WE ALL HAVE ROLES TO PLAY TO KICK HIV/AIDS OUT OF UGANDA

By John Blanshe Musinguzi

A football team is made up of 11 players- a goal keeper, defenders, midfielders and strikers. All of them have specialised roles which they must play well for the team to defeat opponents. A goal keeper is supposed to keep ‘a clean sheet’- make sure that opponents do not score against his/her team. Defenders are supposed to defend opponents. Midfielders are a link between defenders and strikers. Strikers’ duty is to score for their team to triumph.

In a situation where one of them fails to play his or her role, the team may be vulnerable to defeat. For example when strikers do not score, then where can goals come from?. According to soccer rules, a team wins if it scores more goals than the opponent. A team can also be vulnerable to a defeat when one of it player is given a red card-sent.

Government has pledged to provide anti-retroviral treatment to all people living with HIV/aids. In Uganda there are about 1.4million people including 190,000 children living with the virus. Currently on 577,600 people are on treatment, meaning the remaining 77, 4000 will be put on treatment this year. Government ushered in the policy to provide ARVs a decade ago (2004) funded by World Bank and Global Fund.

Since 2000, all hospitals in Uganda have been providing HCT (HIV Counselling and Testing). Government has also been behind policies aimed at reducing HIV/AIDS transmission such as prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) amongst others. Now the government is playing the defensive role that is goal-keeping and defending.

Who are the midfielders then?. Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are the hard working midfielders. For example The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) is one of the indigenous NGO founded in 1987 to restore optimism and improve the quality of life of persons, families and communities affected by HIV. These NGOs are spear heading the fight by providing free condoms in partnership with government and sensitising people about how to use them. Educating people living with HIV about different prevention mechanisms such as ABC-Abstinence, Be faithful, and if all fails use Condom. Provision of free HIV/AIDS testing and counselling services among others and more importantly extending services to rural areas to for bringing services closer to the people.

The rest of us will be strikers who will play tactfully to score wonderful goal. We can  do through fanning ABC prevention methods, testing regularly, counselling and encouraging others to do so, taking ARVs in time and following advice from counsellors. We have to accept and stop discriminating those living with HIV/AIDS; this can help them cope with trauma of the scourge.

Since 1982, when the first case of AIDS was diagnosis was clinically recognised b then called ‘slim disease,’ those who suffered from AIDS could become smaller and smaller day by day,  AIDS has robbed our son and daughters, parents, sisters and brother, friends, relatives, work mates, etc. It does not discriminate between the educated and un educated, young and old, tall and short, thin and thick, poor and rich, rural and urban based citizens, leaders and their subjects, etc.

If we work and coordinate together as a soccer team we can kick HIV/AIDS out of Uganda forever and ever. Amen.

 The author is an undergraduate Journalism and Communication student at Makerere University

A LETTER TO MAKERERE UNIVERSITY 2014 GRADUATES

Tips to overturn financial difficulties

By John Blanshe Musinguzi 

You have fought many academic battles from nursery or primary one to University level. You have left University now; the remaining battles are to find jobs and financial success.

As your about to start to earn, it is so easy to spend without giving much thought to the future. Unfortunately, financial literacy is not taught in schools, which leaves young adults exposed and without the knowledge of how to manage your money when they step out into the workforce or seek to build their own businesses.

The first step in financial planning is to identify your goals. Your short-term goals might include buying a car, going back to school, or taking a vacation or getting married while your long-term goal may be to plan for your retirement.

It is very tempting when you first start earning, and particularly where you have limited financial and other responsibilities, for you to spend excessively on clothes, accessories, phone bills and other lifestyle purchases. All the spending can be a serious drain on your finances.

Even though the concept of budgeting is over-flogged, it really is the most effective way of keeping track of your expenses. Create a budget so that you can see exactly where your money is going. Start by adding up the essentials, transportation, food and your car loan if you have one. There is the tendency to eat out often, or pick up take-away meals, or to overspend on clothes and a lifestyle that you perhaps can’t afford just yet. This is the time to commit to saving and investing for the future. The key is to live below your means and spend less than you earn.

Use debt cautiously. It is better to borrow for things that have lasting value such as your personal development and education, or to buy property, rather than for clothes and gadgets. If you are in debt, focus on paying off or at least reducing the debt with the highest interest. Building a solid credit history from now with your bank is important. Your employer, family and friends might also from time to time consider lending you money. Be meticulous with repayment and don’t abuse this trust. It could be very important when you need to borrow more significantly for your business or other needs in the future.

Once your debt is under control, it is important to build up some emergency savings. Things happen and it is always important to be prepared for the unexpected and to be able to sort out emergencies without having to beg or borrow. You could suddenly lose your job or have an emergency that needs cash. Set a realistic savings goal and start to save at least 10 per cent of your income in a bank savings account or a money market mutual fund.

Many young people feel that they must wait until they earn “enough” before they start to save. It will never be enough. Don’t wait until you have that “extra” money; start now to begin to set funds aside. No matter how low your salary might be, save something; even the smallest amounts add up over time.

If your responsibilities are relatively low, and you are earning a decent salary, there is no reason you shouldn’t commit to saving up to one third of your income. Building significant savings and investments is the best way to weather difficult periods and move towards achieving long-term goals such as owning property or starting your own business.

It may seem odd to talk about your retirement when you have barely got started with work; naturally, you will not be focused on the end of your working life which is still decades away. Even if you work for a small business that doesn’t have a pension scheme in place, you can make your own voluntary contributions to your Retirement Savings Account. Remember though that a pension alone can hardly sustain your standard of living so consider this as just part of a portfolio of investments, which ultimately should include stocks, real estate and other assets.

Make an effort to learn about saving and investing. There is a plethora of information in the media, books, magazines, newspapers, seminars and the Internet that will guide you as you make such financial decisions. Seek professional advice so that your own unique situation can be carefully considered and appropriate investment choices can be made for you.

Your choice of a life partner is probably the most significant decision you will ever have to make. It is important to partner with someone whose moral and ethical values match yours. While you don’t have to agree on every single financial issue, compatible goals and values as well as openness and honesty do matter and will be key as you merge not just your lives but your finances.

Most young people do not make saving and investing a priority. Yet, the choices that you make when you are young will play a critical role in your future financial security. Of course having to save large sums over time comes with some sacrifice in terms of short-term comforts and indulgences, but it is the only way to get closer to that ultimate goal of financial security.

I wish you all the best.

John blanshe Musinguzi is an undergraduate Journalism and Communication student at Makerere University

 

DAVOS WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM 2014: HOW AFRICANS HAVE BETRAYED AFRICA

By John Blanshe Musinguzi


 At the beginning of each New Year, some of the cleverest people in the world gather in the Swiss Alpine resort, Davos to exchange ideas about the economic well-being of the world.
Their gathering is called “The World Economic Forum.” It was founded in January 1971 under the chairmanship of German-born Klaus Schwab, then Professor of Business Policy at the University of Geneva. Since then, there have been 44 “World Economic Forum” gatherings.
Unfortunately, being “clever” does not mean that one is necessarily wise. That is why although clever people have been exchanging “ideas” about the world economy for 44 years, countries like Gabon, the Central African Republic, the Congo Democratic Republic, Cameroon, etc have been exporting logs, cut from their forests, to Europe and America, to be used in making furniture and other products which they later import at a higher cost.
Timber trees are tall and heavy, so they damage crops in the forests where they are felled. And they also smash many younger, smaller trees, into the ground and kill them. Furthermore, they destroy the habitats of many animals, especially monkeys and birds. And because they are so heavy, timber logs despoil all the roads along which they are carted by timber truck. Do they pay for these damages?, of course no. Then why? 
Next, these logs are unloaded into harbours. They take up an enormous amount of space in the harbours. The final stage on their journey begins when big cranes and chains are used to lift them into ships to make their way to Europe and America. Very cleverly-designed factories then turn them into beautiful furniture and wood products, some of which are sold back to the very countries from which the raw wood was exported!
Think of the wastage of shipping space that the export of these huge logs entails. Even in the countries that have begun to ban the export of logs and now insist that only sawn timber or plywood should be exported, the saving in shipping space that results is minimal. There is no question that finished products from wood are what should be the sensible export.
These clever people who gather at Davos each year know very well that this is a wasteful way of carrying out international trade. If the wood was coming from Europe and America to be processed in Africa, they would have stopped it years ago. But because it is being taken out of Africa, nobody cares. Why should they? Things have always been taken out of Africa, haven’t they?.
These things continue to be taken out of Africa in basically the same form as they were taken at the beginning of the 20^thCentury. And petroleum has joined the ranks of the exported commodities from Africa – pump up the crude oil, put it in tankers, and ship it. These Europe and American countries establish processing industries for our mineral resources in Africa?.  
The clever mostly African people at Davos could make a declaration about this issue and recommend to the governments of the industrialised world to offer economic incentives to their companies to move to Africa and add value to Africa’s exports before they are exported.
Why haven’t ‘Africans leaders’ demanded for a fair share?
The answer is that they don’t care. They go there to display knowledge and bask in their celebrity status. The fact that if the manufacturers moved their operations to Africa, Africans would become less poor and need less, if any, aid at all, from the rich countries, doesn’t appear to have occurred to them.
But it is not the clever people from the rich countries whom I blame. I reserve my scorn for those African “leaders” who travel to Davos each year to show that are as clever as those they dine with in Davos.
These African ”leaders” go and enjoy the sweet, clean air of Switzerland, and come back to drive along streets that would be stinking to high heaven in their noses – were it not for the fact that they are shielded from the stench by beautifully air-conditioned cars.

John Blanshe Musinguzi is an undergraduate Journalism and Communication student at Makerere University