Business

By Jocelyn Edwards Confronted by MPs at a petroleum governance workshop two weeks ago, Energy Minister Hillary Onek promised to table the Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) with oil companies the very next Tuesday.When he did not appear in parliament that day, June 22nd, no one was surprised however. Government has …

By Isaac Mufumba The opposition is putting final touches to what it says is an alternative to Finance Minister, Syda Bbumba’s 2010/11 budget. Shadow Minister for Finance, Oduman Okello told The Independent that the government has been borrowing at an alarming rate, has failed to implement much needed tax reforms, …

By Patrick Kagenda Interview with Lamin Manjang, Chief Executive and Managing Director of Standard Chartered Bank (U). When do you start your day? I normally start my day by 5:30am in the morning when I do my early morning prayers as a Muslim. I watch a bit of business news …

By James P. Andrew As executives breathe out after surviving the Great Recession, they find they’re gazing on a New Reality. The meltdown accelerated many trends that had been merely budding pre-crisis. There has been no time for slow and steady adaptation to the pressures and challenges of a new …

By Patrick Kagenda Interview with Dickens Kamugisha Chief Executive at Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO)) What is your typical day? I wake up at 5am; exercise for 20 minutes, and by 5:40 I am off to office. Most of the time I am on my computer working apart from …

By Patrick Kagenda Bharti Airtel Chief Executive Officer (International) and joint Managing Director Manoj Kohli’s announcement in Kampala last week that the company intends to invest US$100 million in network expansion is likely to spark renewed price wars. Speaking on the sidelines of the Bharti/Zain Africa CEO`s meeting held at …

By Dicta Asiimwe Uganda offers promises, Kenya pumps in money, Tanzania looks inward In her 2010/11 Financial Year budget speech, Finance Minister Syda Bbumba said she envisages that the East African Community (EAC) Common Market which comes into force on July 1 will “stimulate greater productive efficiency, higher levels of …

By Patrick Kagenda John Wafula who has been the Chief Executive at Uganda Clays Kajjansi leaves office at the end of this year. The Independent`s Patrick Kagenda talked to him. What have been the challenges during your time as CEO? I joined Uganda Clays in Dec. 1992 and the biggest …

By Joan Akello Shell exit They are small operators, without depots. Some are a single, stand alone service station while others belong to a group. They are called “small independents” because unlike the big oil companies like Shell or Total, they answer to nobody. Since Shell announced it was divesting …

By Rukiya Makuma Despite 2010 being a prelude to the 2011 general elections, most Ugandan business leaders are optimistic of making more money in future and do not think that political instability poses a serious risk. In a study carried out by Synovate (fomer Steadman) between Feb. 1 and March …