By Haggai Matsiko Uganda survives fatal precedent on US$404 m Heritage Oil case Uganda’s recent win in the US$404 million tax dispute against Heritage Oil and Gas Limited (HOGL) is critical not only because of the money involved but the precedent it sets for the country’s oil sector. By challenging …

By Haggai Matsiko Total Launch ready for industry survey of local capacity needs Loic Laurandel, the General Manager, Total E&P Uganda spoke to The Independent’s Haggai Matsiko about the company’s operations and the current status of the oil industry. Since you joined the Ugandan oil sector, things have been quiet. …

By Julius Businge But can police expose `true own But can police expose `true owner’ of Dura Cement Ltd? When former Nyabushozi constituency MP Elly Karuhanga left parliament in 2001, eye-brows went up over his next move. The soft-spoken and debonair Karuhanga, with charming smile, and cheeky glint in the …

By Henry Zakumumpa Before this African literary great, many thought that white men were the ‘owners of words’ It has been a tragic year for African literature thus far. First it was Francis Imbuga. The Kenyan dramatist of the Betrayal in the City fame succumbed to a stroke in Nairobi …

By Anna Amumpiire Balance needed between environmental conservation and development initiatives The aim of World Forestry Day is to raise awareness about the importance of forests and their contribution to humanity. In this regard, Uganda celebrated this day on 21st March 2013. Forests are a means to sustainable development and …

By Kambale Musavuli What must be different this time in the DR Congo? On March 26, 2013, war crimes suspect Bosco Ntaganda appeared for preliminary proceedings before the International Criminal Court (ICC) as the judges set the date for the case to begin on Sept.23, 2013. The ICC had taken …

By Micheal Meyer It is important to understand what is at stake in this gruesome episode, not only for Kenya but for the region and beyond Kenya heaved a collective sigh of relief when the four-day siege at Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall finally ended. Yet the aftermath of the massacre …

By Ronald Musoke Sparks as Prof. John Ddumba-Ssentamu’s economics theory confronts an ancient political reality Scarce resources and how they can be optimally allocated is the realm of economic theory. In that sense, economics professor John Ddumba-Ssentamu should be adeptly trading off ends and means at ‘the Hill’, as Uganda’s …

By Pearl Natamba Deaths from high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes go up in Mulago The woman’s leg had rotted away and, from the foot up to just below the knee, it looked like it had been burnt and left as black as soot. Dr Brian Kiggundu, a specialist in …

By Moses Khisa Must order and stability override freedom and liberty? There is a “new” refrain in town: when shove comes to push, society needs order and stability than individual freedom and liberty. Without order no one can enjoy any freedom or human right, goes the truism. However, this conservative …