Uganda: China is ready to help African develop its oil sector
Reports by Leo Odera Omolo
CHINA is increasingly looking beyond Africa’s established markets to tap into opportunities in Uganda, which is expected to become a crucial new frontier in the continent’s oil industry.
China strengthened its foothold in Uganda’s oil interests when it’s company, China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) partnered with Tullow Oil and Total to develop the oil sector. The deal is, however, subject to the Government approval.
Chengyu and Karuhanga at the function last week
Uganda has confirmed petroleum resources in the Lake Albertine region, estimated at about 2 billion barrels.
Fu Chengyu, the CNOOC president, was in town last week to give a key note address at the launch of the Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum (UCMP).
Chengyu was recently named the 13th most influential business leader in China Elly Karuhanga. The chamber chairman, said the partnership between Tullow oil, CNOOC and Total was a positive signal to investors, adding that the combined experience, technology and resources that the companies bring on board would take the oil sector to another level.
“This partnership makes Uganda an attractive investment destination. The multiplier effect of this collaboration will be reflected in opportunities created in the different sectors like infrastructure, accounting, transport, education, hotel business that will support the oil industry,” he said in an interview.
Tullow sold some of its stake in the oil fields to secure funding for the development of the fields.
“Further exploration by Tullow will require between $5b and $10b because it will be done on the lake. Tullow, therefore, needed to bring partners with more funds and experience to take the process beyond getting oil from the ground to refining, electricity generation and construction of an export pipeline.”
Karuhanga said the legal agreement with the Government and the three companies was expected to be concluded by April. This will pave way for implementation of the plans to develop the sector.
Fu Chengyu could not disclose how much investment his company would bring on board, but underscored the importance of human resource development.
“This is a huge project that will cost millions of dollars. However, I must emphasise that it’s not about the money, but transfer of knowledge and skills.”
Chengyu added that he expected strategic partnership between China and Uganda in the energy sector. “The success in developing our oil and gas sector would provide a useful model industry for establishing your own oil industry,” he said.
China is the second largest market for petroleum products and sixth largest producer of oil and natural gas. Uganda is expected to benefit from CNOOC’s expertise since it is China’s leading national oil company with an international footprint.
“We have been able to build a fully integrated operation from scratch, covering oil and gas exploration, development and production, refining, marketing, and engineering,” he added.
According to Chengyu, the company’s direct investments to Africa has exceeded $5b to date.“It’s our strong belief and our core principle that our investment must benefit the host nation, their people and the surrounding communities, while we realize reasonable returns"
Ends
President Obama Works So Hard He needs our Prayers Every Night…Will You Pray for him?
Forwarded by Judy Miriga .....spread the word and Thank you....
Folks, If you have not noticed...few Presidents have ever worked this hard for our country, with having to deal with such hatred and ill will. Many wonder, does he ever sleep? Only God can sustain such energy, knowledge and person. Will you please join in this prayer?
Let's keep this going!
Lord,
We pray for optimum health, mental clarity and political prosperity for President Barack H. Obama. We pray that what he lacks in political 'experience' you make up for with supernatural wisdom and power.
We also pray that when his enemies come upon him they will stumble and fall; and that your love will fill his heart to the end that 'Your will' be done through him.
We pray mightily for his protection. As we plead the Blood of your son, Jesus, over him and his family. We reverently ask you to dispatch hosts of angels to protect them from all hurt, harm, danger as he serves as the President of the United States of America .
We thank you and praise you for answering our sincere prayers, in Jesus' precious name,
AMEN
All you are asked to do is keep this circulating if you are so inclined.
May God bless and keep you...
$854 Billion Removed from Africa by Illicit Financial Flows from 1970 to 2008
$854 Billion Removed from Africa by Illicit Financial Flows from 1970 to 2008
Hundreds of billions that could have been used for poverty alleviation and economic development lost, finds new report from Global Financial Integrity.
WASHINGTON, DC - Africa lost $854 billion in illicit financial outflows from 1970 through 2008, according to a new report to be released today from Global Financial Integrity (GFI). Illicit Financial Flows from Africa: Hidden Resource for Development debuts new estimates for volume and patterns of illicit financial outflows from Africa, building upon GFI's ground-breaking 2009 report, Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2002-2006, which estimated that developing countries were losing as much as $1 trillion every year in illicit outflows. The new Africa illicit flows report is expected to feature prominently at the 3rd Annual Conference of African finance ministers in Malawi, which is currently underway.
"The amount of money that has been drained out of Africa-hundreds of billions decade after decade-is far in excess of the official development assistance going into African countries," said GFI director Raymond Baker. "Staunching this devastating outflow of much-needed capital is essential to achieving economic development and poverty alleviation goals in these countries."
Examining data for a 39-year range from 1970 to 2008, key report findings include:
Total illicit financial outflows from Africa, conservatively estimated, were approximately $854 billion;
Total illicit outflows from Africa may be as high as $1.8 trillion;
Sub-Saharan African countries experienced the bulk of illicit financial outflows with the West and Central African region posting the largest outflow numbers;
The top five countries with the highest outflow measured were: Nigeria ($89.5 billion) Egypt ($70.5 billion), Algeria ($25.7 billion), Morocco ($25 billion), and South Africa ($24.9 billion);
Illicit financial outflows from the entire region outpaced official development assistance going into the region at a ratio of at least 2 to 1;
Illicit financial outflows from Africa grew at an average rate of 11.9 percent per year.
"This report breaks new ground in the fight to end global poverty with analyses and measurements of illicit financial outflows never before undertaken," said Mr. Baker. "As long as these countries are losing massive amounts of money to illicit financial outflows, economic development and prosperity will remain elusive."
"The drivers of illicit financial outflows vary from country to country but overall transparency in the global financial system would curtail all forms of outflows by making it harder for money to disappear once it exits the country," commented Mr. Baker. "When the G20 meets in Canada this June, the problem of illicit financial flows must be at the top of the agenda."
GFI recently launched the G20 Transparency campaign to enable people around the world to take action on the problem of illicit financial flows. To sign the G20 transparency petition, which will be presented at the G20 meetings in June, go to www.G20Transparency.com or visit www.GFIP.org.
Contact: Monique Perry Danziger
mdanziger@gfip.org
202-293-0740
------------------------
Forwarded by Judy Miriga
DOCTORS REJECT CIRCUMCISION AS A PREVENTION AGAINST HIV INFECTION – NYANZA BE WARNED!
Doctors Opposing Circumcision
HIV Statement
The Use of Male Circumcision to Prevent HIV Infection
A statement by Doctors Opposing Circumcision
Introduction.
There have been a number of exaggerated claims made for the alleged efficacy of male circumcision in preventing female-to-male infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) This statement examines those claims and puts them in proper perspective Cultural bias.When studying circumcision, cultural bias must be considered:
Circumcision practices are largely culturally determined and as a result there are strong beliefs and opinions surrounding its practice. It is important to acknowledge that researchers' personal biases and the dominant circumcision practices of their respective countries may influence their interpretation of findings.
More than 50 percent of infant boys in North America still are subjected to non-therapeutic circumcision. There is a well known cultural bias in favor of circumcision in North America, which may influence doctors at the National Institutes of Health as well as those directing the studies. Doctors conducting these studies may not possess the necessary attributes of neutrality and objectivity. Ideally, researchers from circumcising cultures, circumcised themselves, would recuse themselves from considering the data.
The United States has the highest rate of HIV infection and the highest rate of male circumcision in the industrialized world. Male circumcision, therefore, cannot reasonably be thought to prevent HIV infection.
There are many methods of HIV transmission, including:
* mother-to-child infection,
* transfusion of tainted blood
* infection with non-sterile needles used in health care,
* infection by homosexual and heterosexual anal intercourse,
* infection by needle sharing to inject illegal drugs,
* traditional African scarring practices,
* tribal (ritual) circumcision,
* female circumcision,
* male-to-female heterosexual transmission, and female-to-male heterosexual transmission
Male circumcision might only reduce infection by the last method, so the overall influence on the HIV epidemic in Africa, at best, would be likely to be slight, however, the risk of male-to-female transmission is much higher than that of female-to-male transmission, so a means of partial prevention that targets only the second means at the expense of the first would be counterproductive.
There is no indication that male circumcision would protect women. Viral load is the chief predictor of the risk of HIV transmission. Malaria infection increases viral loads, so enhances infectivity. Male circumcision would not reduce viral loads and would not reduce infectivity to the female partner.
Condom usage.
Condoms have been shown to be effective at preventing HIV transmission. The use of condoms is necessary to prevent infection whether or not the male is circumcised.
Effect on condom use.
Male circumcision removes nerves from the penis and causes significant loss of sexual sensitivity and function. For this reason, many circumcised men are reluctant to use condoms. A program of mass circumcision may reduce condom usage and have an adverse effect on the overall HIV infection incidence.
Vaginal abrasion.
"Dry sex" is practiced in sub-Saharan Africa. Women place various drying agents in their vagina to absorb vaginal lubrication. This practice may itself cause abrasion and fissures that provide a portal for the HIV virus. Circumcision also reduces vaginal lubrication, curtails the gliding action, increases friction and vaginal abrasions, so, when combined with "dry sex", may increase the risk of female HIV infection through abrasions. The combination of dry sex and circumcision appears to sharply increase the risk of male-to-female transmission of HIV. A recent preliminary report found that the female partners of circumcised males experience higher rates of HIV infection.
Relevance to developed nations.
These African studies were carried out in HIV "hot-spots" places where the incidence of HIV infection in the population is high and where the method of transmission is heterosexual intercourse. They are not relevant to developed nations, such as the United States, where the incidence of infection is low and where the predominant methods of transmission are through homosexual anal intercourse or through needle-sharing by drug addicts.
Circumcision of children.
These RCTs, which studied HIV transmission among adults in Africa, cannot be used to support the practice of non-therapeutic circumcision of children. Infant boys do not engage in sexual intercourse so they are not subject to sexually-transmitted HIV infection. They, however, are subject to various complications of circumcision, including infection through an open circumcision wound with various pathogens, such as deadly CA-MRSA. Other risks include hemorrhage, exsanguination, and death; and various surgical accidents, including urethral fistula, penile denudation, and traumatic amputation of the glans penis. By the time today?s newborn boys became sexually active, HIV vaccine is likely to be available so circumcision today, in an attempt to prevent HIV infection in the distant future, is contraindicated.
The high infant mortality rate in the African countries hardest hit by the HIV epidemic means many children will die before they become sexually active, further vitiating any protective effect of infant circumcision. The time, effort and money would be better spent on community health measures that would preserve their lives and those of their parents.
Because of their minority, children cannot grant consent, so any non-therapeutic circumcision of a child is a human rights violation and ethically inappropriate.
Discussion.
Effective methods of reducing HIV infection include education and behavior change. Abstinence before marriage and fidelity after marriage offer men and women the greatest protection in avoiding HIV/AIDS transmission.
Men who have been circumcised may consider themselves immune to HIV and at no risk to their female partner. That, however, is not the case. Circumcised men may still contract HIV and pass it on to their next partner.
The reported complication rate of 1.7 percent seems unreasonably low. Williams & Kapila estimated the incidence of complications at 2-10 percent; In the survey by Kim & Pang (2006), 48 percent reported decreased masturbatory pleasure, 63 percent reported increased masturbatory difficulty and 20 percent reported a worsened sex life after circumcision.
The authors of the RCTs have engaged in the promotion of circumcision. Van Howe and colleagues argue that their true motivation may be the introduction of universal male circumcision, using fear of HIV as the tool with which to accomplish their goals.
Social problems.
The introduction of male circumcision into a non-circumcising society may present problems such as:
* adverse psychological and sexual effects caused by the diminishment and desensitization of the penis,
* increased antisocial behavior,
* violations of human rights,
* violations of laws that protect children, and
* inability to discontinue male circumcision when the need for it no longer exists.
Politics.
The HIV/AIDS epidemic is quite severe in several African nations. In some areas, a high percentage of the population is HIV+.
Public health organizations are under intense pressure to solve the problem.
The use of male circumcision to prevent HIV infection is akin to a drowning man grasping at a straw. Although male circumcision is likely to be proposed for political reasons, it is likely to have little effect on the overall incidence of HIV infection and may cause later problems. According to Ntozi:
It is important that, while circumcision interventions are being planned, several points must be considered carefully. If the experiment fails, Africans are likely to feel abused and exploited by scientists who recommended the circumcision policy. In a region highly sensitive to previous colonial exploitation and suspicious of the biological warfare origin of the virus, failure of circumcision is likely to be a big issue. Those recommending it should know how to handle the political implications.
Opposing evidence.
Both the public and the medical community must guard against being overwhelmed by the hyperbolic promotion of male circumcision and must receive these new studies with extreme caution. There is contradictory evidence that male circumcision is not as effective as proponents claim. One study found that male circumcision had no protective effect for women and another study found that male circumcision increased risk for women. Grosskurth found more HIV infection in circumcised men. Barongo et al. found no evidence that lack of circumcision is a risk factor for HIV infection. A study from India found little difference between circumcised and non-circumcised men in the conjugal relationship. A study carried out in South Africa found that male circumcision offered only a slight protective effect. A study carried out among American naval personnel found no difference in the incidence of HIV infection between non-circumcised and circumcised men.
The future.
The development of a vaccine is the best hope for the solution to the HIV epidemic. Several teams of scientists are working to develop vaccines that will prevent infection with HIV and other vaccines that will treat those already infected. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has contributed $287 million to 16 research groups for development of a vaccine.
Conclusion.
Male circumcision is a highly emotive operation that generates strong feelings in many men, especially those who have been circumcised, as have most North Americans. The trauma associated with the operation may generate a desire to repeat or reenact the trauma. 62 Other men may feel a need to justify their own circumcision by the generation of claims of health benefits. The medical literature is full of protective claims for various diseases, such as sexually transmitted disease (formerly called venereal disease), male and female cancers, and urinary tract infection. All such claims have been disproved.
The RCTs on which the current claims are based have been carried out by men who have a previous history of promoting circumcision. DOC has little confidence in such studies, especially since contradictory evidence exists.
Male circumcision may increase male-to-female transmission of HIV and mitigate any reduction in female-to-male transmission. A preliminary report confirms the increased risk to women.
Instituting a program of male circumcision is of dubious value. It will divert resources from proven methods of epidemic control and it may generate a false sense of security in males who have been circumcised. The desensitization of the penis that frequently results from male circumcision is likely to make men less willing to use condoms. A program of male circumcision very likely may worsen the epidemic.
The epidemic in Africa may have little to do with lack of circumcision and everything to do with the percentage of the female population engaged in female sex work. Talbot (2007) has established a correlation between the number of female sex workers in the population and the level of HIV infection.
Calls are being heard for the circumcision of children although (assuming that male circumcision is effective at controlling female-to-male infection) this could not be helpful until the child becomes sexually active. As previously stated, the non-therapeutic excision of healthy body parts from non-consenting children is a violation of human rights and medically unethical. Therefore, the true motivation of the circumcision proponents must be questioned. It may be perpetuation of neonatal circumcision, not control of HIV.
DOC believes that more emphasis on education, behavior change?such as abstinence before marriage and fidelity after marriage, provision of condoms, treatment of other sexually transmitted diseases, treatment of genital ulcer disease, control of malaria, and provision of safe health care would be more likely to produce beneficial results.
______________________________________________________________
Otieno Mbare, Dr.Sc.(Econ. & B.Adm), Research Fellow
Åbo Akademi University
Institute for Advance Management Systems Research
Lemminkäinengatan 14 (office location: Fabriksgatan 7A 1)
Tel. +358 2 2154 567 (Off1)+358 2 2154 976 (Off) +358 40 5341 996
http://iamsr.abo.fi
Email: Otieno.Mbare@abo.fi, awachtin@yahoo.com
20520 ÅBO
Finland
People who live on borrowed culture often go to extremes that their models and mentors had never intended. Varindra Tarzie Vittachi (1921 -), Sri-Lankan born writer
Uganda: Zuma opens an ANC school to comemorate the anti-apartheid struggle years
Zuma (right) and Museveni at the graves of the ANC freedom fighters in Kaweweta, Nakaseke District yesterday
writes Leo Odera Omolo
SOUTH African President Jacob Zuma yesterday officially opened the Oliver Tambo Leadership School at Kaweweta in Nakaseke District.
He and President Yoweri Museveni also laid wreaths on the graves of 14 African National Congress (ANC) freedom fighters who died in Uganda in 1990 and 1991. A three gun salute was fired in honour of the young fighters. The fighters, who died of natural causes, were among the 3,000 ANC fighters camped at Kaweweta.
The school, whose construction was funded by both the Ugandan and South African governments, will be a regional leadership and ideological training institute. It has been training UPDF, Police and Prisons officers.
Earlier, it had trained different African revolutionary armies, including the ANC’s military Umkhotho we Sizwe, (Spear of the Nation) and Uganda’s National Resistance Army.
South Africa contributed US$3m (about sh6b) while Uganda gave US$1.5m (about sh3b) for the construction. A total of 13 buildings, water supply, solar and generator power supply system, a hospital, staff houses, an administration block and a hall with a capacity of 600 people were built.
The South African government also funded construction of two classroom blocks of Kaweweta Primary School for the children of soldiers and those from the surrounding villages.
Zuma thanked Uganda for hosting and training ANC fighters, saying at that time, few countries wanted to be associated with them. He said when Museveni allowed them into Uganda in 1988, the UN had passed a resolution, which ensured they were thrown out of Angola, where they had been training.
The first batch of 152 soldiers arrived in Kaweweta in 1989 and by 1994, the number was 3,000, making it the biggest concentration of Umkhotho we Sizwe soldiers in a single camp. He paid tribute to Maj. Gen. Fred Rwigyema (RIP), who he said, went beyond the call of duty to assist the South African soldiers.
President Museveni said he was happy with the struggle for freedom by the two countries. He said he and his fellow freedom fighters refuse to see tribes and sub-groups of Africa, but see Africans.
“That is our ideology and that is the ideology of ANC,” Museveni said, adding that the ANC has had a great role in stabilising the security situation in the Great Lakes Region.
He enumerated the initiatives to broker peace in the DR Congo and Burundi by ANC leaders, including Zuma.
Museveni added that while Africans fought for freedom from colonialists, the continent’s problems are in many cases self-imposed. He said instead of working together to ensure development, wealth creation, transformation and integration, some Africans work for balkanisation.
The President said the Kaweweta school would enhance African capacities to acquire real independence. The school, according to Museveni, is a symbol of African freedom struggle.
Ends
UGANDA: OBOTE’S SON AKENA HAS REJECTED A JOB OFFER BY UPC’S OLARA OTUNNU
Otunnu addressing journalists in Kampala yesterday as secretary general Joseph Bossa and treasurer Walubiri listen
Writes Leo Odera Omolo
UGANDA People’s Congress (UPC) president Olara Otunnu yesterday expressed dismay that Jimmy Akena, the runner-up in the race for the party presidency, had declined a place on his new cabinet.
“I invited him to join the cabinet and wanted him to continue as vice-chairman of the party, but he declined my offer. I regret he was not able to accept,” Otunnu told journalists.
The UPC constitution gives powers to the party president to appoint his executive.
Akena, the Lira Municipality MP and son of former president Milton Obote, confirmed yesterday that he turned down the offer.
“We had discussions with Otunnu but we did not reach an agreement. I declined the position of vice-chairman, which I did not feel I could take up at this time.”
Asked whether he wanted any other position, Akena quipped: “That is between me and Olara Otunnu. It is not for the media.”
On whether he would support Otunnu’s leadership, he said: “I will remain a congressman and I will remain working for the party to ensure that it is strengthened.”
Otunnu appointed law lecturer Joseph Bbosa as secretary general. He will be deputised by Emmanuel Ofumbi. Former Mukono legislator Wagonda Muguli was named the chief administrative secretary.
Bushenyi UPC veteran politician Edward Rurangaranga has replaced Yona Kanyomozi as chairperson while the Rev. Jacinto Ogwal is vice-chairperson.
Other entrants in the new UPC leadership include Ruth Masika as the national women leader and Cecilia Anyakoit as national youth leader. The leader for people with disability is Apollo Ekibo.
Regional vice-chairpersons include Henry Mayega (central), Julius Ochen (northern), Rebecca Ereemye (eastern), Matiya Kisembo (mid-western), Ndiwa Ndikola (south-western), and Moses Tako Apiliga (West Nile).
Special envoys in the office of the president include former secretary general Chris Opoka, former treasurer Patrick Mwondha, MP Simon Ross Euku, Yona Kanyomozi and Sospater Akwenyu.
The deputy spokesperson is Moses Nuwagaba, while Emmanuel Rukundo is the deputy youth leader.
The chairman of the UPC council of elders is Justice George Masika. The members are Silvano Esiagi, Samwiri Mugwisa, Dick Nyai, Mary Tiberondwa, Andrew Nyote, the Rev. Cyprian Bamwoze and Rurangaranga.
The coordinator of the youth leadership council is former journalist Robert Kanusu, and the coordinator of the women leadership council is Margaret Ateng Otim.
Regional mobilization coordinators include Paul Ogwal Olule (northern), Michael Osinde (eastern), Gideon Twinomugisha (south-western) and John Mary Kato (mid-western).
Otunnu stated that he is still carrying out consultations to fill the remaining positions which include the vice-president, national workers leader, spokesperson and regional mobilization coordinator for central and West Nile.
Wearing a barkcloth strand around his left hand as a symbol of solidarity with the Buganda kingdom over the Kasubi tombs fire, Otunnu regretted to his supporters who filled Christ the King Hall that he would not allow them sing or dance to party songs.
The former UN diplomat re-echoed his call for an independent commission of inquiry and prosecution of people who committed atrocities during the Luwero bush war of 1981-85.
“We want those who committed crimes against humanity in Luwero to be brought to book. I am sure the massive trail of Luwero bloodshed leads to Museveni’s doorsteps.”
Otunnu also rapped the coordinator of intelligence agencies, Lt. Gen. David Tinyefuza, for threatening him if he continues talking about Luwero.
“Tinyefuza depicted himself as a man who earns a living through crushing fellow human beings. We shall not be intimidated,” an angry Otunnu said.
Otunnu, who served as foreign minister under the Tito Okello military junta which was removed by Museveni's NRM returned last year after 27 years in exile.
Ends
Kenya: Kisumu and Boda-Boda
Has anyone been to Kisumu of later between 7am- 8am and between 5pm and 7pm, either driving, on a motor bike(peng) or on a boda-boda? If you have then let me know of your experience.
I have observed with concern the number of related boda-boda and peng accidents. I have seen motorists knock down boda- boda men plus their passengers and drive away. I have seen boda- boda abuse traffic rules and cause accidents that can be avoided. I have seen motorists roughed and molested by a mob of irate boda- boda riders for accidents caused by the boda-boda themselves. I have also seen cases of the same taken to court, bicycles detained by the police and the riders getting no justice, whether on the wrong or on the right. Worse still, I have seen police officers and city council askaris take bribes from boda-boda riders.
What is amazing is that everyone watches this on a daily basis and nothing is done. The authority watch and do nothing, the society watch and do nothing and when it goes beyond the elbow, then fire fighting and blame game will start. Can't someone have the boda boda people trained on basic traffic rules?
One of the most dangerous corners is the one off Agoi road, behind tuskyies. It joins the main stage from the rare. Right at this junction, there is Family Health Option Kenya (FHOK) clinic. On this spot, you will not fail to count up to 10 accidents in a day, and it has become a daily happening. Instead, people will laugh it off and say that is the order of the day. Even police officers manning the main stage say they are used to it. Something should be done!!
Patrick Mbullo
Tanzania Should have a Robust patent Protection System
Are Tanzanian lawyers paying any attention to patent practice? Why are they not collaborating with Tanzanian scientists and engineers to develop a robust patent protection system? While our lawyers are enmeshed in land cases, election/chieftaincy petitions and petty politics, the legal minds of other nations are moving forward, in tandem with their inventors, leaving us behind like paralytic consumers of technology.
If I wasn't a Tanzanian, maybe I wouldn't have any interest in the affairs of that country. For example, I don't know what Liberian leaders tell their citizens. As far as I am concerned, whatever Ugandan engineers tell their political leaders does not interest me so much. But I care for Tanzania and read about my beloved country everyday, thanks to the power of technology.
Speaking of technology, I've read so much about the "achievements" of Tanzanian engineers, scientists and technologists that my head spins. We have been hearing such claims or variations thereof since 1961! Who is fooling who?
For those who care to know, the technological development of any nation is directly proportional to her patent practice. Patent law is designed to protect innovative scientific inventions. When you pick up your cell phone, which happens to be the most prolific invention in the hands of Tanzanians today, the parts used to make them are protected by patents from one or more countries. The maker of the cell phone, for example, Nokia, may not own even one part of the units that make up the device but licensed them from the owners of the patents. The owner of the patent, called a patentee, need not be a cell phone maker or in any manufacturing business at all. The patentee to the intermittent windshield wiper was not a car manufacturer. Instead, car manufacturers took non-exclusive licenses from him and paid him loyalties for using his invention. An exclusive license may have antitrust implications; I leave that for another day.
Patent licensing and patent litigation are the most flourishing areas of legal practice today due to the proliferation and advances in science and technology. Companies go into cross-licensing to checkmate unnecessary conflicts and compete only in those areas where they really need to. In 2004, Sony and Samsung entered into an agreement to share patents on basic technology, to speed up product development, and avoid adding to a growing number of cross-border patent disputes. The implication is that your Sony Plasma TV shares same technology as your neighbor's Samsung!
I have been reading the World Intellectual Property Organization, (WIPO) report since 2003. I usually subject it to a search for "Tanzania", a ritual all electronic documents that come to my desk pass through. It would have been like searching for the face of your lover in Kariakoo market, but again, thanks to technology, it took less than 3 seconds. My search for Tanzania saves me unnecessary embarrassment. I need to know where my beloved country stands before discussing such document. To appreciate what the WIPO report said about Tanzania, we need to know what it said about other countries.
The 2009 report shows that worldwide patent application filings have increased an average of 4.7 percent a year since 1995, with the highest growth experienced in North East Asian countries, notably South Korea and China. Of the 5.6 million patents in force in 2005, 90 percent were granted by 10 patent offices: the United States, Japan, Germany, South Korea, United Kingdom, France, Spain, China, Canada and the Russian Federation. Additional details include the following:
1. The largest recipients of patent filings are the patent offices of Japan, the United States, China, South Korea, and the European Patent Office. These five offices account for 77 percent of all patents filed in 2005, and account for 74 percent of all patents granted.
2. That China experienced the highest growth rate in both residential and nonresidential filings, boasting a 42.1 and 27.9 percent increase, respectively, over earlier filing rates.
3. Residents of Japan were the most frequent patent grantees worldwide, followed by residents of the United States, South Korea, Germany and France. Applicants from Japan and the United States owned 28 percent and 21 percent, respectively, of patents in force worldwide in 2005.
4. U.S. applicants continue to lead in overall PCT applications, followed by applicants from Japan and Germany.
Tanzania did not show up in Table 1: Patent Filings and Grants by Office, meaning that we have a dead patent office. However, in Table 2: Patent Filings, Grants and Patents in Force by Country and Territory of Origin, Tanzania is credited with Non-resident direct filings, one National Phase Entry, one PCT International Application, and only 2 Patents in force since 2000 !
In contrast, South Africa has 5,554 National Phase Entries, 248 non-resident filings and 2,486 patents in force. China, our satellite development partner, has 2,561 non-resident direct filings, 156 Resident Direct filings, and 59,087 patents in force. Brazil has 3,821 Resident direct filings, 2,560 non-resident direct filings, and 5,500 patents in force. United States garnered 202,776 direct resident filings, 51,921 non-resident direct filings and 1,214,556 patents in force.
If we really have scientists and engineers in Tanzania, how come they've not done anything to change the world like their foreign counterparts? What have all the research institutes done to positively impact the lives of Tanzanians? People all over the world are coming up with innovative ways of performing old tasks and improved seeds for bountiful harvests. The report shows that the United States and the Japanese Patent Offices respectively had more than 900,000 and 800,000 patents pending in 2005. How many Tanzanians have been issued with any utility patent from any country whatsoever since 2000?
Professor Boroffice of Nigeria was once quoted as saying, "We must contribute to the development of technology because he, who has technology, has power." I agree with him. But nobody ever transfers power willingly. The Chinese did not send their scientist to the UK or the US to build satellites. They stole the technology by the process of reverse engineering. The professor should know what I am talking about, but I doubt whether our lawyers do. Reverse engineering is the general process of analyzing a technology specifically to ascertain how it was designed or how it operates in order to duplicate or enhance the object. Reverse engineering is illegal in some countries. Our lawyers should study our domestic laws and international treaties on the subject. We can start with products whose patents have expired and move from there.
If I may I humbly ask, are Tanzanian lawyers paying any attention to patent practice? Why are they not collaborating with Tanzanian scientists and engineers to develop a robust patent protection system? While our lawyers are enmeshed in land cases, election/chieftaincy petitions and petty politics, the legal minds of other nations are moving forward, in tandem with their inventors, leaving us behind like paralytic consumers of technology.
Finally, one conclusion to be drawn from the above facts is that Tanzanian leaders and scientists know nothing with respect to patent law in the development of science and technology. When President Jakaya Kikwete bemoaned the various problems confronting the country, attributing them to disrespect for the rule of law, he, a scientist, I believe, knows the importance of obeying natural laws. Inventions are based on strict adherence to natural laws. Obedience to law is the key to technological development. Our total disregard for laws is our bane. You cannot practice science with a crooked mind. Science abhors dishonesty!
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Yona Fares Maro
I.T. Specialist and Digital Security Consultant
Renewable energy: How to make an efficient sawdust stove
One of the simplest fuels for cooking and for heating the house in cold times is sawdust . . . a waste product which is usually thrown away and which, therefore, is obtainable free or at nominal cost. (True, not everybody lives conveniently near a sawmill or lumberyard, but the same objection applies to many other alternative sources of power. Not everyone has a stream running through his property to generate electricity, or keeps cattle to supply manure for methane. We must make use of whatever resources are available to us.)
Sawdust will burn properly only in a specially constructed stove, which is very simple to make and costs practically nothing. The fuel always lights with only one match in such a unit, and can be kept ablaze for long periods—six, eight or even twelve hours if desired—with absolutely no smoke, no blowing or fanning and no refueling.
Once lighted, such a stove burns until all the fuel it contains is consumed. It can then be recharged and lighted again. Such a device is ideal where steady heat is required for hours on end with no attention (to provide day-long hot water, for instance, or to keep a sickroom cosy and warm through a chill winter's night).
To make a sawdust stove, take a large paint can, remove the top and cut a two-inch hole in the middle of the bottom. Set the container up on three legs, and the stove is ready. The only "tool" you'll need to make your burner work is a smooth round stick or length of water pipe which will fit through the hole in the bottom of the can. It should be long enough to protrude four inches above the can's top edge when the shaft is passed vertically through the stove and its lower end rests on the ground.
It is absolutely essential that the fuel for this stove be bone dry. If it's slightly damp, it will smoke. . . and if it's very damp it won't light at all. Dry sawdust burns wonderfully well—sometimes even with a blue flame—and is entirely smokeless. It does give off some fumes, however, and the room where the stove is in use must be well ventilated.
To load the burner, insert the stick or pipe through the hole in the bottom of the can and hold the shaft straight up while you pour sawdust around it. Every now and then, as you fill the container, press the fuel down—the harder the better—to make it tight and compact. When the can is full, completely cover the top of the sawdust with a thin, even layer of sand or ashes. Then twist the pipe back and forth and carefully pull it out of the packed fuel. You'll have a neat hole—which will act as a chimney—right through the mass.
The sawdust stove is easy to light. Just crumple a sheet of newspaper accordion-fashion and push it gently down the chimney until it protrudes at the bottom. Put a match to the lower end, and the homemade heating unit will require no further attention whatever until the fuel is completely consumed.
The powdered wood burns from the center outward, the hole gradually increasing in diameter until there is no sawdust left and the flame dies out. The rate of consumption is about an inch and a half to two inches per hour (the figure varies slightly with the quality of the fuel and how tightly it's packed). A stove one foot in diameter will burn about six hours, and one eight inches across will operate long enough to cook a meal and produce some hot water to wash the pots and
pans.
The amount of heat produced is regulated by the depth of the container: the longer the chimney, the hotter the flame. A tall, narrow stove will become very hot for a relatively short time, a broad, squat model will give a gentler heat for a longer period and a tall, wide drum will burn both long and hot. Calculate the dimensions to suit your requirements.
The basic design can be adapted to special purposes. For example, a good sawdust-fired kitchen range can constructed in either of two ways: [1] Two or more legless drum stoves can be bricked in, with a small opening b low each to admit air and remove ashes. [2] The stove can be built brickwork alone, without drums, and two-inch round hole made through the wall into the bottom of the firebox. This second model is filled with the help of two sticks or pipes. One is first is pushed through the front opening least as far as the center of the stove and the other is held upright so that rests on the horizontal rod. Then the unit is packed with fuel and both sticks are drawn out.
The basic sawdust burner may be modified into a space heater to do laundry on a rainy day or warm a living room on a cold night. To adapt a can stove for this purpose, a second container (with its top removed) turned upside down and fitted snug onto the upper rim of the heater. This radiates warmth into the room. An opening is made in the upper chamber near the top, to receive a stovepipe which carries any fumes out through a wall or window. If desired, a hole with a removable cover could be cut in the top to make an open burner for heating a kettle.
Whether you decide to modify the basic sawdust burner I've described or not, I think you'll find the device presents a most efficient means of using a common waste. I know you'll also finds that it produces steady, reliable heat for cooking and/or warmth.
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Thanks
Gibson Amenya
Enigma Consultants Kenya Limited
NHC Building,3rd Flr
P.O Box 10017-00200,Nairobi
Email: gibson.amenya@enigma.or.ke
Email:info@enigma.or.ke
For Audit,Taxation and Business Advisory Services
Mengo want an independent probe to Kisubitombs fire incident
Reporets Leo Odera Omolo
Katikkiro JB Walusimbi addressing the Uganda Lukiiko at Bulange Mengo yesterday
THE BUGANDA kingdom has repeated its demand for an independent commission of inquiry into the fire that gutted the royal tombs at Kasubi a week ago.
In resolutions passed by the Lukiiko (Buganda parliament) yesterday, Mengo also said the commission should probe the shooting and killing of youth who were cleaning up the burnt tombs.
“The Buganda Lukiiko laments the terrorist attack on Kasubi royal tombs on March 16. The Lukiiko condemns the attack, the use of force by the military, shooting, including use of armoured war-machinery, and beating up of unarmed people who tried to salvage the tombs and were cleaning up the site in the morning,” it said.
The resolutions were read out by the kingdom information minister, Peter Mayiga. The special session took place in a sombre mood and was presided over by the speaker, Kaddu Serunkuuma.
“With hindsight of the Kanungu inferno, Budo Junior fire that killed young, innocent pupils and other fires that have ravaged schools in the country, Buganda demands an independent commission of inquiry into the fire at Kasubi and shooting that resulted into the killing of three people and injuries to many other people,” the resolutions read.
The Lukiiko also resolved that after details were received about the Buganda youth who were shot, they will honour them as heroes of the kingdom. People who witnessed the shooting were asked to volunteer information to the probe committee.
Almost all members in the Lukiiko, including Mengo cabinet ministers, clan leaders, saza (county chiefs), notables and MPs from Buganda, were dressed in black without ties and in kanzus (white tunic) without coats, to symbolise mourning.
They also spotted black arm bands and wore bark-cloth strands around their waists, traditionally worn when mourning a close relative.
Some had badges with portraits of the Kabaka and the royal family with T-shirts inscribed with the picture of the tombs.
The Katikkiro (Buganda prime minister), J.B. Walusimbi, narrated the sequence of events in the aftermath of the fire and called for a moment of silence for those shot and killed.
He blamed the fire on “arsonists” whom he described as people with great hatred for Buganda and with a terrorist mind-set. Walusimbi recounted that by 9:00pm on Tuesday, when he arrived at Kasubi, the fire was ravaging the main house, Muzibu Azaala Mpanga, and its roof had caved in.
He said the person in charge of the tombs tried to use in-house fire extinguishers but was overwhelmed by the raging fire.
“We were informed four explosions were heard. These, it is believed, reinforced the flames and this made them unable to extinguish it.”
The Katikkiro said fire-fighting trucks arrived quite late and with inadequate water. This, he said, infuriated the people who were further incited by the heavy deployment of the military who used bullets and tear-gas.
Walusimbi explained that the Kabaka had planned to make an early visit to the tombs in line with the Kiganda traditions. He, however, said Police boss Kale Kayihura informed him of the President’s planned visit.
“I later heard of more deployment, that the armed forces were shooting and chasing people from the tombs and that three people had been killed and many others injured. People were incensed. This perhaps explained why the President got a bad reception.”
The Katikkiro said the tombs would be reconstructed to modern standards but with due regard to cultural traditions and norms. He said the restored tombs would be wall-fenced and fitted with CCTV cameras, at a cost of not less than sh10b.
Describing the state of affairs in Buganda as gloomy, the Katikkiro observed that the fire came at a time when relations with the central Government are at their lowest and several distressful actions and policies were being implemented.
He said Buganda and the Government have had disagreements on the creation of kingdoms within the kingdom, the blocking of the free movement of the Kabaka, the refusal to pay rent for occupied Buganda buildings and the failure by the Government to fulfil its promises.
He also said the Government branded Buganda an enemy whenever it gave a ‘divergent view’ on national issues. Another contentious issue, he added, was the closure of CBS radio on ‘wrong accusations’ of inciting the public.
“These issues depress us further and develop a feeling that the Government intends to suppress the Baganda.”
The Katikkiro also announced that committees for the reconstruction of the tombs had been established. He said the technical committee of experts, mainly engineers, had started drawing the bills of quantities while the finance committee will receive the donations.
There will also be committees of security, information, elders, royal family and coordination. An account titled ‘Gwanika lya Buganda – Kasubi royal tombs’ had been opened in several banks, he disclosed.
The week of mourning will reach its climax on Friday with prayers at the tombs led by the Catholic Archbishop of Kampala, Cyprian Lwanga. The Kabaka and church leaders will attend.
During the debate that followed, several Lukiiko members said there was a deliberate ploy to weaken or destroy the kingdom of Buganda.
In a statement released on Sunday, President Yoweri Museveni refuted rumours that the Government was responsible for the fire. He warned those spreading the the rumours of dire coinsequences and ordered the security to monitor the media.
Ends