Better business climate Uganda’s ranking in the 2017 World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business has improved by seven places, a development that shows that ongoing business environment reforms being implemented by the government are starting to bear fruit. Uganda now ranks 115th out of the 190 assessed economies, which is …
Read More »Clinton, Trump in frenzied final push for votes
Pittsburgh, United States | AFP | Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump battled for votes on a frenzied final day of campaigning Monday, telling Americans the country’s fate rides on who they choose as the next US president. Clinton, the front-running Democrat, aimed to nail down her narrow lead with stops …
Read More »Nuclear to the rescue?
Uganda, Russia reach understanding to harness huge Uranium deposits to produce thousands of mega watts from nuclear energy It’s now official; Uganda’s plan to develop nuclear as a source of electricity is on course. On Oct. 13, a Russian government delegation was in Uganda to meet President Yoweri Museveni. The …
Read More »Chinese angry with Museveni
Threat to cut funding leads to fight among energy bosses Sparks are flying between President Yoweri Museveni and his Chinese lenders, Exim Bank, on one hand and between Ministry of Energy officials and of the Uganda Electricity Generation Company Ltd (UEGCL) on the other. Trouble is over the piling up …
Read More »In Africa, little enthusiasm for US vote after Obama
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | “The dream becomes reality”, “Our son, our hope”: the headlines in the Kenyan press in 2008 captured pride and excitement after the election of Barack Obama. Eight years later, enthusiasm for the outgoing president has faded on a continent that he is accused of forsaking. …
Read More »Uganda High Court bans Gates-backed schools
Uganda’s High Court on Friday ordered the closure of a chain of low-cost private schools backed by Microsoft and Facebook founders Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. Judge Patricia Basaza Wasswa ruled the 63 Bridge International Academies provided unsanitary learning conditions, used unqualified teachers and were not properly licensed. The ruling …
Read More »In The Independent: Why the Chinese are angry with Museveni
COVER STORY: Chinese angry with Museveni An investigation by The Independent shows that sparks are flying between President Yoweri Museveni and his Chinese lenders, Exim Bank, on one hand and between Ministry of Energy officials and of the Uganda Electricity Generation Company Ltd (UEGCL) on the other. Trouble is over …
Read More »Uganda tells UN it does not ‘tolerate’ anti-gay conduct
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Uganda told the UN rights council on Thursday that it does not “tolerate” discrimination based on sexual orientation, a claim directly undermined by the government’s widely condemned record on gay rights. Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa also blamed British colonialism for laws that remain on Uganda’s …
Read More »Kenya withdrawing from S.Sudan after Ondieki fired by UN
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya announced Wednesday it was withdrawing from United Nations peacekeeping duties in South Sudan after UN chief Ban Ki-moon fired the Kenyan head of the force for failing to protect civilians. Continued deployment of Kenyan troops in South Sudan “is no longer tenable”, the foreign …
Read More »The tale of stranded students after Makerere closes
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Michael O’HAGAN A day after Uganda’s president ordered the closure of one of Africa’s oldest universities, 23-year old Gabriel Deng was hurriedly stuffing his belongings into rucksacks in a rundown student hostel. Pop music blared down the corridor from a nearby room as other students …
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