How the debate on Lubowa hospital exposes the self-indulgence of Ugandan elites and their poverty of ideas THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | Two weeks ago Uganda government approved $380m (or Shs1.4 trillion) to build an “international specialised hospital” in Lubowa. On the face of it, this is …

How our MPs invented a scandal around Uganda Airlines’ shares and our chattering elites joined the chorus THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities,” Voltaire Last week, our parliamentar- ians alleged that some unscrupulous ministers had stolen …

Why Uganda’s economy is dominated by multinational capital and what cannot be done about it THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | So we come to our third and last instalment on how post-1986 Uganda cultivated groups and interests hostile to local firms. First to be discredited were local …

Why Uganda’s economy is dominated by multinational capital and what cannot be done about it THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | We begin from where we stopped last week. Uganda’s growing economy served three critical purposes: It increased government revenues, gave greater confidence to donors to give more …

Why Trump and XI policies in the South China Sea could lead Japan to rearm ANALYSIS | Andrew M. Mwenda | As Uganda and Rwanda were preparing themselves for a possible military confrontation, I was in Japan talking to public officials, intellectuals and academics on the situation in the Sea …

Why Uganda’s economy is dominated by multinational capital and what cannot be done about it THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Uganda is facing a dilemma. The country is investing tens of billions of dollars in huge infrastructure projects – dams, airports, highways, bridges, railways, water systems etc. …

  How Kampala has mismanaged her relations with Kigali and why Rwanda closed her border THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Let me do what politicians always do – claim they run for office due to popular demand. Many people have been asking me to comment on the heightened …

THE LAST WORD: Why there is a big disconnect between Museveni the intellectual and Museveni the politician THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | Last week, President Yoweri Museveni delivered an impressive speech to fellow African Union (AU) heads of state in Addis Ababa about the need for regional …

THE LAST WORD: How institutional independence allowed the central bank to indulge in gross mismanagement and incompetence THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | Last week was the most shameful for Bank of Uganda. During hearings before the parliamentary committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) it …

THE LAST WORD: Why expecting a Ugandan peasant to have the same quality of healthcare as an American is madness THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | Last week, I attended the Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE)’s monthly State of the Nation seminar on public spending and …