By Haggai Matsiko Loic Laurandel served as Total Exploration & Production General Manager for four years. The Independent’s Haggai Matsiko spoke to him about his tenure before he left for Bolivia. As you depart, if someone asked you, `how is the oil sector in Uganda?’ what would be your summary? …
Read More »Inside UPDF’s Juba Mission
By Haggai Matsiko Army that beat Machar’s fighters faces an unceremonious exit A potholed runway ushers you into Juba International Airport—the most critical South Sudan government installation. A small old stuffy building with dusty window panes and a dusty cracked cement floor, the terminal is manned by policemen who don …
Read More »Blaming Kadaga
By Haggai Matsiko Is she the reason Uganda’s most expensive parliament cannot deliver? The Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, continues notching good ratings in opinion polls and among commentators on public affairs. However, the same cannot be said of her House and its 385 legislators. In a recent poll by …
Read More »Opposition’s next loss
By Haggai Matsiko Can the opposition build enough muscle to change its poll-predicted fate in 2016? It is only 18 months to 2016 when Uganda goes to the next polls. Yet while President Yoweri Museveni, hit the campaign for these polls as early as 2012, not much has been going …
Read More »Museveni-Mbabazi fallout
By Haggai Matsiko Museveni’s sole candidature stumbles, amidst money fights President Yoweri Museveni has a heck of a job restoring order in his ruling party, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) ahead of the 2016 polls. The fallout with his Premier and party Secretary General Amama Mbabazi over the latter’s perceived …
Read More »Jennifer Semakula Musisi
By Haggai Matsiko and Joseph Were `I am here to do a serious job, don’t involve me in politics’ The KCCA executive director spoke to The Independent’s Joseph Were and Haggai Matsiko After three years in charge of KCCA, you have a campaign you are running. Do you want to …
Read More »Jennifer Musisi’s Kampala
By Haggai Matsiko and Joseph Were KCCA Executive Director explains her plans Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Executive Director Jennifer Musisi’s current pet project is decongesting the city of motorised traffic. As she explained to The Independent, part of that project involves some old strategies that her predecessors spoke about; …
Read More »Museveni’s failure to name Chief Justice
By Joan Akello and Haggai Matsiko Incompetence or Strategy? Reports that the Uganda Law Society (ULS) has failed to shake President Yoweri Museveni into appointing a chief justice have led to questions about his motives. The ULS is the latest group to meet President Museveni `reminding’ him to appoint a …
Read More »Inside Umeme shares deal
By Haggai Matsiko Energy sector attracts big money, investor makes Shs 200 billion Despite leading to a 5.5% drop in share value, Actis Capital LLP’s sale of 45.1% of its 60.08% stake in Uganda’s sole national power distributor, Umeme Ltd, appears to have gone fairly smoothly. The shares sold at …
Read More »Museveni’s bad week with America, Belgium over gays
By Haggai Matsiko Did Belgium’s gay prime minister block president from Summit? Tensions were already high when President Yoweri Museveni set off on April 1 for the 4th EU-Africa Summit in the Belgian capital Brussels. There had been an attempt to get all 82 African leaders to boycott the event. …
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