THE SECOND OPINION

THE SECOND OPINION https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html Court Backs URA in Shs 205 Million Goodways Trustees Tax Recovery Case Carrefour Uganda Hands Over a Fully Renovated Facility to “In Need Home, Namuwongo” Through Its “Round Up Your Bill” Initiative UCAA Introduces AI-Powered Number Plate Recognition With New Digital Payment Options For Congestion Management at Entebbe International Airport. Residents Accuse Prime Minister’s Husband’s For His Plans to Develop in a Community Road URA to Reorganise Traders’ Meeting After Disruption Housing Finance Bank Takes Banking Closer to Ugandans Can Agricultural Waste Help Uganda Build More Affordable Homes? Meet the Innovator Behind CoolBricks Kampala, Uganda – What if the answer to more affordable housing in Uganda lies partly in the soil beneath our feet and the agricultural waste we often overlook? For Kaneene Leslie, this possibility has become the focus of an innovation that challenges conventional approaches to building and asks an important question: can Uganda use more of its own resources to make decent housing accessible to more families? Leslie, a Quantity Surveying graduate from Makerere University Kampala, is developing CoolBricks, a construction innovation that uses locally available soils and agricultural waste to produce bio-stabilised earth bricks. By eliminating conventional cement as a stabilising ingredient and avoiding energy-intensive firing, the technology seeks to offer a more affordable, lower-carbon alternative to conventional building materials. His work is driven by a challenge that extends beyond construction. For many Ugandan households, the aspiration to own a home is constrained by the cost of building. Finding ways to reduce that cost without compromising structural performance, durability or comfort remains an important part of expanding access to decent housing. For Leslie, developing an alternative brick is only the beginning. The bigger question is whether the technology can work beyond the research environment, compete on cost and gain the confidence of builders and prospective homeowners. That is where the Housing Finance Bank Zimba Challenge comes in. Having developed and refined CoolBricks through academic research and early pilot projects, Leslie sees the challenge as an opportunity to test the innovation against the practical demands of housing delivery, including affordability, adoption and the ability to scale. The project targets reductions of up to 50 per cent in construction costs and up to 90 per cent in carbon emissions. These are ambitious targets whose significance will depend on how the technology performs in practical applications and how the results compare with conventional construction methods. Achieving them requires a careful balance. A building material may be inexpensive to produce, but that advantage means little if it cannot deliver the strength and durability required for safe, permanent homes. Leslie’s work has therefore involved testing different soil compositions and biopolymer formulations, supported by collaboration involving Makerere University and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. The experience has reinforced his belief that innovation must be judged by what it can deliver in practice, not simply by the promise of an idea. EOC audits universities on equal access UCAA in a Fundraising Drive for a Girl Child in Busoga During the 4th Edition of Aviation Run 2026 as it Celebrates 35 years of Excellence and Impact of Aeronautical Information on Aviation Safety. MUSEVENI COMMISSIONS 280 UPDF OFFICER CADETS, CALLS FOR ECONOMIC PROTECTION AND CRACKDOWN ON RURAL CRIME Uganda Adopts EAC 10-Year Harmonised Tourism Classification Designs Ahead of AFCON 2027 as Col. Butime Advocates for Single Tourist Visa to Boost Regional Tourism. UCAA Highlights Green Aviation Strategies in Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) Dining Above Kampala: Exploring Pearl of Africa Hotel’s Culinary Experience Businessman Kimuli Urges Italians to Invest in Uganda, Boost Local Processing Rice Production Enhancing Coexistence in Refugee Settlements in West Nile UGANDA’S WIND OF GASHUMBA, THE PASTORS, AND THE CHARCOAL STORM City Traders Abandon Meeting with URA After Taxman Uncovers Protest Plot OPINION– THE STORY BEHIND NSSF MONEY GROWTH. NARO Steps Up Cassava Multiplication to Boost Food Security in Drought-Prone Karamoja The Crane-Gold Coast Calling: UCAA Set to Inaugurate Uganda-Ghana Direct Service as Uganda Airlines Touches Down in Accra on October 27, 2026. Home EOC Turns to Digital Media to Bridge Public Awareness Gap on Equal Opportunities IGANGA UNIVERSITY TAKES SHAPE: WILL BISHOP BAMWOZE’S LEGACY SURVIVE? URA Wins Appeal Over Shs14bn Rice VAT Refund Interest Dispute Uganda ,Guyana Civil Aviation Authorities Strengthen Cooperation Ties EXIM BANK UGANDA LTD PARTNERS WITH YANGTZE INDUSTRY LTD TO DRIVE REGIONAL MANUFACTURING CAPACITY. India at 80th Independence, Museveni Applauds their Contribution to the Development of Uganda. UCAA Reaffirms its Commitment to Implementing the Liberalization of Air Transport Across Africa. Uganda’s Jet Fresh Cargo Company Applauds UCAA After Being Shortlisted on Global Cargo Giants for GSSA of the Year. UCAA Vows to Continue Supporting National Sports and Providing Seamless Travel Experiences Throughout the AFCON 2027 Qualifiers. 45 Arrested over Anti-Graft Protest as financier Immaculate Ninsiima Escapes COURT: Cheffette Catering Ltd Loses Appeal Against URA, Ordered to Pay over Shs 400 Million in Taxes UGANDA’S WIND OF GASHUMBA, THE PASTORS, AND THE CHARCOAL STORM Housing Finance Bank Partners with Interswitch to Scale Nationwide Agent Banking Across 23,000+ Quickteller Touchpoints THE IGG LETTER TO MAGOGO AND FUFA: SMOKE IN THE BASKET How Segane’s Arrest Led to the Fall of URA Customs Commissioner UCAA Reports153,968 International Passengers and 5,999 Metric Tonnes of Cargo at Entebbe International Airport in September 2026. Vivo Energy Uganda Rewards Shell ‘Unleash the Power’ Campaign Winners with Cape Town Holiday Prof. Opuda Calls For Continuous Review Of Education Curriculum To Incorporate AI UCAA’s Deputy Director General Lumonya Secures Over 200 Avaition Scholarships For Girls Across the Africa. The Entebbe–Accra Launched Flights to Boost Trade, Expand Traffic and Network Growth at Entebbe International Airport, UCAA Boss. UCAA commends Uganda Airlines for Hosting the Girls in Aviation. NARO research points to local fertiliser option that could save Uganda Billions Housing Finance Bank Takes Banking Closer to Ugandans From Soil to Shelter: How a Woman Innovator in the Zimba Challenge Is Daring to Rewrite Uganda’s Housing Story. Musafiri Patience is challenging conventional construction methods with Earth Bag Technology, an innovation that could make decent, affordable housing more accessible to Ugandan Families HFB Zimba Challenge Nears Grand Finale as Partnership with Bakaima Real Estate Advances Homeownership Blog ICT Ministry’s Past Procurement Inquiries Put Committee Retreat Back in Focus Housing Finance Bank Renamed Primary Dealer Market Maker by Bank of Uganda for 2026-2029 URA Dismisses Customs Commissioner Asadu Kisitu Kigozi