NEWS ANALYSIS

What it means in numbers and money COVER STORY | RONALD MUSOKE | As President Yoweri Museveni and his ruling NRM party celebrate their 37th year in power, the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has given them a befitting anniversary gift; launching the country into crude oil production stage. Uganda’s …

Nairobi, Kenya | Xinhua | High-ranking U.S. officials are heading to Africa, hot on the heels of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit held last month for the first time in eight years. Following U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s trip to the continent earlier this month, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield …

The emerging debt-for-nature swaps may put African countries on track to meet their environmental conservation goals while managing ballooning public debts. Praia, Cape Verde | BIRD AGENCY | Portugal recently struck a deal to swap Cape Verde’s debts for environmental investments in a fund established by the West African country. …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | For the first time in recent years, Social Studies and Religious Education recorded a decline in performance in the 2022 Primary Leaving Examination examinations. According to the report by the Uganda National Examinations Board – UNEB, the pass rate for the subject was 88.6% in …

How holes in an Ebola ‘firewall’ built over the last 20 years are being plugged SPECIAL FEATURE | RONALD MUSOKE |  On Jan.11, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, Uganda’s Minister of Health, declared Uganda free from the Ebola Virus Disease after a 113-day battle across nine districts. The event at the Mayor’s Gardens …

It comes at a defining moment for the Catholic Church Kampala, Uganda | Stan Chu Ilo | Pope Francis plans to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan in February 2023. During the visit, the Pope intends to be in dialogue with African Catholics – but also to listen to …

Davos, Switzerland | Xinhua | The global economy has regained steam after a difficult COVID-19 pandemic, but experts at the World Economic Forum (WEF) say a recovery is far from certain. Under the theme “Cooperation in a Fragmented World,” the WEF’s 2023 annual meeting concluded here on Friday. The gathering came …

Fund jinx catches another MD over alleged corruption Kampala, Uganda | Mubatsi Asinja Habati | For the past few months, NSSF has been in the news over a fight between the line Minister Betty Amongi and its out-going but still interested Managing Director (MD) Richard Byarugaba. Byarugaba is facing allegations of mismanagement …

On Jan.11, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the UN agency in charge of global health, together with the government of Uganda, declared the end of the Mubende Ebola outbreak which was first diagnosed in September, last year. By the time the declaration was made, the health authorities had registered 142 …

Critics want mega-infrastructure investments scrapped COVER STORY | IAN KATUSIIME |  Big infrastructure projects such as the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Uganda, have critics saying such investments have led to high inflation and increased cost of living for ordinary citizens and limited growth. This happened after countries like Uganda, …