----- Original Message -----
From: "Andy Mensah" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2003 12:23 PM
Subject: [unioNews] Re: ***MUSEVENI'S DAUGHTER'S** Shs 180 MILLION Jet baby
sparks off uproar
Wednesday, October 1, 2003
<H3>Such opulence is obscene</H3>
Uganda is abuzz with a story of opulence in the First Family.
President Museveni's daughter, in the company of her mother and an
entourage, flew the presidential jet to Germany to deliver her baby
in an "advanced" environment.
An informed parliamentary source estimated that the trip could have
cost the tax-payers $180,000 (Sh14 million).
<B>One of the remarkable things about this incident is that the First
Daughter is a happily married woman, and does not, therefore, fit the
category of dependants who might benefit lawfully from the privileges
provided for the dependants of the President.</B>
Reports of an extravagant lifestyle at the Museveni State House were
inconceivable 10 years go. Then, Mr Museveni was still preaching
modesty and honesty, and criticising corrupt African leaders.
Kenya has lived through the excesses of presidential households under
President Moi and has important lessons to share with our Ugandan
brothers and sisters.
<B>If a firm stand by Parliament, the civil society and the media is
not taken now, Uganda could end up in the kind of situation in which
Kenya ended when some of our leaders' fully grown children became a
law unto themselves.</B>
There are enough laws and regulations in all the three East African
countries forbidding misuse of public resources.
The fact that they did not work was, therefore, the result, mostly of
lack of political will to enforce them and a critical mass movement
to ensure they were observed.
The one country which saw a major difference in this regard was
Mwalimu Nyerere's Tanzania. What Dr Nyerere demonstrated is that
responsible and frugal government is best inspired by the power of
example.
<B>There was a time when East Africa admired Mr Museveni. The
disappointment that incidents like those cause, therefore, is not
entirely a Uganda affair. It is very much an East African
embarrassment.</B>
Copyright ©2003, Nation Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved.
--- In [log in to unmask], "uga749d" <uga749d@t...> wrote:
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: gook makanga
> To: ugandanet@k...
> Sent: Saturday, September 27, 2003 11:57 PM
> Subject: Natasha's Shs 180m jet baby sparks off uproar
>
>
> Natasha's Shs 180m jet baby sparks off uproar
> Special Report --- By Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda & Nabusayi L. Wamboka
> September 28, 2003
>
> President Yoweri Museveni's eldest daughter Natasha
Kainembabazi Karugire is at the centre of a public controversy after
she flew the presidential jet to Germany in August to give birth to
her second child. Sunday Monitor's Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda & Nabusayi
L. Wamboka put the $90,000 (Shs 180 million) trip into perspective: -
>
> Barely two months since Parliament asked the first family to
drop their "luxurious life" which costs the tax payer huge sums of
money, it has emerged that one of the first daughters flew the
presidential jet to Europe to give birth.
>
> The Presidential Press Secretary Ms Maria Karooro Okurut
confirmed when Sunday Monitor rang her on September 25, that indeed
President Yoweri Museveni's daughter Natasha Kainembabazi Karugire
flew to Germany on August 19, using the presidential jet GulfStream
IV-SP to deliver her second child.
>
> "It is true the jet went with the mum," said Karooro.
>
> The daughter and her entourage returned on August 29 aboard
British Airways with the baby.
>
>
> Ms Natasha Kainembabazi Karugire speaks to the press in
this 1998 file photo. Natasha's Germany flight to deliver using the
presidential jet has sparked questions about the country's priorities
(File photo).
>
>
> Samia Bugwe North MP Aggrey Awori with fair aviation
knowledge told Sunday Monitor on September 25, that it costs $5,000
(Shs 10 million) for every hour the jet is in the air.
>
> The standard flight hours to any European destination from
Entebbe Airport is eight hours. The Gulf Stream takes fewer hours by
its technology. The jet spent between 12 to
> 18 hours in the air the day it flew Natasha.
>
> The cost of flying it for 18 hours to Germany and back to
Entebbe therefore would be $90,000, which is Shs 180 million.
>
> The first daughter flew to Germany with her mother Janet
Kataha Museveni and sister Patience Kokundeka Rwabwogo.
>
> "This doesn't include expenses like flight crew allowances,
air fees, parking fees and accommodation," explains Awori.
>
> Sunday Monitor could not establish how much per diem was
spent on the first family for the ten days, on the crew and any
contingence as State House comptroller, Mr Richard Muhinda, was not
answering his cellphone. Conservative estimates by officials who
preferred anonymity put the figure to about $50,000 (Shs 100
million). Ms Karooro Okurut said she had no idea how much was spent.
>
>
> State House says it is legal
>
> Ms Karooro said the law provides for such a flight. She said
that the Presidential Emoluments and Benefits Act provides that each
of the four biological or adopted children of the president shall be
entitled to one trip abroad per year.
>
> She explained that any trip for education or medical purposes
shall not be counted as the mandatory one.
>
> Karooro said that the law states that such trips shall be at
the expense of the State.
> It further stipulates that when the child travels with either
or both parents shall travel first class or by the presidential
aircraft.
>
> Natasha had her first child at Kololo Hospital, a private
hospital in Kampala.
>
> At least 1,200 deliveries
>
> Normal delivery in Mulago Hospital Complex's private wing
costs Shs 150,000. This means that the money spent on Natasha flying
to Germany can actually pay for 1,200 mothers that choose to deliver
at Mulago's private wing.
>
> According to Mulago deputy director Dr Gideon Kikampikaho,
depending on the level of sophistication, patients' charges vary.
>
> Ordinary Very Important People (OVIPs) in a private wing pay
up to Shs 200,000 for three days including meals and medication while
Very Very Important People (VVIP) pay up to Shs 400,000 for normal
deliveries.
>
> However if there are complications and the patient needs to
stay in the ward for between 7- 10 days, OVIPs pay between Shs
500,000 - 600,000 while VVIP pay up to one million shillings.
>
> In the ordinary wing the money would facilitate thousands of
deliveries. In the general wing, what you need is a pair of Shs 1,000
gloves, Shs 2,500 cotton wool and a polythene sheet of Shs 1,500.
This brings the total to Shs 5,000 that an ordinary mother needs for
delivery at Mulago.
>
> The $90,000 would therefore give 36,000 mothers an
opportunity to have their babies delivered in a hospital.
>
> 19,000 mosquito nets
>
> According to the ministry of Health, malaria is a very
serious problem in Uganda - as in most of Africa - and currently
poses the most significant threat to the health of the population.
>
> Malaria currently accounts for 25-40% of all outpatients'
visits at health facilities, 20% of hospital admissions, 9-14% of in-
patients deaths.
>
> It also leads to a case-fatality rate of 3-5% (which is an
under-estimate), 23.4% of total discounted life years lost, 23% and
11% of deaths among the under fives in high and medium malaria
transmission areas respectively.
>
> Malaria is also a major killer of refugees and internally
displaced people. Malaria and HIV/Aids are the two top causes of
death among women and children in Uganda. Approximately 79,000
Ugandans die of malaria every year.
>
> If the money were to be used to buy mosquito nets, the
country would buy up to 19,000 treated mosquito nets at a cost of Shs
9,500 each, according to information from Commercial Marketing
Strategies the distributors of Smartnet.
>
> This means that the Germany trip would possibly reduce the
figure of death to 60,000. In northern Uganda, mothers and children
live in unhealthy conditions and exposed to mosquitoes that cause
malaria.
>
> Commercial Marketing Strategies in collaboration with the
ministry of Health have subsidised the nets at Shs 4,000.
>
> That means over 45,000 mothers and children in the north and
north-east would be safe from malaria.
>
> The money is also enough to buy 36,000 cheap blankets at the
rate of Shs 5,000 each for the internally displaced people in a
country estimated to have 800,000 displaced people in the northern
region.
>
> Alternatively, Shs 180 million would be enough to buy
mammogram machines to help detect breast cancer, one of the silent
killers of Ugandan mothers. For the last two years, Miss Uganda has
been struggling to raise Shs 100 million for a mammogram to be set up
in Mulago Hospital to help poor mothers. Neither State House,
President's Office nor President Museveni and the First Lady
contributed to the project.
>
> The only mammogram machine in Uganda is found at the elite
Kololo Hospital.
>
> Did Natasha face any risk?
>
> In travelling with an advanced pregnancy, Natasha was risking
her life and that of her baby. Most airlines do not want to have
obstetrical emergencies aboard their aircraft. Almost all airlines,
therefore, forbid domestic travel beyond thirty-six weeks of
pregnancy and international travel beyond thirty-two weeks.
>
> Most airlines will have a medical officer or at least an
office that you can call to find out what the aviation rules are. It
is best for you or your doctor to call that office and speak to the
appropriate person. That person's name needs to be written down,
then, along with what they said. You then need documentation in the
form of either a letter from your doctor or a copy of your medical
records to prove that you do meet the requirements.
>
> The greatest concern when advising pregnant air travellers is
the risk of blood clots, known in medical terms as thromboembolic
disease or deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
>
> Because of changes in your circulatory system when you are
pregnant, you are at much greater risk of developing blood clots in
your legs and pelvis. This risk is increased by prolonged sitting in
one position, and by dehydration, both of which are part and parcel
of air travel. Then, when you get up and move around, the blood clots
may tear loose and travel to the lungs. This occurencet, known as a
pulmonary embolus, is often fatal.
>
>
> Keeping the presidential jet, a Gulfstream IV-SP in the
air for an hour costs Shs 10 million (File photo).
>
> However, if Natasha had an emergency labour situation,
several hospitals could have dealt with it.
>
> Both Uganda's main referral hospital, Mulago, and the city's
top private hospital, Kololo - where Natasha had her first baby - are
well equipped to handle maternity emergencies at any one time.
>
> According to the deputy director of Mulago Hospital, Dr
Gideon Kikampikaho, Mulago is reasonably equipped and staffed to
handle various social strata.
> "The only issue is that the workload is generally high.
However there are also private hospitals in Kampala that can handle
all kinds of emergencies," he said.
> Kikampikaho said people have varying health-seeking
behaviours and it is a matter of individual choice where they want to
go.
>
> "Many VIPs deliver here but also many prefer to deliver under
circumstances at their level of social standing," he said.
>
> Too expensive for Uganda
>
> Mr Awori said that if it is true that Natasha flew by the
presidential jet, "it is regrettable".
>
> He said that health centres in the country, especially at sub
county level, are without the basic facilities and the first daughter
uses more than $100,000 to fly to Germany.
>
> He said that 75 percent of Ugandans have no access to the
basic needs of life.
> Awori said that State House spent Shs 1.2 billion on
constructing a gymnasium and Shs 28 million on two tennis courts
which no family member has ever used.
>
> He said that the country would at least allow Maj. Muhoozi
Kainerugaba to continue enjoying its facilities because he is a UPDF
officer. Muhoozi has at his disposal at least a luxurious Mercedes
Benz, a Nissan Patrol and four other escort vehicles.
>
> The parliamentary committee on presidential and foreign
affairs while considering the State House/President's Office 2003/4
budget last month pleaded with the officials to check
their "luxurious life".
>
> This followed reports that the First Lady Ms Janet Kataha
Museveni had acquired an office block on Malcom X Road in Kololo at
Shs 240 million, used Shs 200 million to renovate it and wanted
another Shs 200 million to erect a fence around it.
>
> Awori had also told the committee that each of the married
Museveni daughters had just acquired a Shs 200 million Mercedes Benz.
>
> "There must be a cut off point at which the taxpayer could
finance the president's family," Awori demanded.
>
> There are reports that the daughters also, on top of the
Mercedes Benzes, have a Range Rover they use for shopping at Uchumi.
>
> "I see body guards playing with it. It is an amoured vehicle
and the vice president does not have one," Awori said.
>
> State House Comptroller, Mr Richard Muhinda, told Parliament
in August that strong armoured vehicles like the one Museveni uses,
cost Shs 500 million each. It is possible that the daughters
are 'playing' with the Shs 500 million or the lesser priced Shs 300
million Range Rover.
>
> The chairperson of the presidential and foreign affairs
committee, Ms Salaam Musumba said in an interview on September 25,
that her committee did not want to embarrass the family by telling
them in the report to check their lives.
>
> "We thought they would receive the message with humility,"
she said. She said that the daughters have grown up and have their
own identities.
>
> "They are saved people and I thought they would behave as
such. Aren't they saved?" she asked.
>
> Musumba said that the life of the first family is very
expensive to the poor country and pleaded with State House to check
itself.
>
> Not even the world's most important man and best guarded
politician - the American president - will let his children take a
hike in a presidential jet without him.
>
> According to the Cultural Affairs expert at the American
Embassy Micheal Gonzales, the American president can only be
accompanied by his family - children and wife but the children can
not be allowed access Airforce One on their own.
>
> Budget stretched
>
> State House exhausted its Shs 38 billion 2002/3 budget of 12
month in about six months. The budget was passed by Parliament in
August and it was over in February. The treasury gave another Shs 10
billion.
>
> There was, "overspending on travel inland, travel abroad,
fuel and staff allowances," Minister for the Presidency Kirunda
Kivejinja told the Musumba committee in August.
>
> This financial year (2003/4) State House has been given Shs
44 billion and Kivejinja has already sounded a warning bell that it
won't be enough.
>
> "However, going by the past experience and given the nature
of State House impromptu programmes, this too will be insufficient
and there will be need for supplementary funding," Kivejinja wrote in
the State House 2003 policy statement.
>
> Well, if one trip by the president's child costs more than
Shs 180 million, the money will be exhausted soon.
>
> And mind you, there is another budget for the President
Office which is Shs 37 billion.
>
>
>
>
> © 2003 The Monitor Publications
>
>
>
>
>
> Gook
>
> "You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at
peace unless he has his freedom."- Malcom X
>
>
>
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