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Not about profits and interests of multinational companies COMMENT | MICHAEL J SSALI | The recent article in The Independent magazine (October 31 2017) titled “Tears and Cheers over New GMO Law” left me, as a farmer and a science journalist, disappointed. It carried negative and misleading sentiments about agricultural biotechnology. …

According to new research, female leaders may be more likely to provoke military coups COMMENT | RAJ PERSAUD  &  PETER BRUGGEN | Recently, Zimbabwe’s generals took President Robert Mugabe into custody in an effective coup (though they insist on not calling it that). Days later, the country’s ruling party, the Zimbabwe African National …

Something disastrous is happening in FDC that people will only understand much later COMMENT | SSEMANDA ALLAWI | For a decade plus, Dr. Col. Kizza Besigye has been attacking and accusing president Museveni of being a dictator and a selfish individual. He has accused him of failing and using NRM as a …

Why don’t many policymakers recognise loss of healthy, robust, and diverse ecosystems as serious threat? COMMENT | ROBERT WATSON | With the United Nations’ climate change conference underway recently in Bonn, Germany, rising global temperatures were once again at the top of the world’s agenda. But why care about the increase …

Why changes in broadly shared economic assumptions are potentially riskier than more dramatic events COMMENT | CHRISTOPHER SMART | One of the great mysteries of today’s global markets is their irrepressible enthusiasm, even as the world around them appears on the verge of chaos or collapse. And yet, investors may be …

Four things the Paradise Papers tell us about global business and political elites and what needs to change COMMENT | RONEN PALAN | The so-called Paradise Papers may sound familiar – leaked documents from a law firm that specialises in offshore services reveal how the global elite avoids paying taxes. Even …

How it handles conflict of interest will enhance or sink corporate governance in capital markets COMMENT | SILVER KAYONDO | A few weeks ago, the Uganda Stock Exchange (USE) confirmed it had received formal approval from the regulatory body, the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) to operate a demutualised stock exchange. This …

 How it reveals impact of the state undermining workers’ organisations and unions COMMENT | MORRIS KOMAKECH | Ugandan doctors opted to strike over poor remunerations, which they say compromise their work ethic. The doctors’ plight is understandable. Doctors in public facilities earn, on average, about US$300 per month. This level of …

Governments issue orders to cut off Internet but telecoms reserve ability to hit the `kill switch’ COMMENT | KIZITO BYENKYA & ALEX HUMPHREY | Much to the dismay of the government in Addis Ababa, “Zone 9” has become a household name in Ethiopia. Since 2012, this small group of journalists-turned-online activists …

By ignoring poor people’s needs, financial institutions are overlooking a massive potential market COMMENT | REETA ROY | In a sea of gloomy news, one bright headline appears on the horizon. The World Bank’s latest figures on individuals’ bank accounts, to be released early next year, are expected to show that …