COLUMNISTS

By Taeho Bark WTO can help governments achieve their two entirely different objectives; growth and distributional fairness If you chase two rabbits at once, the old saying goes, both will escape. And yet this is precisely what many governments are required to do: pursue both growth and distributional fairness. The …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Why the opposition needs to transcend their biases about Museveni if they are to ever have a chance to defeat him In early 2010, my friend Prof. Jeremy Weinstein from Stanford University (then working at the White House) sent me results of an opinion poll on …

By Alan Berube Trade efforts worldwide  are recognising that cities, not countries, are the real centers of global trade Recently, a group of officials gathered to plot a new trade strategy. It was a typical trade-policy discussion: the participants diagnosed competitive export sectors, identified key trading partners, described how public …

By Masari Aim Smith The late Muammar Gaddafi of Libya and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt would still be presidents if it was that easy What could have been in the mind of President Yoweri Museveni when he made remarks that army may take over government? I would ask this same …

By Morris Komakech Mike Mukula and the insect that hoped to become a bird In November of 1993, the famed Paris-based Congolese Musician, Koffi Olomide released a song called Papa plus. A portion of the preamble to that song has since been translated to me, from Lingala to English. In …

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 …