By Andrew M. Mwenda His move is a masterstroke that eclipses political differences and diverts public attention from real issues to imaginary problems Recently, Ndorwa East Member of Parliament, David Bahati, re-tabled the kill-all-gays Bill before parliament. After his presentation, where he claimed to be the moral vanguard of our …
Read More »NSSF on the spot
By Peter Nyanzi Extravagance, high expenditure eroding workers’ savings As the NSSF top bosses sing high praises about their financial statements for 2011, financial experts have started punching holes in it. In a statement issued last week, NSSF managing director Richard Byarugaba said for the first time in 10 years, …
Read More »The middle class goes global
By Johannes Jütting Fostering societies in which people feel protected, trust one another, and efforts are rewarded is the key to realising its members’ dreams In the twentieth century, the American dream of a middle-class life inspired the world. Now, in the twenty-first, we are moving at high speed toward …
Read More »Entrepreneurship funds not enough
By Emmanuel Keith Kisaameh Government should not be tempted to throw money at a problem and think of it as a solution Unemployment is without doubt a leading development challenge in Uganda, engulfing people from all age brackets and making the fight against it noble. With the recent Makerere University …
Read More »Can MPs improve oil contracts? Part II
By Andrew M. Mwenda Parliamentary intervention in government contracts has been consistently counterproductive because MPs do not look at all sides (…continued from last week) I argued in this column last week that parliamentary intervention stopping the signing of oil contracts is likely to make a bad situation worse. First, …
Read More »Weapons of the weak and policy failures
By Mwambutsya Ndebesa Why the Banyakole say ogwakijungu gwita otagireyo, meaning the white colonial master only punishes those who do not show up Uganda has some of the best designed policies in Africa but some of the worst implementation record on the continent. Whether it is agricultural, fiscal, decentralisation, health, …
Read More »MPs’ Shs 103m cars bad for economy
By Peter Nyanzi What moral authority will this Parliament have to demand that other departments handle public funds thriftily? Twenty six years ago when President Yoweri Museveni’s National Resistance Movement government captured power, they won acclaim for condemning the profligacy of the previous regimes, which had made those in power …
Read More »Can MPs improve oil contracts? Part I
By Andrew M. Mwenda We should be suspicious of parliamentary interventions in lucrative government contracts because they often make a bad situation worse Recently, President Yoweri Museveni ordered government of Uganda officials to sign oil Production Sharing Agreements with companies. This was in spite of a resolution by parliament stopping …
Read More »Victimising KCCA, police
By Andrew M. Mwenda After charging Agaba and Komakech with murder, will KCCA be able to bite again? The near unanimous public condemnation of former KCCA director of planning, George Agaba and his bodyguard, Santos Komakech has caused them to be charged with murder before investigation. Their crime was video …
Read More »The economics and politics of Kampala city traders strike
By Dr. Robert K. Rutaagi The greatest paradox is that 20 years after privatisation, the traders want the government’s assistance in businesses The popular cliché that ‘man is a political animal’ can manifest in various versions and situations. One such is that ‘man is a rebellious animal’. For example in …
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