Different kinds of commercial farming will have different effects on the economy COMMENT | RUTH HALL, DZODZI TSIKATK, IAN SCOONES | Colonialism brought large-scale farming to Africa, promising modernisation and jobs – but often dispossessing people and exploiting workers. Now, after several decades of independence, and with investor interest growing, …
Read More »One migrant’s brutal Odyssey
Migrants are held captive, fed just enough to keep them alive, and subjected to various forms of inhuman treatment in a bid to extort money Kampala, Uganda | KWAKU BOTWE | Thirty-year-old Nazir Mohammed sits on one of the two sofas in his single room in Kwame Danso, a small town about …
Read More »COMMENT: Yes to affordable housing
The two key challenges that must be tackled to enable easy home building in urban areas COMMENT | JAN MISCHKE | From London to Lagos, “affordable housing” has become an oxymoron. In most cities, rents and home prices have increased faster than incomes, and in urban areas with robust job markets, housing …
Read More »The physics of failing O’ level science subjects
Why 14 years after government made sciences compulsory, failure rate remains high Kampala, Uganda | FLAVIA NASSAKA | Physics was the worst done subject in the recently released O’ Level examinations. Only 2,280 of the 326,212 students that sat the exams scored over 70%. Another 40,000 scored over 55%. The rest, …
Read More »Expect further rise in fuel prices – Hashi Energy MD
Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Peter Onasis Ochieng’ is the managing director of Hashi Energy. He spoke to The Independent’s Isaac Khisa about the current surge in fuel prices and the industry’s future outlook. What explains the current trend of increase in fuel prices in Uganda and the region? …
Read More »Rwanda becomes first poor country to provide eye care for all
In a country where a third of people have sight problems, specialist nurses have visited all 15,000 villages as part of a life-changing project Kampala, Uganda | VERITY BOWMAN | Rwanda has become the first low-income country to provide universal eye care for its population of 12 million people. The …
Read More »The Shs700bn loan saga and calls to censure Kasaija
The politics behind calls to censure Kasaija, fire Muhakanizi Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | Recently, according to State House sources, President Yoweri Museveni was on phone with Secretary to the Treasury, Keith Muhakanizi. He sounded to be in no mood for pleasantries. “I am tired of this,” the president …
Read More »Sugar price to drop further
Manufacturers cite increased imports and declining demand from foreign markets Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | There is good news for Uganda’s sugar consumers in the coming months owed to the projected sugar in production volumes amidst increase in imports. Statistics from the Uganda Sugar Manufacturers Association (USMA), which consist …
Read More »The challenge of state legitimacy
Government can only govern if people comply with its demands, but why do people comply? THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | The German sociologist, Max Weber, argued that if the state is to exist, the dominated must obey the authority claimed by the powers that be. Then he …
Read More »Stanbic set to open a business incubator in Kampala
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda’s largest commercial bank, Stanbic, is set to open a business incubator to stir growth of small and medium enterprises countrywide. “The incubator will provide an enabling environment for SMEs to enhance their capacity, enabling their businesses to survive, operate successfully and grow,” Stanbic Bank …
Read More »
The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price