150 days left to comply with new tough EU regulations on farmers who cut forests to grow coffee Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | With about 150 days left before the European Union (EU) market begins implementing its tough ban on import of ‘deforestation-related products,’ Ugandan farmers, exporters, and regulators are …

Phytosanitary programme intends to equip all 54 countries with technology and technical capacity ANALYSIS | RONALD MUSOKE | Agriculture and its related value chains drive most economies across the continent, contributing about 40%  to Africa’s GDP and 15% of its exports, 75% to its intra-African trade, and 60-80% of employment. But the …

Continent to fund own oil and gas projects in wake of Western financial institutions’ hesitancy ANALYSIS | RONALD MUSOKE | The African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO), an association of African petroleum producing countries, together with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) have zeroed-in on Nigeria’s federal capital, Abuja, to host the headquarters …

ANALYSIS | RONALD MUSOKE | In response to the growing calls to have the East African Community Treaty amended to reflect its current state, regional foreign and East African Community affairs ministers have demanded the process be accelerated. This was one of the resolutions reached by the ministers from Burundi, DR …

Country had a shortage of 190,000 health workers in 2022 Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | The government must strengthen its governance, stewardship, and financing structures to ensure that the training, recruitment and retention of the country’s health workforce is informed by the health needs of Ugandans. The country’s resources must …

They need quality, opportunities, says IGAD Executive Secretary Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Education ministers in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) bloc want member states to prioritise high quality education for disaster affected populations, 60% of whom are said to be of school-going age. At a recent meeting in …

Five years on, Ugandan conservationists can’t believe Vietnamese wildlife traffickers got away with it SPECIAL REPORT | WILD LIFE CONSERVATION  | In January 2019, the arrest and imminent prosecution of several Vietnamese wildlife traffickers in Kampala excited wildlife conservationists in Uganda and abroad who saw it as an opportunity to disrupt a …

Opaque oil contracts and mysterious gold export data dent EITI validation performance ANALYSIS | RONALD MUSOKE | With a score of 78.5 points out of a possible 100, Uganda has been commended by the Oslo-based Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Board following a recent validation of the country but, persistent issues …

Europe’s satellite agency to strengthen cooperation with continent’s Meteorologists ANALYSIS | RONALD MUSOKE | The African Union Commission and the European Meteorological Satellite Agency (EUMETSAT), have signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen their cooperation on earth observation. The agreement opens the way for African environmental and meteorological services to access …

Africa holds 60% of world’s arable land but struggles with crop productivity Nairobi, Kenya | RONALD MUSOKE | In a bid to eradicate persistent hunger across the continent, African leaders who met recently in Nairobi, pledged to increase domestic production and distribution of high-quality fertilizers by threefold within the next ten …