A Global Witness report documented 185 killings across 16 countries in the year 2015 alone By Phyllis Omido The announcement of the winners of this year’s Goldman Environmental Prize is an opportunity to celebrate activist leaders. But it is also a moment to recognise just how much courage their efforts …
Read More »COMMENT: Uganda isn’t a bad country, it is us who have let Uganda down
Uganda isn’t a bad country, it’s us the people who have let this country down. Lets walk our talk. Talk doesn’t cook rice like the Chinese say COMMENT | By Amos Wekesa | Rey is an amazing guy based in Fort Portal where he owns and runs Philippine Wood-works and Construction. His …
Read More »COMMENT: The top job at Uganda’s CAA!
COMMENT | By Amos Wekesa Last evening some guys were talking about how people were lobbying so hard for Uganda’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) top job and my heart sank. CAA is the government agency responsible for licensing, monitoring, and regulating civil aviation matters and if we miss the train …
Read More »COMMENT: Taking politics out of development
China’s `One belt, one road’ initiative should not be treated as ploy to replace U.S. as dominant power By Keyu Jin Later this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping will host a summit for many of the leaders of the 65 countries engaged in his “one belt, one road” (OBOR) initiative, …
Read More »COMMENT: AMISOM needs a mandate for peace and development
COMMENT: Providing security and fighting al-Shabaab isn’t enough – AMISOM can do much more in Somalia By Meressa K Dessu and Omar S Mahmood Addis, Ethiopia| ISSAFRICA| The mandate of the African Union (AU) Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) officially expires today, 31 May. Although the AU Peace and Security Council …
Read More »COMMENT: Trump’s strongman weakness
Praising strongmen without also mentioning their human-rights abuses condones repressive practices By Aryeh Neier US President Donald Trump has made his affinity for authoritarian leaders abundantly clear. When Trump entertained Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the White House in April, he praised the Egyptian military ruler for doing “a fantastic job.” …
Read More »COMMENT: Why Africa should go cashless
Move would force citizens, companies, and policymakers to bring all Africans into the financial sector By Carl Manlan India has lately been pursuing an ambitious goal: a cashless economy. Despite early missteps and frustrations, it will turn out to be a change for the better for the country’s 1.31 billion …
Read More »COMMENT: Insights into Afrobarometer polling
Asserting that ordinary people cannot form valid opinions on issues of democracy or governance is over-stated By Francis Kibirige The Independent magazine Issue Number 469 of May 12 – 18 carried an article titled `Afrobarometer: Right poll, wrong people.’ This article raised two major issues relating to public opinion polling. …
Read More »COMMENT: Bitter truth about sugar
COMMENT: Uganda’s claim to have surplus sugar is mistaken and obscures a bigger regional problem Uganda and Kenya are learning a bitter truth about ordinary added sugar used in homes, industries, and service facilities. Just six months ago in September 2016, the two countries were fighting a trade war over …
Read More »COMMENT: Wages of wage fear
Stagnant wages cause household demand to remain depressed, thereby deterring investments By Bill Emmott If all else fails, try the previously unthinkable. It is not a bad principle for economic policy in the best of times. Today, it may be just what is needed: many Western countries – certainly the …
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