By Appolonia Uwanziga

Rwanda Small Holder Specialty Coffee Company (RWASHOSCCO), a farmer-owned coffee marketing, exporting, and roasting firm, has launched 'online coffee auctioning'.

The company launched the online auction of 24 Rwanda's best 2016 coffees selected by national and international jurors, on Wednesday, at Neo Café Kiyovu in Kigali.

Angelique Karekezi, the managing director of RWASHOSCCO, said the auction attracted various buyers from different corners of the world.

Three companies participated in the auction, including Schluter from South Africa, Melbourne Coffee Merchants and 32 Cup Europe.

The average price was $8.8 per kilogramme which Karekezi described as good compared to the normal coffee price sold this year – at $5.

She added that their goal was to sell the coffee in another mode while seeking ways to improve quality and to address existing challenges.

"This was a trial phase and we hope that in the future we will continue and search for good prices for our farmers," Karekezi said.

Anastase Minani, the chairman of RWASHOSCCO, said the auction was not only about prices but also creating international awareness of the company and farmers cooperatives.

"This is a new way of marketing our coffee because we now have excellent coffee marketed internationally. We hope that we will continue to market it and we encourage our cooperatives to produce such kind of coffee," Minani said.

Japhet Habimana, a member of COCAGI Cooperative from Rusizi, said online auctioning would help them to market their coffee worldwide.

Auctioning online will help us to get reliable buyers in efforts to make Rwanda's coffee more competitive on the international market.

Zambian mealie meal has flooded the resort town of Victoria Falls despite a government ban on the importation of the basic commodity.

The Financial Gazette established that traders were making brisk business selling Zambian mealie meal at popular markets, while others moved around Chinotimba and Mkhosana townships on bicycles selling the product.

Some local shops also had stocks of the Zambian product, which sold for nearly half the price of locally produced mealie meal.

"It is the price and the quantity that matters," said a local trader.

"It all makes economic sense for the suffering residents," he added.

Investigations indicated that Zambian traders brought the mealie meal from across the border daily on bicycles for sale in Victoria Falls.

Some shop owners were now repacking the cheap Zambian mealie meal into smaller packages for resell to impoverished residents for a dollar a packet.

Thembinkosi Ndlovu, the southern region chairperson of the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe, said Zambian mealie meal was being smuggled into the country.

"This is a violation of the country's laws. This is smuggling and I have alerted my national leadership in Harare. We want to find out how it is finding its way across the border when the government has prohibited the importation of mealie meal," said Ndlovu.

"We have to find out what is happening at that border (Livingstone) otherwise we are in full support of the ministerial ban. Our fear now is that the cheap mealie meal will flow to every corner of Zimbabwe, greatly threatening the survival of local millers. The government's statutory instrument is intended to protect local producers who have been under threat from foreign companies," said Ndlovu.

In June this year, the government gazetted Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016 which prohibited the importation of a wide range of goods unless under licence granted by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

The influx of Zambian maize products comes amid revelations that the milling industry in the southern part of Zimbabwe is in a crisis due to an acute shortage of grain.

The Grain Marketing Board, the sole government entity charged with procuring and distributing grain in the country, is now unable to supply grain due to the scarcity of the product.

Local millers are battling to import grain from neighbouring countries such as Zambia and South Africa and even Europe due to financial constraints.

A floating power plant isn't something you see every day. The massive ships look like plants you'd see on land complete with tall exhaust stacks—except these plants are bobbing in the ocean.

They might look odd, but for people in growing economies around the world, the ships are a welcome sight. The floating power plants can dock in the harbor, crank up their turbines and start quickly generating electricity for customers on land.

Many of these ships can be found in Africa and Asia, where electricity is often more scarce than labor and investments and power outages regularly shut down work. But they could also be used to help supply electricity to the more than 1 billion people who don't have any.

"The transmission speed of the generated electricity has become critical as the world's demand for energy increases with each passing day," says Osman M. Karadeniz, chairman of Karpowership, one of the world's largest powership operators.

The numbers bear out his argument. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that world energy consumption will increase 48 percent by 2040. Karpowership, an affiliate of Turkey's Karadeniz Energy Group, is building the kind of massive and mobile equipment that can quickly start meeting that demand. The company is planning to increase its installed capacity to 2.5 gigawatts [GW], enough to power nearly 17 million homes.

A key part of that plan is the company's new Khan class of powerships, the largest such vessels ever built. Each of the vessels is three football fields long. They can generate 486 megawatts [MW], which is more than any previous powerships.

Karpowership recently partnered with GE to supply the transformers for four new Khan-class ship. The transformers send the power the ships generate over wires to local transmission grids, and from there it goes out to end users. GE designed the transformers specifically with the powerships in mind. They have a coating that protects against salt and moisture and can work in temperatures ranging from -20 to 50 degrees Celsius. The devices, which GE makes in Gebze, Turkey, have reinforced mechanical connectors for protection against sea oscillations— a weather phenomenon that's a result of fluctuations in atmospheric pressure at sea level.

Karpowership's power plant vessels only require a depth of 5 meters (16 feet) to operate at ports, which make them suitable for multi-island countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines that have long coastlines. Karpowership's 125 MW Zeynep Sultan ship, for example, is currently berthed and supplying electricity to Amurang, Indonesia, and similar vessels are operating in Africa and the Middle East.

While there may be conflicts, poverty and disease in Africa, President Barack Obama says the broader trajectory of the continent is unmistakable: “Africa is on the move."

At the U.S.-Africa Business Forum in New York, Obama said Africa is "home to some of the fastest-growing economies in the world and a middle class projected to grow to more than a billion customers – an Africa of telecom companies and clean-tech startups and Silicon savannahs, all powered by the youngest population anywhere on the planet.”

One of those young Africans, Frances Udukwu from Nigeria, told VOA what she hopes to highlight during her one-year reign as Miss Africa USA.

“So besides exposing the beauty, the talent and the capabilities of the African women in the diaspora, I see my duty as Miss Africa USA as an opportunity to impact where I am from, which is my homeland in Africa. But also to pay respects to where I reside which is the United States.”

She added “My personal favorite is being able to touch the lives of many young girls and women across not only Africa, but in the States as well,” Udukwu said.

Udukwu attended Temple University in Philadelphia and studied public health.

Only 26 years old, she recently founded a non-profit, The Lead Girl Foundation, to help girls and young women make a life for themselves through entrepreneurship and vocational training. She lives in Washington, D.C., plans to go to law school, and travels to Nigeria often.

Seeking trade partnerships

Obama told the business forum that everywhere he travels in Africa, “from Senegal to South Africa, Africans insist they do not just want aid, they want trade. They want partners, not patrons.”

And that is what Wednesday’s forum, hosted by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker was all about – helping investors and entrepreneurs from both continents connect, as Obama explained: “This is a U.S.-Africa business forum. This is not charity. All of you should be wanting to make money, and create great products and great services, and be profitable, and do right by your investors. But the good news is, in Africa right now, if you are doing well, you can also be doing a lot of good.”

Obama said during his eight years as president, he has sought to transform the relationship between the U.S. and Africa to one of equal partners. He said this is his last U.S.-Africa Business Forum as president, but he will likely be back as a private citizen.

Apart from increased private investment, the U.S. government has also expanded its presence and economic engagement in Africa

Since 2008, the Commerce Department has doubled its presence on the continent, opening new offices in Angola, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Mozambique, expanding its presence in Ghana, and re-establishing a presence at the African Development Bank.

Zambian mealie meal has flooded the resort town of Victoria Falls despite a government ban on the importation of the basic commodity.

The Financial Gazette established that traders were making brisk business selling Zambian mealie meal at popular markets, while others moved around Chinotimba and Mkhosana townships on bicycles selling the product.

Some local shops also had stocks of the Zambian product, which sold for nearly half the price of locally produced mealie meal.

"It is the price and the quantity that matters," said a local trader.

"It all makes economic sense for the suffering residents," he added.

Investigations indicated that Zambian traders brought the mealie meal from across the border daily on bicycles for sale in Victoria Falls.

Some shop owners were now repacking the cheap Zambian mealie meal into smaller packages for resell to impoverished residents for a dollar a packet.

Thembinkosi Ndlovu, the southern region chairperson of the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe, said Zambian mealie meal was being smuggled into the country.

"This is a violation of the country's laws. This is smuggling and I have alerted my national leadership in Harare. We want to find out how it is finding its way across the border when the government has prohibited the importation of mealie meal," said Ndlovu.

"We have to find out what is happening at that border (Livingstone) otherwise we are in full support of the ministerial ban. Our fear now is that the cheap mealie meal will flow to every corner of Zimbabwe, greatly threatening the survival of local millers. The government's statutory instrument is intended to protect local producers who have been under threat from foreign companies," said Ndlovu.

In June this year, the government gazetted Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016 which prohibited the importation of a wide range of goods unless under licence granted by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

The influx of Zambian maize products comes amid revelations that the milling industry in the southern part of Zimbabwe is in a crisis due to an acute shortage of grain.

The Grain Marketing Board, the sole government entity charged with procuring and distributing grain in the country, is now unable to supply grain due to the scarcity of the product.

Local millers are battling to import grain from neighbouring countries such as Zambia and South Africa and even Europe due to financial constraints.

By Shame Makoshori

Troubled Hwange Colliery Company Limited (HCCL), which is battling to extricate itself from huge debts, could sack the bulk of its staff after Treasury said it was overstaffed by at least 2 400 people.

Finance and Economic Development Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, has revealed that the beleaguered coal miner could do with only 800 workers.

The move follows deterioration in the company's financial circumstances, even after Mines and Mining Development Minister Walter Chidhakwa, ordered the rescission of a decision to sack at least half of the 3 200-strong labour force in 2014, saying management and the HCCL board had to find other ways of turning around the company's financial fortunes.

Government, which owns 37 percent shareholding in HCCL, has tried to keep the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed miner afloat through several support mechanisms but has failed.

HCCL has been undermined by a myriad of problems, including mismanagement. The company sustains a city of at least 55 000 people, who largely depend on the business for survival.

In his mid-term fiscal policy review over a fortnight ago, Chinamasa said HCCL should get rid of the majority of workers on its payroll. The workers are owed US$45 million in salary arrears for the past two years.

HCCL posted a US$115 million loss during the year to December 31, 2015, from a loss of US$38 million during the same period in 2014.

The local mining giant, which is currently mining coal on a contract basis, produces about 150 000 tonnes of coal per month, according to the Ministry of Finance.

It has capacity to double output to 300 000 tonnes.

"Institution of reform measures that will address challenges related to mismanagement at Hwange are unavoidable," Chinamasa told lawmakers.

"Government is exploring scope for shedding off some of Hwange Colliery's non-core operations, including rationalisation of its workforce from the current 3 200 to levels that are commensurate with production. This is necessary to ensure that the company operates at optimum capacity, that way allowing coal production to meet both export and local demand. Non-core operations at Hwange include provision of housing and other related amenities, schools, and health facilities. This socio-economic burden on the colliery company is compromising its core business of coal mining, resulting in… perennial losses," Chinamasa said.

HCCL funds projects such as road maintenance, refuse collection, water and sewer reticulation, power generation, running schools and health facilities, housing and recreational facilities.

In addition, the company operates its own railway and road transport system, internal security and telephone system.

These would now be transferred to the Ministry of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development, said Chinamasa.

In June the Financial Gazette's Companies & Markets reported that the HCCL board last year made futile attempts to reopen negotiations for a US$50 million bailout from British tycoon, Nicholas van Hoogstraten, after the beleaguered company turned down his offer in 2013.

This was about the time when the cash-strapped company lur-ched from one crisis to another.

Dramatic events took place at HCCL last year, with the listed firm surprising investors after splashing over US$30 million on second-hand mining equipment, some of which later turned out to be derelict.

A crisis caused by lack of capital and prolonged losses deepened during the year to December 31, 2015, threatening to drag the 91-year old giant into insolvency.

The problems have been amplified by developments on the international commodities markets, where a slowdown in prices has wreaked havoc on mines worldwide.

Van Hoogstraten demanded a raft of reforms that were likely to hand him management control of a company viewed by the State as strategic due to its importance in power generation.

Van Hoogstraten's family interests control about 30 percent shareholding in the firm.

But with debts mounting, and the firm facing industrial unrest from its unpaid workers, amid a working capital strife, the board made a surprise knock on van Hoogstraten's door again, but the tycoon is said to have indicated that the "whole ball game has changed".

"They engaged me nine months ago to see if that offer was still available, but I said the whole ballgame has changed," said van Hoogstraten early this year.

By Pete Lewis

Mining companies granted leave to appeal against class action ruling

South Africa's six biggest gold mining companies have been given leave to appeal against the court decision in May to allow mineworkers sick with silicosis and TB to bring a class action against them.

The Supreme Court of Appeal has granted the mining companies leave to appeal on all aspects of the certification by the South Gauteng High Court of the "big bang" common law class action brought by miners and former miners.

The six companies, who represent the entire industry and the Chamber of Mines in this matter, are African Rainbow Minerals, Anglo American South Africa, Anglogold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Harmony, and Sibanye Gold.

The action concerns some 250,000 to 500,000 sick mineworkers or former mineworkers and their families, spread out over the entire Southern African region.

They will now have to wait while the appeal process, which could go all the way to the Constitutional Court, is concluded.

Meanwhile the six companies have proposed a different route to settlement, outside any judicial oversight. Through the Occupational Lung Disease Working Group (OLDWG), they have suggested that if the mineworkers drop their class action suit, the gold mining industry will help the Department of Health settle the backlog of tens of thousands of existing claims under the Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act (ODMWA). The companies have also proposed to help identify the hundreds of thousands of people across the region who are eligible to claim compensation for illness but have not yet done so. These claims would be settled via ODMWA, with the mines offering to "top-up" individual payouts without admitting any liability.

In the long term, the gold mines are negotiating with trade unions and various government departments in a bid to rewrite the compensation laws so that in future, the ODMWA will fall away entirely, and silicosis and/or TB among gold mine workers will be dealt with under the Compensation for Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act (COIDA).

This would improve benefits for some sick mineworkers, and their families if they die, compared to benefits offered by ODMWA.

But the COIDA Fund is even more chaotic than the ODMWA Fund: mired in controversy over mismanagement and possible corruption, and lacking in transparency. Medical doctors are increasingly unwilling to treat injured and sick workers because the fund is failing to pay them for these services. Time lags in settling claims, even for deaths at work, are very long.

In addition, COIDA does not contain important provisions in ODMWA for mandatory heart and lung autopsies for mineworkers. The COIDA provisions for occupationally-related TB are much weaker than under ODMWA.

But COIDA is a cast iron "no fault" system of compensation, so if the mining companies' plan succeeds there will be no further common law suits from any mineworkers – or any other workers, South African or foreign, in South Africa.

Algiers — The discussions on the car project with the German manufacturer Volkswagen have significantly progressed, said Monday in Algiers Director General of the Algerian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AHN), Marko Ackermann.

"Negotiations are under way. They are 60 to 80% complete. There are still few points to be finalized," said Ackermann on the sidelines of the meeting held by the Forum of Algerian Business Managers (FCE) in collaboration with AHN on "the role of training and exports for companies."

In March, Sovac group and the German Volkswagen started examining partnership project for the manufacturing of cars in Algeria.

Ackermann underlined Algeria's willingness to launch engineering industry projects, especially for local production of car spare parts.

In this regard, he said "we are here to support them. We are interested in some projects like the production of spare parts. We are here to find potential partners."

Washington, DC — President Obama will meet Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday following the U.S. leader's last address to the United Nations General Assembly as president.

Obama will also participate in a 'Leaders Summit on Refugees',which U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power called "one of the centerpieces of the President’s trip this year". Obama will host the summit along with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and other leaders. Power  spoke in a media call on Friday along with Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes.

On Wednesday, Obama will address the the U.S.-Africa Business Forum, which is hosted by Commerce Secretary Penny Spritzer and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg. Rhodes said the Forum will focus on "three African countries in particular that have been on the move — Nigeria, Tunisia, and Cote D’Ivoire," Rhodes said.

"We'll also be highlighting the administration’s efforts to promote the U.S.-Africa Economic Partnership, including the range of U.S. financial and technical tools that support U.S. businesses and investors who are working in Africa," he said.

Excerpts from press call on September 16 by Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power to preview the president's trip to the United Nations General Assembly

MR. RHODES: On Tuesday, the President will give his address to the U.N. General Assembly.  I think with respect to the speech, what he will want to do is step back and review some of the progress that's been made over the last eight years, but also review some of the trends that have been shaping our international order for many years and that have led up to a really critical moment as the international community responds to a range of different crises. …

Following the address to the U.N. General Assembly, the President will have a bilateral meeting with President Buhari of Nigeria.  This has clearly been a priority for us in terms of investing in the success of the Nigerian government as they deal with a range of very difficult challenges.  I think the President will comment President Buhari for the accomplishments that he’s made during this first year in office following a successful democratic transition.  He’ll want to discuss ways that the United States can continue to support the governance, security, and economic reform efforts within Nigeria.

They’ll certainly discuss cooperation against the Islamic State’s West Africa Province, which is also known as Boko Haram, as well as the next steps for responding to the humanitarian emergency in Northeast Nigeria and how we can engage Niger Delta stakeholders in a dialogue to end the militancy that has caused so many challenges in the region.  So a very important opportunity for the President to meet with the leader of the largest Africa country. …

On Wednesday, September 21st, the President will participate in the U.S.-Africa Business Forum.  And this follows up on a longstanding priority of the administration to promote trade, investment, and deeper commercial and business ties between the United States and Africa.

And when we hosted the African heads of state here in Washington, we had a similar event.  At that event two years ago, which was the largest that any U.S. President has ever held with African heads of state, we were able to work with the Department of Commerce and Bloomberg Philanthropies to co-host the African Business Forum, and will partner with those same organizations this time around.

At that forum, we had 200 of the top U.S. and African CEOs and dozens of African heads of state come together for a day that focused on how to build and capitalize on Africa’s enormous economic potential.  And out of that forum, $33 billion in public and private sector investments and commitments were announced, and these are partnerships that are already helping to grow economies and create jobs and develop new industries.

And our approach to supporting development in Africa has put a real premium on trying to accelerate economic growth that is broad-based and high-quality to supplement what we do through our development assistance in areas like food security, power, and health.

So at this forum, we’ll be able to take stock of the progress that’s been made since the 2014 Africa Business Forum. And we’ll focus on partnerships between the United States and Africa that are solving concrete problems and enhancing growth, and we have four areas that we’re particularly focused on.

One is how diversified economies can transform risk into opportunity.  Another is how infrastructure development and sustainable growth go together.  Third is how innovation and technology can help promote effective, high-quality and sustainable economic growth.  And the fourth is how are we shaping a 21st century workforce.  All of these issues, together, I think speak to how Africa is poised to really continue to take off in terms of economic growth and delivering better opportunities for people on the continent.

The forum will feature three African countries in particular that have been on the move — Nigeria, Tunisia, and Cote D’Ivoire.  Of course, each of these has also pursued democratic transitions of government in recent years, and so it’s also an opportunity to highlight the interconnection between our support for democracy and our support for development.

With those countries in the spotlight, we’ll also have the opportunity to work with other heads of state and CEOs who will be present who can speak to their efforts to enhance broader U.S.-Africa trade and investment.

We’ll also be highlighting the administration’s efforts to promote the U.S.-Africa Economic Partnership, including the range of U.S. financial and technical tools that support U.S. businesses and investors who are working in Africa.  Over the last eight years, through our Doing Business in Africa campaign, the United States government has expanded our presence and engagement in Africa, including by opening new commercial service offices and supporting our businesses that are finding opportunities to invest in Africa.

And our Trade Africa Initiative has worked to help countries eliminate barriers to trade within Africa and between Africa and the United States.  And this is helping create markets for more U.S. products, and it's supporting the utilization of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which was successfully renewed as well.  So this will speak to a centerpiece of the President's Africa policy, and we're very much looking forward to that opportunity.

AMBASSADOR POWER:  Thanks so much, Ben.  I'll just say a few quick words on the significance of this particular General Assembly, building on what Ben has said, and then I'll go to the refugee-related events at the U.N.

So as Ben noted, this will be the last U.N. General Assembly for President Obama, who came here for the first time in 2009 when the United States was more isolated on the world stage, and he pledged a new era of engagement, recognizing that when threats are transnational and across borders, it's really important that we be able to build coalitions and draw on not only on national capabilities, but on multilateral capabilities.  While we paid off our U.N. dues that had accrued in previous years and renewed our commitment to the U.N. by paying our bills in full, we renewed our commitment to multilateralism and even chose to work within underperforming multilateral institutions like the Human Rights Council, rather than criticize them from the outside.  And as Ben noted and has been instrumentally involved in, we made good on the President's pledge to engage with those with whom we disagree, opening up new, profound opportunities for diplomatic progress.

I think it's hard to overstate the transformative effect that this approach has had, and I'm the fortunate beneficiary here, as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, in getting to experience again the sea change and the desire of other countries to work with us and, actually more than they did in the past I think, to step up and be part of international coalitions to try to address these really challenging 21st century threats. …

I think just looking back, again, at some of the high points over the last eight years, what was a great low point for the international system — mainly the initial response to the devastating Ebola crisis in West Africa — I think became an example of the United States leading.  President Obama was the first world leader to deploy troops and public health professionals into the eye of the storm at the height of the epidemic, and then we leveraged that investment and that commitment to rally contributions from other countries.  And now people hardly talk about Ebola, even though at the time the President made those decisions, the estimates were that a million people would be affected within a matter of months.

We have worked tirelessly to bolster a very distinct U.N. capability, and that is peacekeeping.  There are peacekeeping missions all around the world in some of the most dangerous places, including places like Mali, where there's a nexus with terrorism and extremism.  President Obama, in the first summit of its kind, convened world leaders last year, as Ben been noted, mobilizing pledges for more than 40,000 troops and police, along with sophisticated enabling capabilities.

One of the things that has plagued peacekeeping performance is that the U.N. has had to rely on what it has rather than what it needs.  And so part of the President’s insight is to try to get more countries to step up, more advanced militaries to be part of it.  Eighteen military units have already deployed, or are in the process of doing so out of that summit, and more than 90 percent of countries that made pledges have taken significant steps to delivering them, which is a much higher rate than a lot of pledging conferences have here at the U.N.

… Okay, that brings me, I think, to one of the centerpieces of the President’s trip this year, which is the Leaders Summit on Refugees that he will be hosting along with a number of other leaders.  I don’t have to tell this audience about the gravity of the displacement crisis that we are all living right.  More than 21 million people have fled their homes and crossed international borders.  There’s 65 million people displaced overall, the largest number since World War II.  From Syria alone, nearly 5 million refugees have crossed the Syrian border trying to seek safety from barrel bombs and chemical weapons attacks and terrorist attacks.  And all of these individuals, every one of these numbers, is a face and a person with a family.  They are facing very uncertain futures and they’re looking to the rest of the world and to the U.N., of course, for help.

President Obama is going to convene a summit along with the leaders of Jordan, Mexico, Sweden, Germany, Canada, and Ethiopia, as well as the Secretary General, on September 20th.  And this summit we have been driving toward for many, many months, securing from those countries that participate new and significant commitments in several areas.  …

By Martin Luther Oketch

Kampala — The president of Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU) has asked the public to seek advice from financial experts before taking bank loans.

Financial illiteracy has seen people taking loans from financial institutions without proper scrutiny of the terms, worsening high interest rates and loans defaults.

Addressing journalists last week in Kampala during the release of ICPAU August 2016 examination results for the Certified Public Accountants, Mr Protazio Begumisa said the advice will help the public understand the loan terms and make the right decision.

"How can you borrow at 24 per cent and the return on your business is 15 per cent. People need to seek professional advice from the accountants before borrowing because it's only the accountants who understand the value of money well," Mr Begumisa said.

Speaking on the examination results, Mr Begumisa said there were 3,452 candidates who sat for the August compared to 5,132 in June.

"The average pass rate was 39.2 per cent compared to 42.7 per cent in June 2016. There are 122 candidates who completed the course compared to 225 in June 2016, the number of female and male finalists was surprisingly equal that is 61 (50 per cent). Hopefully, we have achieved gender parity," he said.

Mr Begumisa said so far, a cumulative total of 2,629 students have completed the Certified Public Accountants (CPA) course.

Commenting on the examination results, Mr Uthman Mayanja, the chairman of the Public Accountants Examinations Board (PAEB), said the International Education Standard (IES) 5: Practical experience requires a professional accountancy organisation to ensure that aspiring professional accountants complete practical training before one is confirmed as a professional account.

"This is reinforced by The Accountants Regulations 2016.

The practical training has to be supervised by a member of the institute or at an approved organisation. The programme has already been rolled out," he said.

The ICPAU is the National Professional Accountancy body, established by the Accountants Act.

Mr Derick Nkajja, the chief executive officer of ICPAU, said ICPAU maintains the standards of accountancy; prescribes and regulates the conduct of accountants and practicing accountants in Uganda.