By Patrick Kagenda The World Bank president Robert B. Zoellick just ended an African tour that took him to Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire, and Ethiopia.He told the African Union meeting in Addis Ababa that an estimated 64 million people worldwide will fall into extreme poverty because of the global financial …

By Independent Team The Indian telecom giant, Essar Group which owns Warid Uganda, has prepared a telecom blueprint for Africa under which it would invest US$2 billion According to Standard Business of India, Essar’s goal is to get 20 million customers and more, spanning six to seven countries in the …

By Patrick Kagenda Who would want to put their money in a company whose net worth is not clear? Since the National Insurance Corporation (NIC) issued its long awaited Initial Public Offer (IPO) on December 31, 2009, the event has raised several questions that remain unanswered. Top on the list …

By Patrick Kagenda & Joshua Masinde The year 2009 began with projections of declining economic growth especially in Sub- Saharan Africa as a result of the global financial meltdown. Growth was projected to decline from 7 percent in 2007 to 6 percent in the financial year 2008/09. The economy has …

By Joseph Were It has not been a wonderful world at Zain Uganda according to its official third quarter financial statements. The telecom giant recorded a net loss of US$ 3.6 million (approx. Shs7 billion) over the three months’ period ending September 30 on top of a 27 percent drop …

By Joshua Masinde 7th phone firm promises cheaper calls Ugandans have a reason to smile. They have a seventh telecommunications operator to choose from. Aptly called Smile, the new company which launched operations last week promises cheaper call rates. Smile CEO, Irene Charnley said its target is the segment of …

By John Njoroge Your next caller could be a fraudster Sometime in August, operatives attached to the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) arrested one of Uganda’s biggest fraudsters ever.  The 21-year-old Michael Mugarura had for over three years been impersonating President Yoweri Museveni by imitating his voice. He would use …

By Akena P’Ojok Why Uganda should not be short of electricity In part I, the author showed how the British built Owen Falls Power Station to serve their colonial interests, how they locked in an agreement for Uganda to supply cheap electricity to British settlers in Kenya, and how the …

By Akena P’Ojok Why Uganda should not be short of electricity It should be a blessing for a country to have natural energy resources such as petroleum, gas, coal, water with fast running rivers and falls. But this is not always the case; in fact the contrary may occur. This …

By Mubatsi Asinja Habati & Matsiko wa Mucoori Contractors paid before signing agreements In January 2008, Prime Minister Apolo Nsibambi gave the Auditor General James Muwanga a 30-day deadline to deliver audited accounts of expenditure on the Commonwealth Heads of State and Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Kampala in November …