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Nation Media Group is a Kenya-based company. In addition to the Monitor newspaper, it operates a television station Nation TV (NTV) through its trading subsidiary in Uganda, registered as Africa Broadcasting (Uganda) Limited - NTV P.O. Box 35933, KAMPALA.
We have heard that one of the big men in UCC, Mr Godfrey Mutabazi at the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) was intrumental in pulling the strings, venturing into areas considered shady, to get this licence. The writer below briefly refers to this.
When we were checking this story, one intelligence man heard the name Godfrey Mutabazi and made comments that "ha! with Mutabazi, he can get you anything, it is just a question of money". However we have not yet accessed the files to see for ourselves as of today.
We have carried stories before, where foreign companies like Warid Telecom, Barclays etc are making their Ugandan workers really suffer. Year after year, they report gigantic profits but continue to treat Ugandan workers like slaves, paying them a pittance.
Ugandan workers have little protection since labour laws are either non-existent or not enforced. This is an atmosphere that encourages disreputable companies to exploit our people to the maximum with total impunity.
To make matters worse, the president himself is the leading promoter of dubious foreign companies, claiming that they are the key to economic development.
It is obvious that in a third world economy like ours, local capacities may be too weak to tackle the economic tasks at hand. But the question then is, what kind of policies do we pursue to solve that problem? If we look at it critically, do the kind of foreign "investors" and private agreements favored by State House help the country in the long run?
Because regardless of their policies on paper, in practice there is no transfer of skills, capacity, knowledge or even wealth (a decent salary), so the original problem is not solved. These "investors" are out to make a quick killing. Ugandan workers are just a source of cheap labor to do the grunt work while they recoup their investments. Should they ever choose to pull out, we shall be back to square one. Ugandans will be left just as incapable, unskilled and poor as ever. What kind of development strategy is that?
The person below is crying about unequal treatment in NTV. The relatively huge salaries are not the problem, it is good if companies pay employees well. The problem is apparent discrimination against Ugandans.
I am an employee with NTV Uganda. I have recently gotten frustrated by the number of people who come in and out of the establishment, it started at the time when the station was closed down for reasons still unclear till today.
Most of us who had made a bond at the time thought it was because of the shody methods that the licence to broadcast was attained, it seemed mythical at the time only to be shut down more than twice to the same effect.
Back to the issue at hand, we have Kenyan managers in the key positions, like head of news, head of television, financial controller (based in Kenya), and the like. These managers pay themselves abnormal sums of money.
The general manager earns 12 million Ugandan shillings as a consultant and another 12 million as an employee, with housing health, education for his children and other benefits (in my opinion all the GM does is ask for sexual favours from his subordinates, those who do not give in willingly are shaved by the axe.)
The news manager takes home 12 million a month (6 million as a consultant and 6 million as an employee) with many benefits included
The marketing manager takes home 2 million and 10% of revenue from sales, his subordinates do not earn a salary and take home 5% of individual earnings.
The list goes on and on.....for example people doing the same job as newscast editors earn a difference of 50% because one is Kenyan and other Ugandan.
I am currently taking home barely 200,000. At the end of every month I have to go and ask for pocket money from my parents to help me survive.
There is talk of NTV being the top of its trade but with over 70% of the pioneer team resigned and others fired for no reason clear to anyone but the "managment"
I think Radio Katwe can make it clear to the people out there that NTV is turning on your world and turning off its employees.
For God and my Country Uganda
Readers Comments:
17 Jun 2008
1.
This is a comment for the article on the frustrated NTV employee
For the sums the managers are getting either they are very naive or very smart, these chaps use surveillence equipment exactly the same as the equipment KCC uses at the traffic lights and run around making constant claims to have spent milions of dollars in investment. The picture quality is horrible and the sound quality even worse. They are hood winking us these so called foreign managers.
I think these guys are taking eveyone for a ride. Thank you radio katwe for bringing light onto this
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