ARTICLES 2008-2015

By Matthew Reed As the great and good of the mobile industry browsed the exhibits at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona this week, they may have overlooked a couple of watershed moments in emerging-market telecoms. In the past week, Indian and Chinese investors have unveiled plans for …

By Patrick Kagenda The independent’s Patrick Kagenda talked to the Minister of State for Energy Simon D`ujanga on how far the work on the oil pipeline construction contracted to Tamoil has gone. Why is the price of petrol going up? The prices of the petroleum products on the market are …

By Article 29 Coalition Cabinet is currently reviewing the proposed amendments to the Press and Journalist Act 2001, which is the law that governs media practice. Like all citizens and well-meaning people in the government, every Ugandan journalist wants to work in a media industry that is responsible, respected, and …

By Isaac Mufumba Time check: 10:30 a.m., a lean looking man of average height, clad in a white short sleeved shirt and a sky blue necktie enters one of the committee rooms of Uganda’s parliament. This is the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Nathan Nandala Mafabi. He takes …

By Dicta Asiimwe Who takes care of the roaming lonely orphans? He is wearing threadbare rugs. Thats all he owns for clothes. Kutosi is the only name that identifies the 13-year-old boy whose parents and five siblings died in the Bududa mudslides. In the African setting, orphans without both parents …

By Patrick Kagenda Last year was a year of excellent results at Crane Bank. The bank achieved its highest profit levels since its inception in 1995. “Not only did the bank receive the Banker award of the year for the Sixth time in 7 years and 5 times in a …

By Agencies India’s largest telco Bharti Airtel has tied up US$ 8.3 billion from a clutch of foreign banks and State Bank of India to fund the acquisition of Zain telecom’s African assets. “Bharti Airtel is pleased to announce that the entire financing requirement of $ 8.3 billion for the …

By The Independent Team South Africa and East Africa segment posts 6% loss MTN Group last week announced an increase in revenue and subscribers for the year ended 31 December 2009, they however admitted a negative impact due to the economic crisis, the introduction of new regulations such as SIM …

By Duncan McLeod `It’s hard moving on’ It’s difficult to let go.” Phuthuma Nhleko, MTN’s group president and CEO, sounds almost rueful when I ask him why he’s decided to hang up his hat at the mobile operator. “You do a lot of soul searching,” he tells me in an …

By Andrew M. Mwenda The killing of three Baganda youths by President Yoweri Museveni’s security detail at Kasumbi tombs is shocking but not surprising. There is a quiet battle between Museveni and Mengo. The president knows that Mengo is becoming a major pillar of resistance to his authority. Although this …