By Pearl Natamba Suspension of UNBS boss, Terry Kahuma, exposes how failures at nation’s quality standards body endanger unsuspecting consumers Kigozi Sebaggala, the executive director of the Uganda Manufacturers Association, bought a neatly packaged 50-meter electricity cable from a shop in downtown Nakasero to use at his father’s burial. It …
Read More »Besigye has the right vision
By Mubatsi Asinja Habati Francis Mwijukye has been an aide of Dr Kizza Besigye, the leader of Uganda’s biggest opposition party, the Forum for Democratic change (FDC) since 2001. He has been by Besigye’s side during numerous clashes with police. On Feb. 21 police shot Mwijukye with a rubber bullet …
Read More »More Trouble for Museveni
By Agather Atuhaire President desperately fails to control a rebel parliament Barely a year into his fourth five-year term, President Yoweri Museveni for the first time in his 26-year rule appears to be losing his grip. Ten of his 15 top ministers have either resigned over alleged corruption or face …
Read More »Crackdown was the word of the year in 2011
By Miriam Mukama Police, army make the media’s mission impossible I shouted, “Don’t shoot me, am a journalist please don’t shoot me”. I begged and almost lost my breath. But before I could finish saying it, a security operative had already fired a bullet through my knee. Gideon Tugume, a …
Read More »First Grades: The myth and the reality
By Rukiya Makuma Education experts, students, parents, and schools disagree on excitement around top students in national exams When heads of government-owned schools met in Kampala on Feb.16 to select the next batch of senior five students, fate was not on Robert Ayesiza’s side. Though he passed in Second Grade …
Read More »Nursing Mulago’s staff shortage
By Annah Natukunda One nurse is expected to care for 100 acutely sick patients as ministry loses Shs400 million per year on “ghost” workers You get up! Go and sit outside,” orders a man dressed in light blue trousers and a white shirt with a Mulago Hospital staff ID. He …
Read More »Museveni should be worried
By Agather Atuhaire To have your cabinet short of 10 ministers in less than one year because of corruption related issues is something to be worried about. The Public Accounts Committee report on the compensation of Basajjabalaba’s Haba group and col. Mugyeni’s Rhino group has led to the resignation of …
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 …
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