By Juma Nsubuga
It was a moment of show of sisterly relations between Uganda and Tanzania as Uganda’s Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja met Tanzanian President Samia Suhulu Hassan!
Uncommon of her to hug guests, the Tanzanian leader accorded personal warm treatment to Nabbanja with the two principals hugging each other in Dar El Salaam.
This was during the Africa Heads of State Energy Summit where the Ugandan premier Nabbanja represented her boss President Museveni.
Clad in a cream hijab with a matching veil, Suluhu opened her arms widely as Nabbanja approached the venue. The two ladies then engaged in a moment of hugs and smiles before shaking their hands endlessly.
A moment later, President Suluhu had an impromptu photo opportunity with Nabbanja whose beaming face clearly depicted Uganda’s cordial relations with Tanzania.
Later, the two principals headed for the Summit as they chatted and while holding their hands briefly.
The theme of the summit is ‘Mission 300’ which aims to provide reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity to 300 Million Africans by 2030.
The Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit has brought together key players who can help extend electricity to more homes and businesses across Africa.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister used this occasion to hold bilateral meetings.
Among the meetings she held included one with Tanzania’s NSSF Director General Mashate John Mshoba with whom they discussed ways of strengthening ties with Uganda.
The meeting took place in Dar es Salaam at Hotel Johari Rotana Hotel and was attended by Uganda’s High commissioner to Tanzania Col. (Rtd) Fred Mwesigye and other technical staff from both countries.
Nabbanja briefed the Director General that Uganda wants to benchmark the progress of NSSF in Tanzania to inform Ugandans on how best they can improve the fund.
Nabbanja says that Uganda’s NSSF portfolio has grown and now the country needs to establish how the government of Tanzania operates with the Fund.
Masha informed Nabbanja that Tanzania operates both the Public Social Security Fund (PSSF) for public servants and National Social Security Fund (NSSF) for the private sector employees and that the country uses the funds from NSSF and PSSF to fund infrastructure projects in the country but later pays back the money.
He gave an example where they even entered in a partnership with the government and they constructed a toll-bridge over 340bn Tanzanian Shillings where NSSF contributed 60% of the money and the government added 40%.
“We have made several reforms in the management of the Fund that allows both the private sector and public sector to contribute to the fund” he told Nabbanja.
The Prime Minister is leading the Ugandan Delegation that includes the minister of state for energy Okasai Opolot, the PS ministry of Energy and Mineral development Eng. Irene Batebe among others.
The Africa Heads of State energy summit aims to strengthen collective efforts in addressing Africa’s energy challenges while adopting the Dar es Salaam declaration to ensure reliable, affordable and sustainable energy across the continent.
