COLUMNISTS

By Pascal Lamy and Ian Goldin 21st Century challenges require urgent review and renewal of international institutions When the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions were established nearly seven decades ago in the aftermath of World War II, economic and political power was concentrated in the hands of a …

By Yoga Adhola Museveni is a military leftist guided by illusion, the direct opposite of Obote who was a nationalist In his article titled, «Inside Obama’s vision of Museveni” (The Independent, Sept27-Oct.04, 2013), Andrew Mwenda made a comparison between former President Milton Obote and President Yoweri Museveni. I would like …

Ruranga’s defection to NRM should not be looked at in isolation given this era of political opportunism It’s almost three weeks since former FDC strongman, Maj Rubaramira Ruranga returned to the NRM folds. Many commentators remarked spitefully to his defection. Some of the comments and media reaction even emasculated the …

By Simplice Asongu Overall, there is little hard evidence to support a negative view of China’s investments in Africa For many developing countries, foreign direct investment is viewed as something very positive. International companies can bring cash, skills, technology, and high ethical standards to a host country. But others do …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Why Africa should fight for free trade, not fair trade; for competitiveness in global markets and not kindness in consumers Everyday there is an effort mainly in the West to save Africa from something – tyranny, impunity, poverty, disease, ignorance – whatever. Always, the savior is …

By Jude Kagoro Journalists are doing their country a disservice by knowingly or unknowingly marketing the militarization of politics Oftentimes, political commentators in Uganda make a claim that there is militarization in the country. To the commentators, the nuances intended to be captured in the usage of the concept largely …

By Jeffrey Gedmin 24 of the 30 least prosperous countries in the world are in  Sub-Saharan Africa and they suffer a “democratic deficit” It’s the economy, stupid” has been a political mantra for more than two decades. Nowadays, the phrase is repeated ad nauseam in development discussions. But making countries …

By Peter Nyanzi Optimism as Uganda is ranked second most peaceful country in Great Lakes Region If you want to live in peace in the Great Lakes region, go to Tanzania. If not, Uganda is the second option, that is according to the Global Peace Index 2013, which measures the …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Why the president openly bribes voters at public functions and gets away with it and what can be done about it When we had just started The Independent, a particular problem confronted me. Each time a member of staff fell ill at office and was rushed …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Debunking the myths that mass media generally perpetuate about Africa and Africans Most Western journalists covering Africa tend to purvey prejudice rather than convey accurate information. Even when the journalist knows a specific story is an oversimplification and/or misrepresentation of a more nuanced reality, they still …