COLUMNISTS

  It is now more than a month since President Yoweri Museveni shut down Makerere University. This was because lecturers had abandoned teaching and issued government an ultimatum: pay our unpaid arrears or we will not return to work. However, the lecturers are not striking over salaries, because these have …

THE LAST WORD: By Andrew M. Mwenda How 50 years have not changed the nature of the confrontation between the central government, traditional authorities Exactly 50 years since Prime Minister Milton Obote attacked the palace of Sir Edward Mutesa, the King of Buganda, President Yoweri Museveni has attacked the palace …

THE LAST WORD: By Andrew M. Mwenda Why nations that are different exhibit similar health service dysfunctions I have been rereading Melle Leenstra’s 2012 book, `Beyond the Façade; the instrumentalisation of the Zambian health sector’. It offers an interesting insight into the challenges that central African nation faces in its …

COMMENT: By Geoffrey A Onegi-Obel The capital markets industry offers solutions for the country’s middle income economy challenge There has recently been an endless flow of ‘brilliant’ opinions about the way forward for Uganda’s ailing economy but none has so far had clarity that demonstrates understanding of the Economic Development …

COMMENT: By Lawrence Tritschler Will the Persons with Disabilities Act of 2014 Serve Uganda’s Disabled? Every Monday morning I take a fifteen-minute boda ride from my flat in Bukoto to the Makerere University campus across town. Weaving through the heavy traffic that bogs down Kampala’s Wandegeya area, each week I practically …

THE LAST WORD: By Andrew M. Mwenda Why efforts to make peasant farmers go commercial are unlikely to yield success President Yoweri Museveni spent a week in Luwero District on Operation Wealth Creation. The president was teaching farmers to adopt modern farming techniques in order to increase their output and …

THE LAST WORD: By Andrew M. Mwenda How Trump won not because he violated American values but because he upheld American vices This week, Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton to win the US presidency. This is especially intriguing because Trump had been vilified by America’s powerful weapons of mass propaganda; …

COMMENT: Colin Asiimwe Using shame to understand and combat financial inclusion communication challenges for clients A few months ago, a client came to us at Metropolitan Republic Uganda with a problem. To solve it we had to understand the mindset and attitudes behind many peoples’ aversion to banks and formal financial …

THE LAST WORD: By Andrew M. Mwenda Lesson for Central Bank from the experience of the takeover of Crane Bank This week, the government injected Shs 200 billion into Crane Bank to bolster its liquidity position. This is only 40% of the Shs 500 billion needed to bring the bank …

COMMENT: By Martin M. Lwanga Politics in Africa tends to be a zero sum game where the losers need an ICC to protect their rights The recent decision by the President of Burundi, Peirre Nkurunziza, to sign legislation enabling Burundi to withdrawal from International Court Criminal Court (ICC), followed by …