FDC Unmoved As Top Official Defects

Dr Kizza Besigye said yesterday he was "not surprised" after a senior member of his opposition FDC party defected back to the ruling NRM. Mr John Butiime, who once acted as chairman of the Forum for Democratic Change, yesterday announced his return to the NRM, which he quit 16 years ago.

Mr Butiime posed for the cameras as he handed over his opposition party card to NRM Secretary General Amama Mbabazi at the ruling party's office in Fort Portal.

It was a very public rejection of a party Mr Butiime was appointed to chair, temporarily, after the death of Suleiman Kiggundu.

Mr Butiime's reasons for defecting were "personal," Dr Besigye told Daily Monitor by telephone from Mukono, where he is on a political tour. "I am not [surprised] at all," he said. "People are always moving up and down... What surprises me is that he should be joining a sinking ship."

In explaining his decision to quit the FDC, Mr Butiime said he had played his role in strengthening the opposition.

PR firm is best mid-size company

BTL Advertising, a public relations firm, was yesterday named winner of Uganda's Top 100 mid-size companies at a colourful dinner held at Serena Hotel. HITECH Cables came second while Kasese Nail and Wood Industry emerged third.

Kasese Nail and Wood Industry topped the Rural Champion special category, while Victoria Seeds Limited was recognised for championing shareholder value and promoting women entrepreneurship.

HITEC Cables also got special recognition in working capital management.

Why the survey

The survey was an initiative of Monitor Publications and KPMG Uganda that sought to identify the fastest growing companies in order to showcase business excellence while also highlighting some of the country's most successful entrepreneurship stories.

The survey and the gala dinner were sponsored by Stanbic Bank, HP and Sage/Pastel who were represented last night.

Prof. Barya promises striking dons Shs1 billion

The newly-appointed Makerere University acting Vice Chancellor, Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba, has promised to clear all outstanding lecturers' allowances amounting to Shs1b within two months.

Prof. Baryamureeba's promise was announced yesterday by Mr Tanga Odoi, the Makerere University Academic Staff Association (Muasa) chairman, during a meeting held at the School of Education.

"We now request all lecturers to mark and submit results for students who are supposed to graduate because they are going to be paid within two months," Mr Odoi said yesterday, adding, "All the issues have now been resolved and the January graduation will go on as planned."

Prof. Baryamureeba's offer comes a day after Daily Monitor reported that some lecturers, mainly employed on a part-time basis, had decided to withhold results of about 1,000 students citing unpaid salary arrears.

Clergy: Jail gays, don't hang them

Homosexuals should not be killed but instead imprisoned for life, religious leaders have suggested.

Making their input in the Anti-homosexuality Bill 2009 yesterday, said clergy said the clause on death as a penalty for homosexuality be scrapped.

"If you kill the people, to whom will the message go? We need to have imprisonment for life if the person is still alive," said Rev. Canon Aaron Mwesigye, the provincial secretary of the Church of Uganda.

The group, which also comprised Dr Joseph Kakembo of the Seventh Day Adventist church, Dr Joseph Sserwadda, the head of Pentecostal churches, Prof. Peter Matovu, the Orthodox vicar general of the Orthodox and Sheikh Ali Mohammed, representing the mufti, however, made it clear that they support the Bill, because "homosexuality is an evil and is anti-godly".

The Bill tabled before Parliament on October 15, by Mr David Bahati [Ndorwa East], and Mr Obua Benson [Moroto], seeks to prohibit any form of sexual relations between same sex people.

Parliament yesterday begun public debates on the Bill, conducted by the committee on presidential affairs.

Movement, opposition parties face-off in Ghana

The ruling NRM and opposition parties had a spat recently at a secret meeting in Ghana over a proposal to reinstate presidential term limits.

Uganda's six political parties were in Accra last week seeking to improve relations ahead of the 2011 general elections.

However, the retreat hit a false start after opposition parties accused the NRM of stifling multiparty democracy, according to officials speaking anonymously because of the secret nature of the talks.

Trouble allegedly started after Kibuku MP Saleh Kamba of the NRM told the meeting his party would not accept reinstatement of presidential term limits and are insisting President Museveni stand for a fourth term in office, the officials said.

Reliable sources told this newspaper that the NRM and other opposition parties failed to reach a broad accord and drafted only a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding at the four-day talks, which were held October 21- 24.

Forum for Democratic Change woos NRM supporters

Forum for Democratic Change president Kizza Besigye yesterday reaped an unexpected harvest on the third day of his Buganda tour when 46 National Resistance Movement supporters in Mukono District defected, citing poverty, corruption and nepotism in the ruling party.

NRM supporters defect

The 46 former NRM diehards, who declared their allegiance to FDC during a rally at Lugazi Town Council, said they have not seen any progress especially in the eradication of poverty and creation of employment opportunities.

Related terms: academic, advertising, bank, business, democracy, education, employment, ghana, hotel, newspaper, parliament, politics, poverty, president, public relations, sex, ship, uganda, university, women