By Ella Rychlewski Soon after I arrived in Uganda, I had the opportunity to visit Kyangwali Refugee Camp in Hoima district, western Uganda. COBURWAS, a partner organisation of Educate where I work, is based in the camp. The journey from Hoima district town to Kyangwali takes over four stressful hours …
Read More »Bribery or service?
By Mubatsi Asinja Habati Museveni cash handouts have sparked controversy On the night of Sept.13, Mandela National Stadium, Namboole in Kampala was a beehive of activity as the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) concluded elections for the party’s national leaders. The elections were chaotic and the results were late …
Read More »MDGs: Let Africa shape her destiny
By Andrew M. Mwenda Most of this week has been consumed by the debate on the progress poor countries have made in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). I have never been an enthusiast of MDGs because I see them as part of the increasing efforts by the international community …
Read More »Besigye in South Africa, denounces Museveni’s patrimonial state
By Stephen Twinoburyo Five years ago, I listened to Uganda’s opposition leader Dr Kiiza Besigye give his farewell speech in Pretoria as he departed for Uganda to face an uncertain future. His future was scary because on reaching Uganda to contest against the incumbent, President Yoweri Museveni, he faced a …
Read More »Don’t bank on self-employment
By Kevin Hempel Policymakers increasingly consider youth entrepreneurship as a possible solution to the youth employment crisis. However, experts believe that only 20 percent of all people are fit to run their own businesses. Moreover, people with some experience are more likely to succeed as entrepreneurs. Last year, the title …
Read More »Focusing on smoother, faster trading on USE
By Patrick Kagenda Joseph Kitamirike is the New Chief Executive at the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE), The Independent`s Patrick Kagenda spoke to him When do you start your day? I rise at 5:30 am every working day and I leave home an hour later in order to beat the traffic …
Read More »Fuel crisis again
By Haggai Matsiko Experts say government must plan for December and 2011 elections Usually, when pump prices of petroleum products in Uganda shoot up, the government and oil sector operators blame it on some mishap in neighbouring Kenya. This time there was neither malfunction at the Kenya Petroleum Refineries Ltd …
Read More »Budget trouble
By Dicta Asiimwe MPs allege forgery of reports but Speaker raises no objection Parliament approved the budget figures this week with, at one point at 6 pm, 21 members in attendance. Presided over by Speaker Edward Sekandi, by six o’clock, with over one hundred votes not yet passed, those present …
Read More »Torture in Prisons
By Haggai Matsiko Warders increasingly suffer violence as prisoner human rights observance increases in towns On June 14, Denis Bakisu , an inmate at Mbale Prison, was taken to Mbale Regional Referral Hospital for a tooth extraction. Unknown to prisons officials, Basiku was faking his pain as part of an …
Read More »Election chaos leaves NRM in mess could widen rift within party ranks
By Mubatsi Asinja Habati Election chaos and controversy that threatened to derail the NRM primaries two weeks ago continued to haunt the party up to September 12 when it elected its national leadership at Nambole Stadium. Tempers flared and the delegates held their breath as the fire-spitting NRM stalwart Maj. …
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