Photo: Ayoub mzeeThe S.Africa High commission diplomatic staff -London
MEET THE DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE COMMONWEALTH
PHOTO: Ayoub mzeeMrs Florence Mugasha was appointed Deputy Secretary-General on May 1, 2002 having served as Head of Public Service and Secretary to Cabinet in the Office of the President of Uganda.
Mrs Florence Mugasha was Head of Public Service and Secretary to Cabinet in the Office of the President of Uganda from 1996 to 2002. She has had a distinguished career in the Ugandan Public Service commencing in 1972, rising to the rank of Permanent Secretary in 1990 and eventually being appointed in November 1996 to the most senior public service position in the Uganda Government, a position she held for over five years.
Mrs Mugasha was the first woman Head of Public Service in Uganda, and in the course of her duties and professional career, she was instrumental in spear-heading Public Service Reforms. In her role as Head of the Public Service and Secretary to Cabinet, she provided leadership and direction to the Ugandan Public Service and policy advice to the President of Uganda on the entire range of issues of national concern.
Mrs Mugasha represented Uganda at a number of important regional and international meetings, including the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and the Commonwealth summits in Edinburgh in 1997, Durban in 1999 and Coolum in 2002. She has also been associated closely with the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management as a member of Board of Directors, and the African Association for Public Administration and Management (AAPAM) as an Executive Member.
Mrs Mugasha has served as a Resource Person and Facilitator at numerous international conferences and seminars addressing various themes on Public Service Reforms and running of Cabinet, in many countries worldwide, including Addis Ababa Ethiopia, Singapore, Beijing China, New Zealand, London UK, South Africa, Washington DC USA, Malawi, and United Nations in New York.
Mrs Mugasha was a member of the Board of Directors for Uganda Management Institute from 1997 to 2002 and a member of the Board of Directors for Uganda Aids Commission from 1996 to 2001. She was appointed Chancellor of the Uganda Management Institute in 2006 by President Yoweri Museveni.
Mrs Florence Mugasha assumed her duties as Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth on 1st May 2002 and thus became the second woman to serve in that capacity in the Commonwealth Secretariat. She is responsible for political, legal, constitutional and human rights issues. Her responsibilities also include youth affairs, human resources, corporate services, IT and other aspects of Commonwealth Secretariat administration.
[Acknowledgement: commonwealth secreteriat]
You might be living in the UK but you dont know who are the members of the cabinet: Labour's Cabinet
ubuntu: webwatch
If you want to know more about how the transport system is run in the UK, take a look at this guide:Understanding the transport systemhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/A1183312 Having difficulties finding a dentist in your area? Find out more:How to get dental treatment on the NHShttp://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/A2451124 Find out more about the legal aid procedure in this guide:Understanding the court system and tribunalshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/A2066951 Finding a home in rural areas can be difficult, but this guide can give you ideas on how to become a homeowner:How rural communities tackle affordable housinghttp://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/A3193571
Universities should give students freedom to think
By Fredrick Longino
A few weeks ago columns in newspapers were dominated by headlines about a last minute cancellation of a public lecture at the University of Dar es salaam. The political students network had organised a public lecture where the Kigoma Member of Parliament Zitto Kabwe was expected to give a lecture. However, the University administration the Vice-Chancellor in particular, called it off at the last minute on grounds that there were some procedures that were not followed. I suppose this didn't come as a surprise to some people given the publicity the honourable Zitto Kabwe had received in a few months especially since his suspension from the National Assembly which the House speaker Hon Samuel Sitta said it was due to gross breach of Parliamentary code of ethics, although some people disapprove Sitta's reasons. In my opinion the decision by the university to cancel the public lecture was awful, unreasonable, and unjustifiable and largely lacked both academic and professional maturity. Consequently this made me ask myself, what is the point of going to University? Of course I know it is to learn and get a degree. But, in my opinion a university ought to be much more than that. University shouldn't just be an extension of a school with harder exams and a new set of customs and traditions (mazoea) to follow. It should be a place that releases the spirit and the intellect, not imprisons them, that opens students' eyes to a world bigger and more exciting than that bounded by syllabuses, essays and exams. A university ought to be where students can start to realise their own potentials, to make their own decisions and mistakes. The way I see it now all these are under threat. More and more particularly public Universities are drawing up contracts imposing on their students a gloomy code of conduct and hard work, breach of which could result in suspension and expulsion as it happened a few months ago when students boycotted classes because the government had cut down to 60 per cent of their sponsorships, leaving them with 40 per cent quaota to meet. The effect of these contracts is to turn the clock back to the compulsion of school, to ensure that students are not tempted to deviate from the rigid, unimaginative paths of learning laid down. Most objectionably, they remove from students the right to exercise any discretion, to work out for themselves what is best for them, to be responsible by their own volition and not because they have been forced into it. I find particularly unpleasant a clause that obliges the students to conform to seemingly unreasonable rules and regulations. And if you don't conform, you have agreed to be expelled or otherwise unilaterally punished. I can't begin to imagine how ?participate appropriately' would be defined; but the penalty for inappropriateness could be suspension or expulsion. I understand there has been criticism of the contracts (incidentally, I am by no means sure they are legally binding) because they impose obligations on the students and none on the university to provide adequate teaching. Some lecturers in Tanzania tend to travel haphazardly to undertake their private research projects during semesters without due consideration that their students will miss lectures. For example, a friend handed in his PhD thesis a year ago at the University of Dar es Salaam but to date hasn't been notified of a date for viva; no one from the university has explained to him the reason for such a delay. This shows how some of the university academic calendars are in lecturers' pockets. That may be covered by the law anyway; in the UK in 2005/6, a student who claimed that the course he took had not conformed to the prospectus won compensation from Wolverhampton University. Can this sort of thing happen in Tanzania? But by making contracts comform does not mean any point. The very existence piece of paper that so regulates a student's daily life is pernicious. If there is to be such a document, it should instead set out a student's human rights: to sleep late, to miss lectures, to have fun instead of studying, and yes, to fail exams because what of students-some of my friends at schools and universities-who preferred to have a good time most of the year and then sweat ferociously towards the end passed their exams with flying colours. That sure isn't studying diligently. Out you go. And the student whose late nights result in rushing into lectures after they have begun? Coming late isn't attending promptly. Expelled. And what about clever students who believe that they can do better by going to the library than by attending second-rate lectures? Sorry, that's no excuse. That is what universities are for!
THE LABOUR PARTY
Dear friend,
The Queen's Speech sets out a programme for change to respond to the rising aspirations of the British people.Our goal is to provide the best chances for people to make the most of themselves and their potential - a Britain where people rise as far as their talents take them and where all the talents of each of us can contribute to the wellbeing of all.That is why we believe in supporting all parents with children and not just some. It is why we believe in investing in the educational chances of all children not just some.And it is by listening to the British people that we are responding to their rising aspirations in this Queen's Speech, with change to support hard-working families and help break down barriers to opportunity that prevent people from realising their full potential.That's why the Queen's Speech will continue the work of change with change to help make housing more affordable; change to help parents with the pressures of bringing up their families; and change to extend educational opportunity to all our young people to ensure that young people stay in education or training until age 18.And alongside measures to meet rising aspirations, change to build stronger communities, and tackle crime and terrorism.This programme for change will continue to be built on the foundation of a strong and stable economy, with low inflation, sound public finances, high levels of employment, and interest rates kept as low as possible.My starting point is - and always will be - the concerns, the struggles and the hopes and ambitions of families in every part of our country.The priorities of Britain's hard-working families who play by the rules are my priorities - education, the NHS, security, affordable housing, a better balance between work and family life; and a strong economy - and these are the priorities of today's Queen's Speech
Gordon Brown MP
Labour's Policies
Asylum and immigration
Full employment in a global economy
Britain in the world
Climate change and energy
ubuntu: webwatch
If you want to know more about how the transport system is run in the UK, take a look at this guide:Understanding the transport systemhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/A1183312 Having difficulties finding a dentist in your area? Find out more:How to get dental treatment on the NHShttp://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/A2451124 Find out more about the legal aid procedure in this guide:Understanding the court system and tribunalshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/A2066951 Finding a home in rural areas can be difficult, but this guide can give you ideas on how to become a homeowner:How rural communities tackle affordable housinghttp://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/A3193571
Universities should give students freedom to think
By Fredrick Longino
A few weeks ago columns in newspapers were dominated by headlines about a last minute cancellation of a public lecture at the University of Dar es salaam. The political students network had organised a public lecture where the Kigoma Member of Parliament Zitto Kabwe was expected to give a lecture. However, the University administration the Vice-Chancellor in particular, called it off at the last minute on grounds that there were some procedures that were not followed. I suppose this didn't come as a surprise to some people given the publicity the honourable Zitto Kabwe had received in a few months especially since his suspension from the National Assembly which the House speaker Hon Samuel Sitta said it was due to gross breach of Parliamentary code of ethics, although some people disapprove Sitta's reasons. In my opinion the decision by the university to cancel the public lecture was awful, unreasonable, and unjustifiable and largely lacked both academic and professional maturity. Consequently this made me ask myself, what is the point of going to University? Of course I know it is to learn and get a degree. But, in my opinion a university ought to be much more than that. University shouldn't just be an extension of a school with harder exams and a new set of customs and traditions (mazoea) to follow. It should be a place that releases the spirit and the intellect, not imprisons them, that opens students' eyes to a world bigger and more exciting than that bounded by syllabuses, essays and exams. A university ought to be where students can start to realise their own potentials, to make their own decisions and mistakes. The way I see it now all these are under threat. More and more particularly public Universities are drawing up contracts imposing on their students a gloomy code of conduct and hard work, breach of which could result in suspension and expulsion as it happened a few months ago when students boycotted classes because the government had cut down to 60 per cent of their sponsorships, leaving them with 40 per cent quaota to meet. The effect of these contracts is to turn the clock back to the compulsion of school, to ensure that students are not tempted to deviate from the rigid, unimaginative paths of learning laid down. Most objectionably, they remove from students the right to exercise any discretion, to work out for themselves what is best for them, to be responsible by their own volition and not because they have been forced into it. I find particularly unpleasant a clause that obliges the students to conform to seemingly unreasonable rules and regulations. And if you don't conform, you have agreed to be expelled or otherwise unilaterally punished. I can't begin to imagine how ?participate appropriately' would be defined; but the penalty for inappropriateness could be suspension or expulsion. I understand there has been criticism of the contracts (incidentally, I am by no means sure they are legally binding) because they impose obligations on the students and none on the university to provide adequate teaching. Some lecturers in Tanzania tend to travel haphazardly to undertake their private research projects during semesters without due consideration that their students will miss lectures. For example, a friend handed in his PhD thesis a year ago at the University of Dar es Salaam but to date hasn't been notified of a date for viva; no one from the university has explained to him the reason for such a delay. This shows how some of the university academic calendars are in lecturers' pockets. That may be covered by the law anyway; in the UK in 2005/6, a student who claimed that the course he took had not conformed to the prospectus won compensation from Wolverhampton University. Can this sort of thing happen in Tanzania? But by making contracts comform does not mean any point. The very existence piece of paper that so regulates a student's daily life is pernicious. If there is to be such a document, it should instead set out a student's human rights: to sleep late, to miss lectures, to have fun instead of studying, and yes, to fail exams because what of students-some of my friends at schools and universities-who preferred to have a good time most of the year and then sweat ferociously towards the end passed their exams with flying colours. That sure isn't studying diligently. Out you go. And the student whose late nights result in rushing into lectures after they have begun? Coming late isn't attending promptly. Expelled. And what about clever students who believe that they can do better by going to the library than by attending second-rate lectures? Sorry, that's no excuse. That is what universities are for!
THE LABOUR PARTY
Dear friend,
The Queen's Speech sets out a programme for change to respond to the rising aspirations of the British people.Our goal is to provide the best chances for people to make the most of themselves and their potential - a Britain where people rise as far as their talents take them and where all the talents of each of us can contribute to the wellbeing of all.That is why we believe in supporting all parents with children and not just some. It is why we believe in investing in the educational chances of all children not just some.And it is by listening to the British people that we are responding to their rising aspirations in this Queen's Speech, with change to support hard-working families and help break down barriers to opportunity that prevent people from realising their full potential.That's why the Queen's Speech will continue the work of change with change to help make housing more affordable; change to help parents with the pressures of bringing up their families; and change to extend educational opportunity to all our young people to ensure that young people stay in education or training until age 18.And alongside measures to meet rising aspirations, change to build stronger communities, and tackle crime and terrorism.This programme for change will continue to be built on the foundation of a strong and stable economy, with low inflation, sound public finances, high levels of employment, and interest rates kept as low as possible.My starting point is - and always will be - the concerns, the struggles and the hopes and ambitions of families in every part of our country.The priorities of Britain's hard-working families who play by the rules are my priorities - education, the NHS, security, affordable housing, a better balance between work and family life; and a strong economy - and these are the priorities of today's Queen's Speech
Gordon Brown MP
Labour's Policies
Asylum and immigration
Full employment in a global economy
Britain in the world
Climate change and energy
