Tag Archives: democracy

By Andrew M. Mwenda The lack of basic values as the basis of politics in Uganda is the source of our country’s constant state of crisis. “It is not easy to stand apart from mass hysteria, to argue against something that everyone – especially the most respected political leaders, academics …

By Andrew M. Mwenda The assumption behind a lot of literature on democracy is that people would care more about their welfare in elections Africa’s poor performance at delivering public goods and services impersonally to anonymous citizens is often attributed to the continent’s democratic deficit. Democratic theory expects that if …

By Andrew M. Mwenda The disastrous collapse of public services under NRM is a product of the way in which democracy has evolved rather than its absence On Saturday September 24, I went to my old school, Busoga College Mwiri, to attend celebrations marking its 100th birthday. It was a …

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 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 Mwenda Past experiences show that America is willing to countenance democracy only when it produces outcomes favourable to its interests. The current protests in Egypt have placed the United States in a big dilemma. America is a leading advocate of democracy around the world. Yet often times, the …

By Andrew M. Mwenda I am in Rwanda to attend a dialogue between journalists and government on the state of media freedom in Rwanda. The subject of press freedom in Rwanda evokes strong passions especially given that democracy in Africa has been constructed like a religion. Debate ignores critical reforms …

By Andrew Mwenda Last Saturday, October 16, I was a guest on Capital Radio’s Capital Gang programme and our debate settled down to the subject of democracy in Africa ‘ specifically on Uganda and Rwanda. Like most debate on anything in Africa, the discussion did not use the facts of …

By Andrew M. Mwenda It is rare to read an opinion about politics in Uganda in our media whose premise is our reality. Largely because of the hegemonic influence of Western ideas, most commentators begin with an abstract theory of politics based largely on a context other than our own. …

By Andrew M. Mwenda   Critics of the government of Uganda accuse it of allocating less money to priority sectors like infrastructure, education and health. Although it is evident that the cost of political patronage and the presidency/first family has grown, it is not true that this has been at …