New Vision Group

For other uses, see New Vision (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with New Vision (newspaper).

The Vision Group of Companies, commonly known as the Vision Group, is a multimedia conglomerate in Uganda. It publishes the New Vision (newspaper), an English-language daily newspaper, that appears in print form and online, as well as newspapers and magazines in a variety of Ugandan languages.^[3]

Vision Group

Type	Publicly Traded Conglomerate
Industry	Publishing, Printing, Broadcasting and Telecasting
Founded	1986; 37 years ago (1986)
Headquarters	2/4 First Street, Kampala, Uganda
Key people	Patrick Ayota (Chairman) Don Wanyama (CEO)
Products	Newspapers, Magazines, Books, Television Stations, Radio Stations
Revenue	Aftertax: UGX:1.0 billion (2022)^[1]
Total assets	UGX:85.85 billion (2017)^[2]
Website	www.newvision.co.ug

History

The group was established in 1986, with the flagship publication, the New Vision Newspaper. The company's first managing director was William Pike, who started the year the group launched.^[4]

In 2007, a board member of the New Vision Group was allegedly poisoned.^[5] In 2009, the group apologized for publishing a corruption story on Muwenda Mutebi II of Buganda.^[6]

The group launched its global mobile application (E-Paper) in 2015 but disabled it in 2019 to work on upgrading it.^[7] In March 2016, the groups signed a partnership with Wakaliwood Uganda to promote the Ugandan film industry.^[8] In 2017, the group's accountant was sentenced to five years in prison for embezzling 262 million shillings from the group from 2008 to 2013.^[9]

In May 2020, in the outburst of the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda, the New Vision Group sent dozens of employees on forced leave without pay, twelve days after it had announced major salary cuts.^[10] Following this announcement, the group's accountant was found dead in her house.^[11]

Overview

The group's holding company is The New Vision Printing & Publishing Company Limited (also referred to as the Vision Group). The Group owns other newspapers, radio stations and two television stations, as of January 2010.^[12][13] The stock of the holding company is traded on the Uganda Securities Exchange, under the symbol NVL.^[14]

The address of the Group's headquarters is 19-21 First Street, in the industrial area of Kampala.^[3][15]

Subsidiary companies

The subsidiary companies of the Vision Group include:^[16]

1. New Vision (newspaper): published in English
2. Bukedde newspaper: published in Luganda
3. Orumuri newspaper: published in Runyankore/Rukiga^[16] (or Runyakitara^[17])
4. Etop newspaper: published in Ateso
5. Rupiny newspaper: published in Luo^[16]
6. Premiership magazine: Soccer magazine covering English, African and Ugandan soccer news, published monthly in English.
7. City Beat magazine: Entertainment magazine aimed at the affluent 19 to 35 demographic age group, published monthly in English
8. Secondary Schools Directory: published annually in English
9. Bride & Groom magazine: Bridal magazine, published quarterly in English^[16]
10. New Vision Printing & Publishing Company Limited: Most newspapers in Uganda, Rwanda and Southern Sudan are printed by Vision Printing.^[18]
11. Vision Voice FM 94.8, (now X-FM): Based in Kampala. Broadcasts in English, covers a radius of 100 kilometres (62 mi).
12. Radio Bukedde FM 100.5: Based in Kampala. Broadcasts in Luganda
13. 100.2 Fm Radio West : Based in Mbarara. The dominant radio station in the Western Region of Uganda. Broadcasts in Runyankole/Rukiga, Runyoro/Rutoro and English.
14. Radio Rupiny FM 95.7: Based in Gulu. Broadcasts in Luo
15. Radio Etop FM 99.4: Based in Soroti. Broadcasts in Ateso^[19]
16. Arua One FM 88.7: Acquired in Arua during 2012. Broadcasts in Lugbara, Swahili and English.
17. Urban Television: Launched in October 2009. Transmits in English
18. Bukedde Television (BTV): Launched in October 2009. Transmits in Luganda
19. West Television (West TV): Operating in the Western parts of Uganda alongside Radio West. transmits in Runyankole/Rukiga, Runyoro/Rutoro and English.^[16]

Ownership

The Vision Group is owned by the Ugandan government and by institutional and individual investors. The shares of the Group are traded on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE), under he symbol:NVL. The table below summarizes the ownership structure of the Vision Group, as of 30 June 2016.^[14]

New Vision Group Stock Ownership

Rank	Name of Owner	Percentage Ownership
1	Ministry of State for Finance (Privatization)	26.67
2	Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development	26.67
3	National Social Security Fund	19.61
4	National Social Security Fund: PineBridge	2.86
5	National Insurance Corporation	2.70
6	Bank of Uganda Staff Retirement Benefit Scheme: AIG	2.23
7	Bank of Uganda Staff Retirement Benefit Scheme: SIM	1.28
8	Insurance Company of East Africa Uganda Limited	0.74
9	Wazunula Samuel Mangaali	0.67
10	Makerere University Retirement Benefits Scheme	0.62
11	Other Institutional & Individual Investors	15.97
	Total	100.0

See also

• Nation Media Group
• New Vision Newspaper
• Uganda Securities Exchange

References

1. Javira Ssebwami (11 October 2022). "Don Wanyama leads Vision Group to 36% post-Covid-19 revenue jump and UGX1 bn net profit". PML Daily. Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
2. Vision Group (4 October 2017). "New Vision Group Annual Report for Year Ended 30 June 2017" (PDF). Kampala: New Vision Group. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
3. Mutegeki, Geoffrey (23 September 2017). "Vision Group names building after William Pike". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
4. Geoffrey Mutegeki (23 September 2017). "Vision Group names building after William Pike". Newvision.co.ug. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
5. Ida Berg Slang (20 August 2010). "Uganda: pressed for freedom". Humanrightshouse.org. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
6. Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda (2 August 2009). "How Mengo,New vision crisis was resolved". Observer.ug. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
7. "Vision Group E-paper app to be scrapped off the Play Store". Dignited.com. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
8. Abou Kisige (13 March 2016). "Vision Group enters partnership to promote film industry". Newvision.co.ug. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
9. "Vision Group Principal Accountant jailed 5 years for theft of 262m". Independent.co.ug. 2 August 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
10. George Okello (12 May 2020). "After salary cuts, Vision Group sends dozens of staff on forced leave without pay". Pmldaily.com. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
11. Brian Asiimwe (17 May 2020). "Vision Group Accountant in Mbarara Found Dead". Softpower.ug. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
12. Juuko, Sylvia (29 October 2009). "New Vision Expands Into Television". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
13. Vision Reporter (29 October 2009). "Bukedde TV Station Starts". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
14. New Vision Group (1 November 2017). "Annual Report for the Twelve Months Ended 30 June 2017: Summary of Shareholder Distribution" (PDF). Kampala: New Vision Group. p. 39. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
15. Vision Group (5 June 2018). "New Vision Group: Contact Information". Kampala: New Vision Group. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
16. Vision Group (2016). "New Vision Group: Products". Kampala: New Vision Group. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
17. "Orumuri (@Orumuri) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
18. Preventionweb (5 June 2018). "Profile of New Vision Printing & Publishing Company Limited". Preventionweb.net. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
19. Jaramogi, Patrick (20 October 2009). "Etop Radio Takes Over Teso Airwaves". Kampala: New Vision. Retrieved 5 June 2018.

External links

• Official website

Coordinates: 00°19′12″N 32°35′58″E / 0.32000°N 32.59944°E / 0.32000; 32.59944