COLUMNISTS

By Dani Rodrik The symptoms are there that the US will ultimately be undone by the poor quality of its democratic discourse With its presidential election over, the United States can finally take a breather from campaign politics, at least for a while. But an uncomfortable question lingers: How is …

By Joseph Bossa A historical perspective shows need to build confidence and trust with firmness Kampala has not lived up the expectations of a capital city. There are people who argue that it is irredeemable and that Uganda should establish a new capital city somewhere else. Others assent that it …

By Christopher Blattman If corruption hurts growth, why have economists not found much evidence for it? Should foreign donors care about corruption in developing countries? Or is corruption an Anglo-American fetish? Corruption infuriates me as much as the next person. It is despicable, pure and simple. But Westerners care about …

By Okello Lucima Critics miss the remarkableness of the US directive on Uganda’s 2011 election that Otunnu wrenched from Congress Yoga Adhola’s ‘Otunnu is an empty suit’, (The Independent, Oct.5), made many wild claims. His central thesis and assertions that Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) party President Olara Otunnu’s Harvard and …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Focus on the civil service where graft is most lethal rather than in politics where it is most politically attractive Over the last three weeks, government of Uganda has done what was previously unthinkable. First, police rearrested the ringleaders in the scam in the ministry of …

By Peter Nyanzi Ordinarily, the police would arrest anyone found with government property at his home and charge him with “possession of government stores.” But in Sembabule District, the police are instead thanking people who were found using hundreds of school desks and chairs at their homes. The citizens told …

By Frank Kanduho It’s a shame when Parliament trades in mob justice without a care for the evidence Presently, the debate obtaining in and outside Parliament is the unilateral call on the executive to force the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Pius Bigirimana, out of …

By Vivian E. Asedri The Republican Party’s bad science, shifting demographics and the trust factor gave him victory Who says men do not cry? Even the most powerful man in the world militarily – United States President Barack H. Obama – broke down in tears on Wednesday, November 7, when …

By Andrew M. Mwenda How the newly re-elected US president is not the solution but the problem for Africa Last week, Barak Obama was re-elected president of the United States. Since his first election in 2008, many African elites were happy that at least “one of us” has won the …

By Peter Nyanzi Catholics, Anglicans, Moslems should devise a better way of electing their leaders for unity and peace in their religions On Nov. 4, the Coptic Orthodox Church based in Egypt picked their new Pope in a manner that presents important lessons for all religious groups in which replacing …