This study examined the application of mediation as an alternative dispute resolution method in Uganda particularly in the High Court Commercial Division. The study specifically sought to; i) examine the application of mediation as an alternative dispute resolution method; ii) establish the effectiveness of mediation as an alternative dispute resolution method in Uganda; and iii) establish the challenges being faced in applying mediation as an alternative dispute resolution at the Commercial Court Division. The study employed a blend of case study design and cross sectional survey design to achieve best results. 32 respondents participated in the study, majority of whom (15 respondents) were drawn from judges and registrars of the commercial court, followed by 6 advocates who appear mostly before the commercial court, 7 accredited mediators and 4 litigants. Study findings indicate that though mediation has been made mandatory at the commercial court, there is still need for sensitization of people on the mediation rules and availability of ADR as a mode of disposing of Court cases. Similarly, a number of judges, registrars, magistrates and advocates trained in mediation in an effort to have experts in mediation. Part of the effectiveness of mediation has been to reduce case backlog, help conflicting parties find a solution acceptable to both and hence maintain a relationship after the case. Mediation has also been successful in terms of cost and time effectiveness, increased transparency and public trust in the judicial system especially at the commercial court. The study established that mediation still faces a number of challenges like advocates who prefer the adversarial system and advise their clients to go for ordinary litigation or stall the mediation process until the stipulated time for mediation is over. There is still a need for more sensitization of Ugandans regarding mediation. The study concludes that the application of mediation process at the commercial court though in its infancy is moving in the right direction. The study recommends review of the current legal framework to bring it at the same level with emerging trends in society, increase funding for mediation and sensitization of the community on the availability of ADR at the Commercial Court Division.

This study investigated the effect of remittances on Uganda’s economic growth using annual data for the period 1986 to 2017. In this study, the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model was used. The variables that were considered consisted of real GDP per capita, remittances per unit of labor, real effective exchange rate, foreign direct investment per unit of labor, gross capital formation per unit of labor, human capital per unit of labor and public debt per unit of labor. According to the ARDL model results; remittances showed a significant negative effect on economic growth at 5 percent level and the same was found in the short run but insignificant at 5 percent. The study also noted that even though economic growth might float in the short run, it adjusts by 59.3 percent to close the gap between the present level and the long run equilibrium level. Thus, the Ugandan Government is recommended to train the public in financial planning and business management such that remittances can effectively harness economic growth. The Government is also encouraged to support any efforts aimed at improving domestic financial institutions, since strong institutions seem to be better at unlocking the potential for remittances to contribute to growth faster.

The study examined the legal control of misconduct by undercover law enforcement officers. The general objective of the study was to assess the adequacy of the legal controls in place in Uganda in preventing, deterring, and remedying misconduct by undercover state agents during undercover operations. The study adopted convenience sampling in selecting the key informants in order to ensure that key informants possessed the required knowledge to participate in the study and to overcome challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. Purposive sampling technique was used to ensure diversity. The final sample consisted of nine key informants and seventy members of the public. The primary data collection tools were an interview guide to conduct in-depth interviews of key informants and a questionnaire that was answered by other respondents. The respondents answered the questionnaire anonymously. The key findings of the study revealed that law enforcement agencies in Uganda use undercover operations during investigations. The study also revealed that there is no specific statute or regulations governing the initiation, supervision, use and termination of undercover operations. It was also established that though Uganda has laws that regulate investigations by law enforcement agencies, there are various weaknesses in these laws especially the failure of the laws to expressly regulate undercover operations. Other weaknesses in the legal framework include the lack of internal rules and procedures on the initiation, supervision and termination of undercover operations, failure to enforce rules and regulations that do exist, failure by the Inspectorate of Government to provide independent oversight to law enforcement agencies contrary to its legal mandate and practice of shielding law enforcement agents from incurring the personal consequences of their misconduct. The study advanced various solutions to improve the aforementioned legal framework. The recommendations include, enacting a Covert Investigations Act to regulate undercover policing in Uganda so as to clarify how undercover operations are initiated, supervised and terminated by law enforcement agencies and establishing an Independent Inspector General Office for Law enforcement agencies to ensure independent oversight of the use of investigative powers by law enforcement agencies in Uganda , among others.

This study addresses the contribution of the department of Preforming Arts and Film, Makerere University, to the development of the Uganda Police Force (UPF) Band. To do this, the researcher identified the alumni of PAF who work with UPF, especially the Band, to examine their contributions towards the development of this band. I used a qualitative research methodology for data collection. In employing this methodology, I interacted with my respondents to share their experiences and views about this topic. This methodology demanded that I use interviewing, recording, participant observation and documentary analysis to gather data. This study established that PAF has contributed immensely towards the development of UPF Band. This contribution can be seen through the training of officers in music theory and practicals which they apply during the Band’s performances. The officers also acquire leadership skills, as they interact with fellow students and lecturers, which they have transferred into the Band. Therefore, to understand how the UPF Band has developed, one needs to put into consideration the contribution of different stakeholders.

Despite the availability of effective interventions, malaria remains one of the most important diseases in Uganda, causing significant morbidity, mortality and negative socio-economic impact. According to the Uganda Malaria Indicator Survey (UMIS) report of 2015, malaria is responsible for between 30 to 50 percent of outpatient visits, 15 to 20 percent of admissions, and 9 to 14 percent of inpatient deaths. Both Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) and Insecticide Treated Net usage if well managed, significantly reduces the rate of malaria transmission. However, indoor residual spraying has been identified to be associated with a comparatively lesser malarial infection rate than Insecticide Treated Net usage. A comparison of infection rate across 15 districts in mid northern Uganda indicates that infection rate was three times higher in the non IRS districts of Lira, Otuke, Alebtong, Dokolo and Amolatar than in the IRS districts of Apac, Kole, Oyam, Gulu and Agago which were sprayed six months prior to December 2014 UMIS data collection. In the districts without the IRS intervention, 67% of households had at least a child testing positive of malaria compared to 20% of households in districts where IRS was implemented. This study examined the relationship between malaria infection rate among children below the age of five in households exposed to either one or both Insecticide Treated Net usage and Indoor Residual Praying as vector control measures. A total of 532 households with children under the age of five, were included in the study to identify the malaria preventive measure associated with least malaria prevalence rate. The study provides relevant insights in identifying factors forex plaining the 2015 malaria outbreak in northern Uganda. Using data from the Uganda Malaria Indicators survey of 2014-15 for which blood samples from children were tested for malaria parasites using Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) and microscopic blood smear test for malaria, five selected socio economic factors were examined and their effects on household malaria infection. A logit regression analysis revealed that the malaria infection rate in Northern Uganda is associated with housing quality (OR= 0.552* and P-vale=0.061), Households’ wealth index (OR=0.992 and P-value=0.442), spraying of dwellings (OR=0.166*** and P-Value =0.000), type of residence (OR=0.400* and P-vale=0.070), ratio of household members to number of ITNs (OR=0.748*** and P-vale =0.027) and Number of children sleeping under ITN previous night. Therefore, the malaria outbreak in the former IRS districts in Northern Uganda between April and July of 2015, few months after government’s mass distribution of ITN, had a lot to do with; i)Poor housing quality characterizing the rural northern Uganda (mainly made up of; grass thatched roofs, mud walls and dust floors) which affects longevity of the IRS chemicals especially when people smear their walls and floors. Poor housing quality also affects proper net maintenance and provide habitat for resting mosquitoes due to cracked walls and many opening in the house, ii) Other social factors that affects net use in households such as; ratio of household members to net, lack of rooms and beds leave people with option of sharing nets. As a recommendation therefore, for any large malaria control programme, it is important that; (i) Continuous mass malaria sensitization and awareness campaign tailored to specific demographic and cultural sections of the community is implemented to enhance adoptive and behavioral change, (ii) further research on efficacy different between irritant and non-irritant insecticides used be considered in ensuring that most effective method or chemical is used, (iii) and lastly; malaria eradication can never be achieved without improved housing or dwellings. This is due to a number of health factors associated with good dwelling.

The overall purpose of this study is analyzing the effect of Kinyara out-grower scheme on household food security. Specifically, the study aimed at determining the level of food insecurity among sugarcane growers in Kinyara, studying their socio-economic status and then assessing the effect of sugar cane growing on food insecurity in Kinyara. This study utilized an exploratory research design involving qualitative and quantitative data. This design was deemed appropriate for this study since it seeks to provide insights and outstanding effects of the out-grower scheme to the household food insecurity or the factors affecting food security amongst the out-grower farmers the causes of food insecurity to the sugarcane out grower farmers and the possible solutions to the food insecurity amongst the sugarcane out growers. A sample size of 240 respondents was computed using the Taro Yamane’s formula. The study also accounted for a 5% non-response. Respondents were selected on the basis of simple random sampling where each farmer was assigned an equal chance of selection into the sample. The one-way ANOVA was estimated to find out the effect of sugarcane growing scheme at Kinyara sugarcane works on food security. Results showed that sugarcane growers were food-insecure as related to non-sugarcane growers who were found to have much of their land subjected to farming food crops. Besides, sugarcane growing, sugarcane growers need to put aside part of their land for food production, else much of the incomes from the sugarcane growing would be spent into buying food from the market thus extorting much of their surpluses and leaving them at a higher cost and poor standards of leaving.

Piggery farming is one of the most productive enterprise which ensure constant inflow of income for the farmers and revenue for the country. It also employs thousands of youths in the country. However, piggery farming is considered to be the riskiest enterprise because of its the susceptibility to African swine fever which is an enemy of swine. This study investigated economic implications of African swine fever (ASF) outbreak among piggery farmers in Bululu sub county, Kalaki district. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods for data collection. Random sampling was used to select 80 piggery farmers who participated in this study. A survey method was used to collect data and a structured questionnaire was used. Quantitative data was analyzed using STATA 13. The study revealed that majority of farmers involved in piggery farming were male, and they were keeping majorly local breeds by use of semi-intensive management system although some few were using intensive system. Study also showed that majority of pig farmers were about existence of ASF. Results also showed that each farmer before the outbreak of African swine fever was keeping on average a total of 16.8 pigs. This total average includes sows, boars, gilts and piglets. However, during the study, it was found that each farmer lost on average a total of 10.3 pigs to ASF. This implies that, individual farmer lost on average sum of USh1,922,628. This was because during study, an average price of the sow was USh386,875, boar was USh449,375, gilts were sold at USh163,500, while piglets were each sold for USh71,313. Hence in summary, the study revealed that, piggery farmers in Bululu sub county, Kalaki district were predominantly male, who were within the active age group and married, without formal education, kept local breeds of pigs under semi-intensive system. They were highly knowledgeable about ASF, but did not know real cause and control measures. They also suffered high losses of pigs and expected revenue from their sale due to outbreak of ASF. Hence, the study recommended the need to promote adoption of improved breeds, sensitization of piggery farmers on the cause of ASF, educate piggery farmers on control measures of ASF, especially bio-security measures and establish proper early warning system to inform piggery farmers of the out break

The main objective of this study was to determine the factors responsible for the youth unemployment in Uganda. The data for this study was obtained from the Uganda National Household Survey 2016/17 collected by Uganda National Bureau of Statistics. A binary logistic regression method was employed to analyze a sample of 5,912 respondents for the ages between 18-30 years. The results obtained from the analysis of binary logistic regression indicate that sex, region, residence, education level, age and marital status significantly influence youth employment status in Uganda while health was not important in the model. The findings of the study indicated that Ugandan youth who attended post-secondary education are more unemployed compared to those with no education. An increase in age decreases unemployment level while the married youth have less chances of being unemployed as compared to the divorced ones. The study also showed that northern youth faced lower unemployment rate compared to other regions and urban youth increased their chances of unemployment compared to the rural ones. Finally males had the possibility to increase the chance of remaining in unemployment. It is therefore from this that we recommend that government should put in place affirmative action measures such as extra training, sensitization of potential employers to enable males compete favourably with females in the labour market. JEL Codes; C21 D01 J21 J23 J64 Key words: youth unemployment; determinants; binomial logit; Uganda; UNHS 2016/17

The importance of digitalization of payments systems cannot be understated. Digital payments invoke greater financial inclusion and enhance efficient flow of funds for payment of goods and services. The objective of the study was to understand the determinants of digital payment usage in Uganda. Specifically, the study assessed whether internet access, phone ownership, mode of receiving wages and socio demographic factors determined digital payment usage in Uganda. This study utilized a logistic regression model to analyse cross-sectional data from the 2021 Global Findex database. The empirical results indicated that internet access, phone ownership, receiving wages digitally, education level and area of residence significantly determined digital payment usage in Uganda. Surprisingly, the study found that, income, age and gender do not significantly predict the likelihood of adopting digital payments in Uganda which could indicate no discrimination in terms of income, gender and age in Uganda’s financial sector. The empirical results are comparable with the research findings in similar studies. The study exposes some areas that need further attention by financial institutions and policymakers, specifically in regard to internet access and wage payment.

Background: Research has shown that immunization has played an important role in reducing the burden of immunizeable diseases among children under five worldwide. Examples, measles, tetanus, pneumonia, polio, etc. which has contributed to high mortality rate among children under five. The study therefore, seeks to determine the coverage, knowledge of mothers on immunization, immunizeable disease and attitudes of mothers‟ on immunization. Methodology: A cross sectional study was used to collect data from mothers of children under five years. Villages were selected using stratified sampling from the parish, followed by simple random method. List of households with mothers of children under five were drawn from the selected villages and 200 mothers were selected for the study. Data was collected through face to face interviews using a pre-tested structured questionnaires, the data was coded and entered using the EpiData software and analyzed using the STATA. The data then presented using simple graphics analysis (bar graphs and tables), expressed in percentages and proportions. Univariate analysis and descriptive statistical methods was used to describe all variables used to determine the coverage, knowledge and attitudes of mothers on immunization. Results: In the study, the coverage recorded were; 100% (200/200) BCG, 81% (162/200) polio, 76% (152/200) DPT, 74% (148/200) Measles, and 60% (120/200) PCV10 vaccines. Mothers knowledge; 99.5% (199/200) stated that immunization is important and protect children against diseases, 87% (174/200) knew the time to begin child immunization, 69 % (138/200) said there is vaccine side effects, 67% (134/200) said fever being the most common side effect, 89% (178/200) said that, they managed side effects by bathing children using cold water, 60% (120/200) said that they received immunization information from VHTs and 62.5% (125/200) said health workers doesn‟t conduct health education. Diseases known by most mothers were: Measles; 89% (178/200), Tetanus; 82.5% (164/200) and Polio; 78.5% (157/200). Mothers‟ attitudes; 99% (198/200) responded that vaccine is safe, and 93.5% (187/200) mentioned that vaccine side effect can‟t stop them from taking children for immunization. Conclusion: The immunization coverage in Agik-dak Sub County is low. However, mothers have adequate knowledge and good attitudes towards childhood immunization. Therefore, there is need to increase awareness on the importance of immunization services to mothers by involving village health team and conducting health education by health workers.