COLUMNISTS

  Why we need to think of how to develop national capacity to manage our economy By Andrew M. Mwenda Uganda is going through the worst economic performance since 1987 when the government of President Yoweri Museveni began liberal economic reform. In the first quarter of this financial year, the …

As Sierra Leone’s president seeks to amend the constitution and extend his presidency, it is time for Africa to pause and reflect By Andrew M. Mwenda The president of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma, wants to amend the constitution and remove term limits on the presidency. Koroma is not the …

How the opposition leader has blundered on the chance to promote his political project – if he has any By Andrew M. Mwenda Media reports have recently indicated there are attempts to organise talks between the government and the opposition. For such talks to be meaningful, they have to involve …

Why very few poor countries will escape poverty by taking gigantic leaps into the service industry  By Andrew M. Mwenda Two weeks ago, I had a disagreement with the president of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, at a conference in Kigali, Rwanda. Kim had argued that increasing automation and …

By eyeing government contracts, potentially game-changing policy locks out general public solidarity with business I have a confession to make. I love mangoes. They are as sweet to look at as they are sweet to taste. Whether arranged in the cool aisles of supermarkets, on neat stalls of town markets, …

Why this communist state, with per capita income like ours, manufactures nuclear weapons and satellites while we can’t By Andrew M. Mwenda Last week the U.S. announced its intelligence showed North Korea was planning to test another nuclear weapon. If it does, it will be the sixth nuclear test by …

COMMENT: Trump’s rejection of international trade rules by executive order and renegotiation foreshadow likely trade tensions By Oonagh Fitzgerald and Hector R. Torres Donald Trump’s presidency is posing fundamental challenges to the rule-based international trading system that has buttressed global growth for decades. But while America’s protectionist maneuverings threaten a …

COMMENT: Surface water resources, such as desalinated seawater or recycled wastewater, will not close the global gap between supply and demand By Yasmin Siddiqi We live on a parched planet. Farmers till arid pastureland, and policymakers fret over empty reservoirs, dry rivers, and thirsty cities. And that only scratches the …

  BRIDGE ACADEMIES: Legal/regulatory pitfalls and lessons for impact investors in Uganda By Stephen Tumwesigye In November 2016, the High Court in Uganda made an order closing the Bridge International Academies schools following an order by the Ministry of Education. The Bridge International Academies are set up under a relatively …

How, barring a major surprise, the current power structure in Uganda makes lifting presidential age limit inevitable By Andrew M. Mwenda Those debating the succession issue in Uganda should refer to Rome in 44BC. Rome had been a republic since 509BC when the patricians rose in revolt and deposed King …