By Andrew M. Mwenda Is the standoff between government and traders the tip of an irreparable breakdown of their relationship? Last week, striking traders paralysed business in Kampala. Negotiations between their association, KASITA, and the government did not yield much. As with all previous strikes and demonstrations in Uganda over …

By Agather Atuhaire Why the economy is the main loser The government announcement of a new electricity tariff regime on Jan.12 could still backfire but, on paper, it looks like a perfect stroke. Part of the problem is that the tariff regime does not address the real problems in Uganda’s …

By Andrew M. Mwenda But who benefits most from subsidies to UMEME? A cabinet sitting on Wednesday Jan. 11 discussed increasing electricity tariffs by 40 percent. Cabinet should remove these subsidies altogether because they are not economically sustainable and benefit the rich at the expense of poor citizens. Over the …

By Andrew M. Mwenda It is not corruption per se but the fragmentation of power that explains Uganda’s crisis. Two things stand in contradiction of one another regarding corruption in Uganda: On a positive note, it seems not to have undermined economic growth – at least, not yet. Uganda has …

By Andrew M. Mwenda My latest attempt to qualify Rwanda’s progress to the incredulous mind of a critic Over Christmas, Timothy Kalyegira and I got involved into a heated SMS exchange about Rwanda, a subject I am deeply interested in and one that he is equally obsessed with without noticing …

By Andrew M. Mwenda How theft of public resources has been used to build a broad multi ethnic coalition that sustains Uganda’s political system The last Quarter of 2011 in Uganda was filled with one corruption scandal after another. Yet in spite of many corruption scandals unearthed, the mass media …

By Agather Atuhaire Museveni’s New Year message shows lack of focus and solutions to urgent problems, experts say On November 30, 2011, the Euro Rate Forecast, a website designed to advise clients about currency valuing noted that the Euro had shot up by 2.25 cents to the dollar and called …

By Hilary Onek The 7th Parliament never asked Nandala Mafabi and others to step aside during investigations that they took millions in bribes from Mukwano I could have chosen to ignore the article “Mbabazi, Onek playing bad model to young generation” (Sunday Monitor, December 11, 2011) but I will respond …

By Haggai Matsiko UK and Germany firms use government officials to grab 20,000 peasants’ land As people celebrate Christmas, it is a luxury that others can even hardly afford to think about and have spent their last 10 Christmas like that—sad, poor and displaced. One of them is Mzee Matayo …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Because he has little pecuniary interest in power and no messianic image of himself, Kagame will easily retire in 2017 Since his press engagement in Kampala, President Paul Kagame has come under increasing attack from some people accusing him of being unclear about his intention to …