How political calculations have shaped the destinies of Kampala and Kigali THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | On Sunday April 2nd, I went running in Kigali from Serena Hotel to the airport at Kanombe and back a total of 20km. It was a comfortable and relaxing run. The streets were …
Read More »A tour of Uganda’s oilfields
Lessons for Uganda’s policy-makers from the experience of her oil industry THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | I spent this week in Hoima (Kingfisher) and Bulisa-Bugungu visiting construction works on oil rigs and central processing facilities in the Albertine Graben. I was greatly impressed by the work that Petroleum Authority Uganda …
Read More »Sam Mugumya: Unbowed in dissent
COMMENT | Olivia Nalubwama | “I think of you as the freest person I know…Then everyone you know is a slave.”This haunting line is from the Ayi Kwei Armah’s classic book, The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born, on the failure of post- independence African leaders. Enter Sam Mugumya. In 2014, …
Read More »Uganda’s homophobic madness
How the new anti-gay law is bad for our country yet good for the long-term tolerance of homosexuality THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | So, Uganda’s parliament once again passed a law to hang homosexuals. This was done in the most democratic manner possible: 399 out of 529 MPs (75% of …
Read More »Combating gender stereotypes through gender equity
COMMENT | PATIENCE ARINAITWE | Equity and Equality may sound like the same thing and at times have some people think both words have a similar definition. Equity is giving everyone what they need to succeed while equality is treating everyone the same. Offering ground for support or an …
Read More »Climate action: Enhancing long term financing for sustainable forest-based industries
COMMENT | PIUS WAMALA | Every 21st of March, Uganda joins the rest of the world to commemorate the International Day of Forests. Proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012, this day is meant to celebrate and create awareness about the importance of all types of trees and …
Read More »The trouble with public hearings 2
Why I harbor a deep-seated hostility to parliamentary and other investigations into public corruption THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | I promised in this column last week to return to the NSSF saga and shade more light on how public hearings distort facts and purvey bias and prejudice. ( The Trouble …
Read More »Digitizing women financing to drive inclusion
The majority of financially excluded women are in the informal sector and hard-to-reach areas, which requires innovative financing solutions to reach out to them – innovations in digital financial inclusion with a special focus on women is, therefore, necessary to improve the financial inclusion standing of the women COMMENT | …
Read More »COMMENT: Is MTN Uganda on the verge of becoming a bank?
COMMENT | MOSES KAKETO | Imagine waking up one day to find MTN Uganda operating electric purses, issuing debit cards and prepaid cards, taking fixed deposits, and investing some of the money they get in bonds and securities. Industry experts apparently believe this to be a fairly accurate dream. The road to the …
Read More »The trouble with public hearings
How prejudices have eclipsed facts in the NSSF investigation leading to unnecessary confusion THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | When the speaker of parliament, Anita Among, established a Select Committee of Parliament to investigate NSSF, I knew the battle for the truths about the Fund was lost. This is because when …
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