By Andrew M. Mwenda Local councils have undermined the effectiveness of public administration without fostering the expected accountability dividend. In 2000, Frederick Golooba-Mutebi gave me a copy of his PhD thesis written at the London School of Economics titled “Decentralisation and Development Administration in Uganda.” It is a sobering account …

By independent reporters Review comes up in June, IMF blames crisis on reduced foreign reserves, high election spending, jets purchase. Food and fuel prices complicate plan As traders, religious leaders, students, and civil society organisations criticise the government’s reaction to the Walk-to-Work protests over high food and fuel prices, one …

By Bob A. Kasango Let us all know that injustice anywhere is ultimately injustice everywhere In the January 31, 2009 issue of Newsweek magazine, Fareed Zakaria wrote about how in May 2006, a unit of American soldiers in Afghanistan’s Uruzgan valley were engulfed in a ferocious fire fight with the …

By eriasa mukiibi sserunjogi Public anger greets Museveni even before he is sworn–in Opposition politicians have vowed to continue with their walk-to-work campaign despite arrests and violent break up of their protests by the police.  Political pundits are puzzled on which direction the protests will take, especially in the run …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Given Libya’s tribal cleavages, the contours of conflict will deepen ethnic tensions and threaten the institutional integrity of the state Now, the complexity of the political problems of Libya is becoming apparent. There is a lot of back and forth shift in fortunes between rebels and …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Uganda is now caught up in the contradiction of extreme wealth alongside excessive poverty and extreme luxury alongside mass deprivation After a long period without any public issue around which to galvanise popular discontent in their favour, the opposition in Uganda has finally found one in …

By eriasa mukiibi sserunjogi Besigye unleashes powerful strategy, Museveni reacts On April 7, over 200 leaders of opposition parties gathered at Fairway Hotel in Kampala to launch a boycott of public transport in protest against escalating prices of fuel, food, and other commodities. According to Uganda Bureau of Statistics figures, …

By Andrew M. Mwenda A great business can close in infancy, not because it is loss making but because it cannot get credit to overcome its initial cash flow constraints. Here is the performance of Uganda’s banks in 2010: Out of the 22 registered banks, 14 made profits, two broke …

By teresa nannozi & mubatsi asinja habati  Crane Bank tops the pack Commercial banks are making profits that would make any CEO envious. Crane Bank’s 2010 annual statement, published recently, announced phenomenal growth in profits, deposits, lending, assets, paid-up capital and loan repayments among others. According to Crane Bank’s audited …

By Andrew M. Mwenda An African leader who fights corruption will face resistance from powerful vested interests using democracy to subvert his reforms Next month, Rwanda commemorates 17 years since the genocide. Most of its citizens look back at what they have achieved with both pride and humility. The society …