IN THE INDEPENDENT: Why Ugandans are poorer today than yesterday The lead stories In the Independent this week: ANALYSIS Why is the Catholic Church losing followers?: Figures from the 2014 National Population and Housing Census show that, in the last 10 years, the percentage of Ugandan identifying as Catholics has …
Read More »Rio carnival fantasy hides dirty reality
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | Rio’s Sambodromo parades are a fantasy of beautiful bodies and dreamlike costumes but the self-declared greatest show on Earth is prepared in a dirty street next to an open sewer. The contrast between what happens inside Rio de Janeiro’s specially built samba stadium …
Read More »COMMENT: Fallacy on global poverty
COMMENT: By Morris Komakech Every poverty eradication effort exacerbates it and perpetuates worse outcomes in the long term My friend Ojotre and his fiancee have travelled through many countries in Africa. They have marveled at the sight of expensive government guzzlers – four-wheel drives – emblazoned with big inscriptions such …
Read More »COMMENT: The fortunate few and the forgotten many
COMMENT: By Winnie Byanyima The global economic system harms hundreds of millions of people who are already stricken by poverty and exploitation In 2015, the 62 richest people in the world held as much wealth as the 3.6 billion poorest and most vulnerable. In 2016, a mere eight people did, …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Hard work ahead for new Gambian president
Soma, Gambia | AFP | They breathed a sigh of relief when strongman Yahya Jammeh finally left The Gambia. But supporters of the new president, Adama Barrow, say he has a lot to do to get the country — one of Africa’s poorest — on its feet. “At the end …
Read More »The snake-catchers’ cooperative saving lives in India
Chengalpattu, India | AFP | A small scythe, a crowbar and a bundle of canvas bags are all that Kali and Vedan carry when they venture into the fields of southern India to catch some of the world’s deadliest snakes. Their skills, passed from generation to generation of the Irula …
Read More »FEATURE: DR Congo’s business dreams flatlined by violence
Butembo, DR Congo | AFP | The question is so absurd that Butembo’s deputy mayor misses a beat before answering. What is the town’s unemployment rate? “Unemployment is the norm around these parts,” says Godefroid Kambere Matimbya. “There aren’t any businesses.” Butembo is no ghost town, but a city of …
Read More »Protectionism a scourge? Maybe not in Africa
Washington, United States | AFP | World economic leaders gathered in Washington this week to defend globalization, delivering a single message in unison: Protectionism will not save you. But this glosses over the plight of Africa, which is sinking further into poverty despite years of free trade. According to the …
Read More »Uganda’s rich and the rest
Special Report on the future of poverty in Uganda Ugandans often jokingly say people from western Uganda “are eating” to mean that they are economically prospering. It is also often a jibe at westerners because they are the “ruling clan” since President Yoweri Museveni hails from western Uganda. So when …
Read More »VIDEO: Mityana, where teachers have turned to boda boda riding
VIDEO: Ever wondered why the education standards in Mityana district have gone to the dogs? Our team embarked on a journey to Mityana to find what the problem could be and in what might be a surprise to many… the teachers in district have resorted to riding boda bodas instead of attending …
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