THE LAST WORD

By Andrew M. Mwenda Since 1996, it has become hard for the government to initiate and implement a big development project because of power struggles. The contest for political power in Uganda between President Yoweri Museveni and the opposition largely led by Dr Kizza Besigye has become so intense that …

By Andrew M. Mwenda In 2005 Museveni gave Shs5m to each MP to remove presidential term limits; in 2010, he paid Shs20m per MP to pass the Cultural Leaders Bill. Last week, I was in Johannesburg to attend a World Bank conference on the South-South dialogue on natural resources. I …

By Andrew M. Mwenda If individual ability and the right circumstances are necessary but not sufficient for success, what else is needed? Recently, I chanced upon a documentary on Discovery Channel titled “Altered Statesmen” and featuring British World War II hero, Winston Churchill. It is a story of alternative history. …

By Andrew M. Mwenda While it is political choices that have fostered poor service delivery, it is reconfiguration of the civil service that will make service delivery possible Finally, President Yoweri Museveni has ended the anxiety that was eating up the ruling classes – politicians, business persons, civil servants, prelates, …

Without placing allegations of human rights abuses in context, it is easy to call Obama or Cameron delusional despots. Last week, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, while on twitter, got into a heated exchange with a British journalist, one Ian Birrell. The journalist was accusing him of human rights violations, …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Peaceful protest cannot be an end in itself; it must have an objective. The tactics must seek to persuade not to intimidate Over the last one month, opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye has made one of the most dramatic political comebacks in history. Having been humiliatingly …

By Andrew M. Mwenda The incentive structure created by NATO’s commitment to the rebels will breed a movement of opportunists, not democrats. Recently, NATO airstrikes killed the son of Libyan leader Maummar Al Gaddafi and his three children. Officially, NATO’s role in the ongoing conflict in Libya is to protect …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Bin Laden argued that to end local tyranny, Muslims should fight American first; Cairo and Tunis proved him wrong On Monday, I walked into the studios of Capital FM for my morning radio show only to see breaking news on television that Osama Bin Laden had …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Local councils have undermined the effectiveness of public administration without fostering the expected accountability dividend. In 2000, Frederick Golooba-Mutebi gave me a copy of his PhD thesis written at the London School of Economics titled “Decentralisation and Development Administration in Uganda.” It is a sobering account …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Given Libya’s tribal cleavages, the contours of conflict will deepen ethnic tensions and threaten the institutional integrity of the state Now, the complexity of the political problems of Libya is becoming apparent. There is a lot of back and forth shift in fortunes between rebels and …