COLUMNISTS

By Brendan Greeley Would it really be so terrible to reintroduce some congressionally sanctioned bribery? I haven’t seen so much lard,” said Ronald Reagan, “since I handed out blue ribbons at the Iowa State Fair.” It was March 1987, and the president of the USA was using his weekly radio …

By Joseph Bossa It’s a reminder of what America’s policy aims to achieve by training young Africans like his father When Barack Obama was elected president the first time, romantic African hearts danced with expectation he would usher in a new period of American aid to Africa because his father …

By Andrew Karamagi The Speaker will have a hard time convincing Ugandans when she next cries wolf Although the suspicious death of Butaleja District Woman MP Cerinah Nebanda set off a chain of events that led to the petition to recall Parliament, the legislator’s demise was not the gist of …

The arguments that Rwanda is in Congo to exploit that country’s mineral wealth are misinformed Since the current crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo flared up, most international media coverage has focused on Rwanda’s alleged support for M23, one of over 40 rebel groups fighting Kinshasa. Eastern Congo is …

By Rick Rowden Why the rumors of Africa’s explosive growth have been greatly exaggerated. Recent high growth rates and increased foreign investment in Africa have given rise to the popular idea that the continent may well be on track to become the next global economic powerhouse. This “Africa Rising” narrative …

By Andrew M. Mwenda How the NRM has created an unstable equilibrium in Uganda’s politics that has allowed impunity to be tolerated In 399 BC, the popular assembly in Athens sentenced the world’s most famous philosopher, Socrates, to death. His most famous student and spokesman, Plato, was advised by friends …

By Denis Musinguzi Nebanda’s death saga underlines need for fundamental government reforms The government’s incoherent and fairly uncouth reaction about the sudden and mysterious death of the Butaleja’s youthful and government-critical Woman Member of Parliament, Cerinah Arioru Nebanda, has exposed the worryingly deepening internal weaknesses within the ruling NRM government. …

By Zhang Monan The next decade will witness rising interest rates worldwide amid global economic rebalancing Since 2007, the financial crisis has pushed the world into an era of low, if not near-zero, interest rates and quantitative easing, as most developed countries seek to reduce debt pressure and perpetuate fragile …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Recently, the Daily Telegraph published a story quoting David Himbara saying that aid to Rwanda goes to Kagame. Really? A visitor driving from Kanombe airport to downtown Kigali would be struck by the way post genocide Rwanda is shaping herself. The road is smooth to a …

By Moses Ngorok China has pursued a bold policy of reaching out to countries in Africa in ways that advance Beijing‘s agenda When America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold. A phrase repeatedly and calculatedly used in American diplomatic circles to emphasize America’s superior economy and bully …