Why the greedy Ugandans we love to hate could be the key to our future prosperity THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Our country has a new villain: the land grabber! In the popular imagination, this is a rich and powerful individual grabbing land from poor helpless …
Read More »Inside Africa’s real tragedy
THE LAST WORD: How the ideology of a welfare state has destroyed our continent and impoverished its people THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Everywhere I turn these days, Ugandans (and Africans generally) are complaining about the sorry state of our education and healthcare systems. There is a …
Read More »Africa’s need for messiahs
Inside our belief that the salvation of our nations will come from the actions of one great man THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | If you follow discussions on politics in Uganda, or Africa generally, one factor is given as the cause of the slow rate of development – …
Read More »Understanding why nations fail
THE LAST WORD: How a book celebrated by the world’s leading economists is actually an intellectual absurdity THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Last Saturday, my intellectual friends and I held a thrilling debate on a book by James Robinson and Daron Acemoglu titled `Why Nations Fail’. The book …
Read More »Inside Uganda’s healthcare tears
THE LAST WORD: Why trying to do everything for everyone,everywhere has ended up doing little for anyone, anywhere THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | The debate on health policy in Uganda is frustrating. Our health services are characterized by corruption, absenteeism, incompetence and apathy. Everyone is angry and …
Read More »Thinking succession in Uganda
Why the failure of a third force has locked us in a choice between Museveni and Besigye THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | In debating whether President Yoweri Museveni should go or stay we are not indulging in an abstract theoretical exercise but a challenge of practical politics. …
Read More »On Africa’s big dreams
THE LAST WORD: Why our continent needs to rethink her overenthusiastic attitude towards foreign direct investment THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Last month, Rwanda hosted the African Union’s summit on the Continent Free Trade Area (CFTA). The discussions were as inspiring as they were frustrating. Leaders from government …
Read More »Uganda’s new villain
THE LAST WORD: Why the country and its president are fighting the wrong enemy on electricity tariffs THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | A large cross section of Ugandan elites is angry, very angry. It thinks the price (tariff) it buys electricity at is too high. …
Read More »On Museveni’s Umeme missive
UMEME: Why the president is misinformed about electricity distribution market and tariffs THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | President Yoweri Museveni’s letter to the minister of Energy has provided considerable grist to the anti-Umeme mill. There is no company providing a public service in Uganda that has been …
Read More »Lesson from Jinja East by-election
Why Uganda’s opposition should take voter turnout seriously if they ever want to win elections THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | On March 15th, the Electoral Commission declared opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) candidate, Paul Mwiru, elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Jinja East constituency in …
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