior Kenyan interior ministry official said the warning was unfair because, “the security of the country has been restored”.

“The country is very safe,” said Karanja Kibicho shortly before news of the latest attack and killings broke.

Free Trade Zones to attract Shs3 trillion investments

Mr Mohammed Omar, the director legal and corporate affairs at Uganda Free Zones Authority (UFZA) (left), welcomes State minister for Planning, Mr David Bahati (centre) at Kampala Serena Hotel yesterday. Looking on is UFZA executive director, Mr Richard Jabo (right). PHOTO BY RACHEL MABALA 

Kampala- The Uganda Free Zones Authority (UFZA) is projecting to attract investments worth $1 billion (Shs3.3trillion) by 2020, according to officials.

Through a host of tax and non-tax incentives, UFZA is targeting this investment growth from various sectors in the economy as investors come in the country to set up operations in value addition and agro-processing.

Mr William Mugerwa, the director operations and business development, told reporters at Kampala Serena Hotel yesterday the authority had already signed an agreement with a Turkish company, ASB, to set-up a free investment zone on an 18 square mile land in Nakaseke, which would attract at least 200 entities.

“I believe we have prospective investors who are willing to set-up their facilities in Uganda because of the incentive structure we have provided. The investor will be guaranteed a high investment return with the tax incentives we are providing,” he says.

The rather ambitious plan is premised on the fact that ASB is projected to invest at least between,$300m (Shs1 trillion) and $400m (Shs1.3 trillion) once the agreement is concluded with the government. Additionally, UFZA officials reveal that there is sustained interest from several state-owned and private Chinese companies.

According to Mr Richard Jabo, the UFZA executive director, Free Zones are custom-controlled areas where raw materials are landed, handled, manufactured or reconfigured for export without being subjected to import and export duties. In Uganda, UFZA was established in 2014 to license, regulate and market free zones in order to generate export revenue, manufacturing and attract investment.

Tax incentives
UFZA has revealed an incentive system to attract investors in the zones. Among them is the unrestricted after tax profit repatriation, complete exemption on income from agro-processing, total exemption from taxes, levies and rates on exports and a 10-year tax holiday on finished goods, among others.

“These incentives will allow investors to produce and process large quantities and better goods at relatively competitive lower costs for the export market,” Mr Jabo says.

Ms Clare Kaweesa, the UFZA manager legal affairs, told reporters there were no plans to compromise on labour rules because the tax incentives were fair enough to attract investments.

The government has been embarking on several infrastructure projects in the roads and energy sectors in order to attract investors. However, the country continues to depend on imports and export of mostly raw and unprocessed goods. More so, unemployment levels remain high.

“There is no easy way to create jobs except if we carry out industrialisation and encourage agro-processing,” Mr David Bahati, the State minister for Planning told reporters at the same event, adding: “The working assumption for the government is that Free Trade Zones will create jobs through industrialisation.”

mmuhumuza@ug.nationmedia.com

Warriors, Oilers clash

Joshua Etalu of Pemba Warriors beats the Ndejje University Angels defence to sink in a basket during a recent Fuba League clash at Lugogo. PHOTO BY ISMAIL KEZAALA 

Backed by the City Tyres Group of Companies, City Oilers have used their financial muscle and an organized administration, to propel them to the last three National Basketball League titles.

In a bid to keep up with the Oilers, the team that replaced them at the top of the domestic game, Pemba Warriors announced a five-year sponsorship worth Shs250m annually at the start of this season.

The two teams meet this evening in the National Basketball League in what has been described by some as the clash of the ‘money bags’.
With an 8-0 record, the Oilers start as favourites against a Pemba Warriors team that has made a second best league start of 6-2.

Oilers also boast of a deeper roster of the two teams as evidenced in Sunday’s 72-63 win over Our Saviour.

Jeff Omondi has been used sparingly following the signing of Jonah Otim with Oilers coach Mandy Juruni also giving more minutes to Tony Drileba and Daniel Jjuuko.

Juuko stepped off the bench to score 17 points in 25 minutes during the Our Saviour game which they trailed with less than five minutes on the clock. Jimmy Enabu is averaging 17 points and last season’s MVP Kami Kabange 13.

Warriors are statistically the second placed team in the league with their superior points for-against ratio putting them ahead of UCU Canons and Power, the other teams with an identical record.

They also possess the second best defence conceding an average of 56.1 points thus far. The statistic, is however, still bettered by City Oilers, who have conceded 52.8 points thus far and a league high 643 in eight games. On Wednesday, KIU Titans improved to a 5-3 record following an easy 84-45 win over UPDF Tomahawks.

essenono@ug.nationmdia.com