President Yoweri Museveni has told the Judiciary to stop\ndelaying huge projects that have financial implications as such action denies\nthe country economic growth and employment that are part of the historical\nmandate of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The President was referring to a case in which the investor in\nthe Osukuru fertilizers factory in\nTororo District Eastern Uganda, was stopped by the Court from operating due to\nsome misunderstanding with his partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis huge project has got financial implications. The money is\nfrom the bank and any delay means interest is accumulating. The total\ninvestment is US$630 million .You cannot be serious. What are you looking for?\nThis is not an institutional mandate but a historical one,\u201d the President said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The President was today officially opening the 22nd<\/sup> Annual\nJudges\u2019 Conference at the Nsambya-based Mestil Hotel in Kampala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 4-day meeting that is running under the theme \u201cDischarging\nthe Mandate of the Judiciary: Towards A modern, Professional and Effective\nJudiciary\u201d, <\/em><\/strong>is attended by Justices, Judges, Registrars and a section of\nmembers of the Bar and stake holders within the Justice Law and Order Sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The conference has been tailored to discuss the performance of\nthe Judiciary in the previous year, identify gaps hindering performance and\nmake proposals to modernize and improve efficiency and effectiveness of the\nCourts of Law in the Administration of Justice in Uganda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keynote speakers included Justice Frank La Buda from New York in\nUSA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n President Museveni, who exhaustively told participants the\ndifference between a country, a nation and a state, said the historical mandate\nof today\u2019s state is to build a free Uganda whose people are engaged in\nagricultural and industrial production for financial and food security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He noted that there is some degree of waking up today in the\ncountry as manifested by the glut of various products such as milk, sugar,\nmaize, bananas and even construction materials. He, however, added that the only challenge is the market\nthat government is working hard to resolve through integration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the issue of remuneration, President Museveni assured\nparticipants that their salary enhancement will continue until the comparable\ninternational standard is reached, adding that the institution of judiciary has\na unique role of peace making in society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA fair judiciary will definitely help us jump on the bus of\nmodernization,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He further assured them that even at the time of retirement,\nJudges should receive their pension equivalent to either their salary or some\nlittle percentage below their salaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe don\u2019t want a former Judge to hang around with lawyers trying\nto look for a part time job. You should retire with your dignity – car escorts.\nThis is to get our people out of temptation,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regarding the issue of backlog of court cases, the President\nasked the judiciary to prioritize cases; handling first the serious ones like\nmurder, commercial and some land cases adding that others, like divorce, could\nbe heard later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The President noted that as the government continues to open up\nfactories, some of the bottlenecks like some of the court cases contribute to\nthe hindrance of the economic growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Prof.\nEphraim Kamuntu, noted that a strong judiciary is the very key for sustainable\ngrowth. He pointed out that the theme of the conference is in line with one of\nthe principle pillars of the government in service delivery to the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Chief Justice, Bart Katureebe, thanked President Museveni for supporting the Judiciary and for the numerous new appointments in the judiciary. He used the occasion to urge Judicial Officers to exercise maximum integrity when handling land cases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Deputy Chief Justice, Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, Ethics and Integrity State Minister, Simon Lokodo and Public Service Head, John Mitala, among others, are attending the conference.\u00a0 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" President Yoweri Museveni has told the Judiciary to stop delaying huge projects that have financial implications as such action denies the country economic growth and employment that are part of the historical mandate of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Government. The President was referring to a case in which the investor in the Osukuru fertilizers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27983,"featured_media":13496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_paywall_metabox":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[31],"class_list":["post-13494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-featured"],"yoast_head":"\n