The news this passing week has been dominated by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which has sparked an international diplomatic crisis. Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday on orders of President Vladimir Putin sending shockwaves around the world.
Russian ground forces pressed into Ukraine from the north, east and south but encountered fierce resistance from Ukrainian troops, the intensity of which has likely surprised Moscow, according to Western sources.
Ukrainian authorities describe some Russian troops as demoralised and exhausted, claiming that dozens have surrendered.
The invasion of sparked worldwide condemnation with many countries, led by the US condemning Russia’s action. Countries including the US, EU and others have since announced sanctions against Russia, on top of pledging military support for Ukraine.
President Putin at the weekend ordered his defence chiefs to put the country’s nuclear “deterrence forces” on high alert, accusing the West of taking “unfriendly” steps against his country.
International tensions are already soaring over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Putin’s order will cause further alarm.
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni early in the week made a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Capital Kinshasa for the 10th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Framework Agreement for Peace, Security and Cooperation for the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Region.
Mr Museveni joined his counterparts, Republic of Congo Brazzaville President Denis Sassou-Nguesso and President of Angola Joao Manuel Gonçaves Laurenço.
The meeting also attracted Heads of State and representatives from the 13 countries namely Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo Brazzaville, Ethiopia, Gabon, South Africa, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Zambia, Tanzania, and Uganda.
At the Summit President Museveni handed over chairmanship of the Mechanism to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Felix Tshisekedi Tshilombo. He called on the African leaders to ensure an end to conflicts on the continent. Saying together, Africa cannot fail to tackle problems.
On returning home, Mr Museveni launched the Parish Development Model (PDM), a government system designed to help Ugandans transform from a subsistence to monetary economy through calculative agriculture. Mr Museveni called for efforts to sensitize our people on “how and who to do what. Because we don’t want our people to do what won’t help them.”
According to the Secretary to the Treasury Ramathan Ggoobi, the PDM is for households still in subsistence and the money is for buying productive inputs, not for consumption. Ugandans will borrow at 5% to revolve around the Parish under their respective savings and cooperative societies. He further explains that the PDM as a strategy to enable 3.5 million households that are still in subsistence economy to join the economy of money.
Also the International Coffee Organisation (ICO) last week said Uganda can only negotiate for better terms if it is still a member of the International Coffee Agreement 2007. It accuses Uganda, through the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA), of snubbing requests for meetings to discuss their withdrawal from the global body.
UCDA has justified its withdrawal from ICO saying that Uganda needs unconditional market access that allows for the export of value-added coffee, not only green coffee.
It also stated that the importing countries impose escalating tariffs and restrictions on imports of value-added coffee, citing countries including Germany, Belgium, and Denmark.
But in a statement issued on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, ICO said it has never received any proposals for change in any of its forums from Uganda and that Kampala officials have turned down proposals for meetings to discuss the same.
Among the conditions submitted to ICO by UCDA are giving Uganda a chance to add value to its coffee before it is exported and reducing exorbitant taxes on Ugandan coffee.
Coffee is the most traded commodity in the world after oil. Uganda is the largest coffee exporter in Africa, sending 6 million bags of coffee to the international market. It is also the 7th largest coffee exporter in the world.
Ugandan coffee farmers have expressed concern that the country’s coffee could be barred from international markets such as Europe due to the decision by the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) to withdraw from the International Coffee Organization (ICO).
However, UCDA Executive Director Emmanuel Iyamulemye insists that Uganda has not withdrawn but suspended its membership from the ICO Coffee Agreement of 2017. He says that the agreement was extended for a year after expiry but that several countries have suggested amendments to the agreement which the ICO says will take effect in two years’ time, at which point Iyamulemye says Uganda will ratify if its concerns have been addressed.
