Uganda hides and skins are naturally of high quality, high texture and heavy substance which are suitable for the production of excellent heavy upper and vegetable tanned sole leather. On average, a Ugandan hide weighs 16kgs and has 29ft2 of which about 15-20 percent can be used for upholstery, making Uganda the only country in East Africa with larger quantities of hides that are suitable for upholstery.
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a member of Southern African Development Community (SADC) and shares borders with five of the six members of the East African Community (EAC). It could potentially become the largest member by area as well as by population and therefore a lucrative market for EAC.
DRC recently requested membership to EAC which would enable dropping of custom barriers and increasing trade between EAC countries. Ministers in charge of EAC Affairs gave a green light report on DRC verification mission for consideration by the EAC Heads of State.
Export diversification reflects the degree to which a country’s exports are spread across a large number of products and/or trading partners. Diversification is achieved through increasingly changing the basket of commodities being exported, or improving the existing exports by adding value, or enhancing them through technology and innovation.
This policy brief gives an insight on how the utilisation of digital technologies in the delivery of education services is still very low, leaving the majority of students to lag behind in a changing world. The brief highlights visible efforts to integrate digital technologies in education in Uganda. Teachers are still relying more on the traditional “chalk and talk” teaching method rather than embracing the use of digital technologies.
According to this policy brief, a lack of structures and capacity to implement school career guidance programmes has affected its quality. Moreso, the brief reveals that the education sector generally faces many challenges that have significantly crippled the development of career guidance and counselling in schools. These include: lack of trained counsellors in most schools, inadequate capacity building geared towards providing career guidance, inferior training manuals, lack of career information, and a high student career guides/ counsellor ratio.
According to this brief, women remain underrepresented in local government politics which offers men an unfair advantage, ultimately overshadowing women in decision-making. It also implies that issues that uniquely affect women may not be prioritised during planning and budgeting. To attain gender parity in political representation at the local government level, the policy brief recommends that Government should design and implement a mentorship program, create a special fund for female political contenders, and launch campaigns to shift the harmful social norms.
Ministry of Water with partnership from the German government through its German Development Bank commissioned a Ushs 6.4 billion piped water supply system project in Moyo town council. The water system, whose construction started in March 2020 will serve about 28,500 people in 39 villages and the Moyo town council divisions.
To achieve equity and inclusive education for all, Ministry of Education in conjunction with UNESCO and the UN Partnership on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) developed digital textbooks for learners with special needs. This follows an assessment that learners with special needs, especially the visually impaired, have problems accessing and putting to use ordinary textbooks sent to their respective schools.
In October 2021, Government in conjunction with Plan International Organization, completed the neonatal Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Kamuli General Hospital which serves three districts of Buyende, Luuka and Kaliro.
The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector plays a crucial role in the economic growth of Uganda with its GDP contribution standing at over 70 percent and its employment and job creation rising to 90 percent. However, due to a number of challenges like; lack of information, standardisation and product certification, legal and institutional challenges, they continue to experience high mortality rate.
