Top 7 Ugandan PR scandals that rocked April 2015.

1.             Africell Telecom shocks on alleged racism and poor employee relations

Africell Telecommunication Company Uganda got entangled in online negative publicity just as it continues to rebrand from orange. This was after Africell Uganda Telecommunication Company laid off 59 Ugandan workers and allegedly replaced them with Lebanese nationals. This fueled racism discussions. This was a rather bad time as it coincided with xenophobic attacks in South Africa. The Story alleged that those who were fired were not given satisfactory explanations raising concerns of poor employee relations. A disgruntled employee is more dangerous than competition in disrupting company operations.

This crisis went viral because it was in the court of public opinion which reacts with emotions not logic.A Ugandan website leaked an email communication between Africell Telecom Uganda and a renown Ugandan Communication specialist Simon Kaheru. Simon was on board to manage their organisational change communication needs. People started attacking Simon Kaheru. Simon Kaheru should however be credited for his expert response during the trying time. He was consistent with his communication and his responses were not out of anger. He intellectually challenged those with racism evidence to come forward.

 Africell has not bothered to explain itself extensively on the matter. Africell failed to give detailed responses to allegations. Failure to use their information to counter react to all the allegations just prolongs the crisis. It could give a round figure of terminal benefits paid and when. They released a statement on their Facebook page which was not dated or signed off by any Africell Uganda manager. Africell Uganda Telecommunication Facebook page describes the recent racist allegations as ridiculous and preposterous.The crisis has given rise to other   bad theoretical stories on the telecom’s operations. There are also rumours online about Africell Uganda considering closure or buy out. Africell Uganda has since responded and said it is still in Uganda. Some people have started to push for boycott of   products from Africell because of the crisis..

2. KCCA tractor kills child

Another 2-year old child was knocked dead by a KCCA tractor in lugala. The driver was on phone when the incident happened. KCCA driver was Patrick wasswa. This story was on the mighty ‘Agataliko Nfufu’ news on Bukedde TV. The KCCA management moved fast and resolved the issue by through communication .KCCA sent support for the burial with its team. Last year another baby was killed by KCCA vehicle in its premises.

3. Women stripe to protest against ministers presence

Land dispute in northern Uganda attracted debate in April when elderly female residents of Amuru district stripped naked before government officials. This was to protest against government plans to demarcate boundaries between the districts of Amuru and Adjumani. The contested land has also been claimed by the Wildlife Authority has not eased tensions.Lands Minister Daudi Migereko and Internal Affairs Minister Gen Aronda Nyakairima visited a disputed boundary area to resolve the crisis .The women said the move would to push them out of their ancestral land.Minister Migereko later assured residents that the government has no hidden-motive .Quelling the storm further, Minister Migereko announced that they had cancelled the erection of the boundary mark stones.

4.  URSB on the spot over double company registration

A Local daily reported that Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) Registrar General Bemanya Twebaze acknowledged that he had received several complaints of fraud and erroneous Company registration. The double registration came to light as bids for the tendering process for the supply of Stabilized Interlocking Block Making Machines for the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development. According to the registration of Companies Act, no two similar companies can be registered at the same time.The Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) is on the spot over registration of two companies operating under the same names. The two companies in question are Hydraform (U) Limited and Hydraform (Uganda) Limited. They both deal in interlocking stabilizing block making machines (ISSB) are dully registered and operating in the country.Apart from the registration numbers being 137639 and later being 149594 and the directors being different, they bare the same names.

5. King oyo challenge

This was a crisis of sorts depending on how you look at it.There was one viral  image  of King Oyo greeting the Buganda Katikkiro Charles peter Mayaige while cross-legged.What made it worse was the fact that the youthful king seemed not to pay attention. The incident was  during Kabaka Ronald mutebi’s 60th birthday celebrations .This incident  got  #KingoyoChallenge  as its hash tag. Celebrities and members from the public posed the same way and posted their pictures. It was reported that Toro King, Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru also took his own challenge during his birthday celebrations by greeting a friend while looking away. Some critics felt katiikiro is the outside king and needed to be respected. Being a youthful king, some felt his posture was disrespectful.

6. Athletics coach arrested over  alleged rape

Ugandan police arrested an athletics coach Wemali for allegedly raping three teenage female national runners. Alleged sex abuse scandals damage the country’s image.The crisis came to light after Uganda’s Commonwealth gold medallist Moses Kipsiro shared complaints from female teammates against Peter Wemali. Wemali is said to have advised them to get pregnant and then abort so they could run better. The Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF) has been accused of cover up by activists. Coach Wemali allegedly used vulgar language during training with female runners. Uganda police has since suspended him pending investigations. Wemali maintains he is innocent.

7. Pension Saga taints the image of Uganda Police.

Local newspapers reported about the Pension saga. Police officials are on the spot over irregularities on authenticity of reports on the scandal. Uganda Police has been accused of failing the shs 165b case after they reportedly received a bribe from the culprits. The CIID team which investigated the matter filed two conflicting reports. CIID chief Grace Akullo filed a different report. The matter has since attracted public outcry

 Both the Inspector general of police and the director of public prosecutions have vowed to pursue the case to its conclusion. Uganda police PR machinery released a statement on the incident. Police clarified in a press release that while the court case was dismissed, it was on a technicality and not on absence of substantive evidence. The Police investigation of the case was thorough and comprehensive according to Uganda police. ‘Strong evidence in form of witnesses and exhibits is available. In fact, the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Police are working together to ensure that the case is reinstituted.’ Reads the police statement

Ivan .N.Baliboola

PR and organisational diagnosis specialist

nbaliboola@gmail.com

nbaliboola.wordpress.com/

Disclaimer.

This article strictly offers academic insight meant to create awareness about crisis PR management in Uganda. Therefore, it should be used for educational purposes and not viewed as an attack on institutions or individuals. The writer assumes no responsibility for contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein.

What you did not know about wake up alarms: Here is how best to use them better

Africa is known for chronic poor time management. In fact some people in Africa seem to have two versions of time.The European version which is accurate and African version where you add about two hours to the agreed European time.  Today almost every electronic gadget has wake up alarms but why are people still late. The issue is not that alarm gadgets are not delivering. There is simply lack of the impeccable skills to effectively manage time with wake up alarm systems in Africa. At least everyone has used a wake-up alarm system in their life. It may have been a gadget, loud mosque speaker, or someone waking you up at a specific time of the day. This article gives tips on mastering the politics of wake up alarms and task reminders

Wake up alarms and task reminders require effective use. The user must be able to speak their technical language by ensuring that they have set the right time zones and hour cycles. Task reminders work just like wake up alarms. They simply remind you of any scheduled tasks for the day at the most appropriate time. These reminders can apply to meetings, cooking tasks, and events. Get gadgets that are able to have more battery time. Do not rely only on wake-up alarm systems that run on electricity with all this load shedding we have. Invest in gadgets with batteries you can easily replace or get solar. 

Understand your personal weakness. If it is never easy for you to get out of bed then snooze time settings must be frequent so you are irritated. For those with many gadgets, it is advisable you activate for example wake up alarms on your phone, TV, Radio, watch, Tab and laptop. This will help you get out of bed to switch off the alarms. You can not be in bed any longer if over five alarms have gone on in one house. Do not put them next to your bed.

If you  are the kind of person who wakes up to  snooze all the alarms and get back to bed then you need come up with more drastic measures. Plan to do house chores like ironing after an alarm goes on so you fight the resistance to sleep. I have some friends who have asked their friends to make daily wake-up call pledges. They call to wake up each other. The other drastic trick is to set the wake up alarm ten minutes to the exact time you have a class, meeting or appointment. There is a higher possibility that  will not snooze .This will mean you will jump out of bed  and if the worst comes to the worst  you do  general body cleaning on your way to the appointment. Have you ever been in a taxi and realised your neighbour is combing their hair, wearing perfume and applying makeup. These are things any one must do at home before they hit the road.

Some gadgets give you options to select an alarm tone of your choice and also turn up the volume. Always pick a very annoying alarm tone like those of trucks selling ice-cream. It is not totally a bad idea to use your favourite song as a wake up alarm tone if it does not get you more relaxed in bed. You may enjoy your favourite song and fail to get out of bed. Reward yourself every time you are not late because of a wake up alarm. This helps motivate you to master wake-up alarm system usage as a life skill.

Ivan .N.Baliboola

PR and organizational diagnosis specialist

nbaliboola@gmail.com

Twitter:@mediasurgeon

Wordpress:nbaliboola.wordpress.com/

Movie Review: Moulin Rouge

Movie Review: Moulin Rouge

 It is Romantic musical. It’s about a writer who falls in love with a beautiful courtesan .The courtesan is jealously lusted for by a Duke. The woman is not interested in the Duke despite his status and money. The rich Duke funds a musical presentation thinking the woman would be impressed   which is not the case. The Duke tries to kill the writer who falls love with the courtesan but fails. The main actors are Ewan mcgregor , John leguizamo and Nicole Kidman. It’s a Movie you will re-watch because of the love songs, storyline and costumes.

Ivan N Baliboola

 

Movie review: Albatross

A teenager called Beth blessed with reading becomes friends with Emilia, an aspiring novelist. Emilia gets into an affair with Beth’s father that later on threatens everything they ever shared. Beth’s Daddy soon refuses a date with his wife simply because he has started to fall for Emilia. Emilia constantly flirts with Beth’s daddy. They both go out  on  a number of  dates

Ugandans and their annoying invitation card etiquette.

It is a life skill to learn  invitation card etiquette .Two UK mothers became embroiled in a bitter Facebook battle over an invoice handed to one of their sons for missing the other's birthday party. Tanya Walsh and her partner Derek Nash were appalled when their son Alex, five, arrived home from school with a £15.95 bill for missing his classmate Charlie Lawrence’s big day at a local ski centre. After refusing to pay, Alex's parents were threatened that they would be taken to court. Since then Miss Walsh and Charlie's mother Julie Lawrence have become entangled in a war of words. Read full story .The story teaches us a lot about invitation card etiquette? It puts you in shoes of a   disappointed event organiser.

Whether it is baby shower, wedding reception, house warming, birthday party, dinner, graduation party, introduction ceremony, bridal shower, or award Gala, you will be sure that Ugandans will surely disappoint you on spot with invitation card etiquette. To some Ugandans the rules are humiliating as they feel restricted. It is truly Ugandan not to honour event card invitations. Invitation cards today carry rules on the dress code, programme, and right of admission especially numbers of people and their age bracket. Invitation cards help to ensure that the invited person have the best experience at the event. It is only proper that you follow instructions on these cards.

RSVP is one thing most people do not pay attention to on invitation cards. RSVP is French phrase Répondez s'il vous plaît to notify the invited guest to get back to organisers on any enquiries. It is unprofessional not to do anything about RSVP. The Phrase simply means please respond. Invited people are mandated to reply promptly. You have been chosen from millions to attend, so act like you understand that simple fact. Event organisers have to put a lot into consideration to pull off a great show. Feedback from invited guest is useful on things like planning for numbers, dietary arrangements, and security. Invited people must respond to RSVP whether they are attending or not.

Our poor reading culture just takes disrespect for invitation cards to yet another level. There is this time I had an event. The security team called me to help talk to a V.I.P who was causing a scene after he was denied entry. He had not carried his invitation card and seemed not apologetic that he had actually not carried his card. There was no other way of identifying who was invited and not. The card had clear instructions. Card holders had to carry the card to the Award gala. The card has specific dress code instructions but you are shocked to anger to see that someone has not even bothered to incorporate one colour of the day’s dress code. A card has ‘black tie’ but someone shows up in a T.shirt.When the bouncer does his job of asking you to go home and adjust, you cause a scene for all to see.

Some do not follow basic rules on cards which baffles any event organiser. We all feel let down if we do not get the respect and honour that we deserve. You send a relative an invitation card to your wedding reception and you are summoned to a clan meeting simply because it has limits on who should come. They feel it is automatic for their family to attend. Even when it is clear we are in harsh economic times where people invite manageable guests than shock on loans after inviting the entire world. Some even refuse to attend out of pride and anger. There are some who will just ignore the communication of this card admits only one (1) person and flood the event with their family. Imagine those who children when it is strictly an adult event. Event organisers have to run around like a headless chicken to set up a kids play area. It is as if rules are an inconvenience. Its Africa but time should still mean money. Even when the card has the programme, you will still have people come six hours after the official time.

Refusal to follow any invitation card etiquette is just inexcusable. Ugandans have always issued cards or received cards for different events. The levels of rules have increased but the culture is still the same. The lack of etiquette for even the e-cards invitations just shows that we need to do more. For Facebook event tool gives optional for someone to share feedback if they are attending, may attend or not attending. Surprisingly someone will confirm attendance but not show up for even a minute. Event organisers should reward those who respect invites for example recognise the best dressed guest according to the theme of the night and first guests to arrive. The idea of reminding invitees that their cards must be carried to the venue so they enter a raffle draws to win prizes could motivate many to respect card invitations.

Ivan .N.Baliboola

PR and organizational diagnosis specialist

nbaliboola@gmail.com

Twitter:@mediasurgeon

Wordpress:nbaliboola.wordpress.com/

Blogger:http://mediasurgeon.blogspot.com