Reports estimate that trade-based money laundering costs Uganda over $6.6 billion annually Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Financial experts have called for sustained collaboration between Uganda’s public and private sectors to strengthen the country’s anti-money laundering (AML) framework, following its recent removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey …
Read More »A new phase in Sudan’s civil war
INTERVIEW | On March 26, Sudanese army forces reclaimed control over the presidential palace in central Khartoum, dislodging the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia and claiming a major new tactical and strategic victory that could signal a new phase of the war. With the army now on the verge of reclaiming …
Read More »Sarah Naluyima’s response to the Ebola
She is dedicated to changing community behaviour HEALTH | AGENCIES | Sarah Naluyima is a dedicated community health worker at the forefront of Uganda’s Ebola outbreak response. For 15 years, Sarah has worked in her community, raising awareness about various health issues. Today, her focus is on preventing the spread of …
Read More »The hazy dream of Wandi Sub-County
Where the `Leave No One Behind’ commitment is an unfulfilled promise rather than a transformative reality COMMENT | WALTER AKENA | The principle of “Leave No One Behind” is a global commitment to eradicate poverty, eliminate exclusion, and address inequalities hindering human potential. To achieve this, world leaders birthed the 17 …
Read More »Is Trump engineering the decline and fall of the dollar?
His approach to weakening it could spell the end of the US dollar’s reign as the dominant international currency COMMENT | JEFFREY FRANKEL | In 1985, U.S. officials met with their counterparts from the other G5 countries at New York City’s Plaza Hotel to negotiate a coordinated intervention to bring down …
Read More »Putin, Trump and Russian art of ‘no’ deal
Trump palpably lost in their first direct diplomatic face-off as Putin showed he can effortlessly outmaneuver him COMMENT | NICK PATON WALSH | A “no” is not a “yes” when it is a “maybe,” a “probably not,” or an “only if.” This is the painfully predictable lesson the Trump administration’s first …
Read More »OBITUARY: Athol Fugard dies at 92
The great South African playwright captured what it means to be human OBITUARY | DENNIS WALDER | I was shocked to learn that the famous South African writer Athol Fugard had passed away on March 08, 2025. I had known his age to be 92 but somehow I never expected him …
Read More »UDB unveil RISE program to facilitate sustainable development
The RISE platform enables financial institutions to create demand for sustainable finance by turning societal, economic, and environmental challenges into transformational business opportunities Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | On March 20, the Uganda Development Bank (UDB) launched the Reshaping Industries for a Sustainable Economy (RISE) Program, an initiative that is …
Read More »Tariff escalation holding back African industrialisation, UN finds
The report finds African governments impose average export tariffs of more than 13% on finished consumer goods, compared to under 4% for primary goods ANALYSIS | JOHN BASQUILL | Tariff structures in developing markets are holding back efforts to add value domestically and export finished goods, limiting firms’ access …
Read More »Helpware backs Uganda’s BPO policy
The government seeks to create 150,000 jobs for the youth Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | US based Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firm, Helpware, has welcomed the government’s newly launched BPO policy, saying it will boost the country’s global competitiveness and attract foreign investment to the sector. The policy, developed by …
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