The new banking model is expected to deepen financial inclusion Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Uganda’s commercial banks have started rolling out agent banking following Kenya and Rwanda’s footsteps in an effort to grow deposits and customer base. This follows the coming into force of the Financial Institutions Act …
Read More »Why blood shortage hit Uganda’s hospitals
Donor cuts, low government funding contribute, but the bigger problem could be you Kampala, Uganda | FLAVIA NASSAKA | This is not a good time to be sick and in need of a blood transfusion as hospitals across the country experience an acute shortage. “We only have 10% of what …
Read More »Surprises in 2018 Uganda budget
Surprises in 2018 budget:mFinance Ministry makes right moves, but timing could be wrong Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | For years now, Uganda’s budget making process has been dominated by debates about four contentious issues; the government’s huge investment in infrastructure, domestic resource mobilisation, the size and rate of external …
Read More »Inside Somalia’s wars
How a clan system and external players are complicating the country’s reconstruction Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | When I flew to Mogadishu, Somalia’s sandy capital, on December 16, 2017; I was filled with a heady mix of anxiety and excitement because of the image we all have of …
Read More »Uganda Law Society goes to court to challenge Age Limit law
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda Law Society (ULS) has filed a petition in the Constitutional Court challenging the newly enacted “Age Limit” law. Through its president Francis Gimara, renowned law don Prof. Fredrick Ssempebwa and the Agago North MP Prof .Morris Ogenga Latigo, ULS says it’s aggrieved …
Read More »MTN licence expires, rivals fight renewal
MTN licence expires: Dirty details of Uganda telecom sector exposed Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | Uganda’s largest telecom company, MTN Uganda is caught up in a fight to secure the renewal of its licence which expires this year, The Independent can reveal. With 55 percent of telecom market share …
Read More »Electricity boom in 2018
Karuma, Isimba hydropower projects to add 783MW Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Uganda’s electricity supply is expected to increase later this year as government switches on Isimba and Karuma hydropower dams amidst low electricity demand. The government is set to launch Isimba (183MW) and Karuma (600MW) hydropower dams – …
Read More »UGANDA: 2018 to unlock oil billions
UGANDA: $20 billion up for grabs Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | Ernest Rubondo, the Executive Director, Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU), is optimistic 2018 will be big for Uganda’s oil industry. “The sector will be felt in 2018,” he told The Independent in an interview at his offices at …
Read More »Uganda’s cement industry faces glut
New expansions could lead to a drop in cement prices Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | The good news for Uganda’s cement industry is that it is headed towards increase in production in the next few months. The challenge, however, is that it could lead to a decline in prices …
Read More »Museveni defends ‘fake’ gold dealer
President snubs IGG, DPP, and Financial Crimes Unit Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | Sub-Saharan Africa’s second biggest gold refinery, the Uganda-based African Gold Refinery (AGR) deals in big money – with its volumes of exports, according to informed sources, valued at over Shs. 2 trillion over the last …
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