By Julius Businge Cabinet has approved the transformation of the National Drug Authority (NDA) into a national food and drug authority, according to a statement released by the Office of the Prime Minister on July 17. The change will broaden the Authority’s mandate to cover items that are currently not …

By Haggai Matsiko Can the ministry of Finance stop the thieves? Butaleja district in eastern Uganda always has some of the worst performing schools in national primary and secondary level exams. In a recent report, the Butaleja District Education Officer, Philips Kalyebi, blamed the poor results on the pupils. He …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Although bar gossip and street rumours can be true, here is why journalists should always look for proof Yusuf Serunkuma is a PhD candidate at Makerere University’s Institute of Social Research. In that capacity he also teaches students. He regularly writes commentaries in newspapers and features …

By Abushedde Angella Last year, the world lost one of its greatest leaders when anti-apartheid icon and former South African President Nelson Mandela passed away. Today, we remember his legacy on his birthday; Mandela Day, July 18. In celebration of Mandela Day, United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon is calling …

By Haggai Matsiko & Flavia Nassaka Alarm over terror alerts, attacks on police, army installations July 3, 2014: The U.S Embassy issues terror alert: The U.S Embassy has received information from the Uganda Police Force (UPF) that according to intelligence sources there is a specific threat to attack Entebbe International …

By Andrew M. Mwenda  How Rwanda’s growth since 1994 measures against other economies and what explains the figures Rwanda seems to be a country of extremes. Its turnaround since the genocide has been as astounding as the tragedy itself. The scale and speed of the Rwanda genocide was unprecedented. Rwanda’s …

By Abushedde Angella As part of the Sharpened Plan on Maternal Health and Adolescent Health Policy, the Minister of State for Primary Health Care, Sarah Opendi has unveiled a 12-month national campaign to prevent teenage pregnancies from 24% to 15% by July 2015. “The Ministry of Health has identified teenage …

By Joan Akello The executive director for Ugandan Media Center, Ofwono Opondo says  members of parliament  outraged  by a list from State House  showing  the highest paid staff earns  Shs 96 million per month  had typo errors but they  also  ignored the correct one. “These errors were pointed out to …

By Haggai Matsiko How close links to Mbabazi  cost Chinese US$3bn deal When Uganda’s Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi visited China in June last year, he met with Wang Yilin, the chairman of China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC).   At the time, The Independent heard from sources that the two discussed …

By Andrew M. Mwenda East Africa has been billed as the next manufacturing hub for global markets. Will our politics allow it? The South Korean ambassador to Uganda, Park Jong Dae, recently referred me to an article by George Friedman in the online journal, Geopolitical Weekly titled The PC16: Identifying …