Beijing, China | AFP | China on Thursday posted a forecast-busting surge in exports and imports in May, signalling improvement in the world’s number two economy, but there were warnings Beijing would struggle to maintain its momentum. The readings will come as a relief after a series of weak readings …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Comey’s bombshell recollections of Trump talks
Washington, United States | AFP | Former FBI director James Comey gave damaging details Wednesday of a series of nine meetings or conversations he had with President Donald Trump before being sacked last month. The following are some of the key points from testimony that Comey published ahead of …
Read More »MUSEVENI: Uganda to focus on 5 strategic issues in 2017-18
Kampala, Uganda| PWATCH UG| President Yoweri Museveni has during the State of the Nation Address on Tuesday outlined five key issues as major drivers towards economic stability for the country. The five issues include, “peace, development of the infrastructure and the human resource; wealth creation, job creation, and market access.” …
Read More »Samuel Mugarura: In love with teargas
How admiration for army life drove a young man’s inventive mind Samuel Mugarura, 24, a final year student of chemistry and botany attracted attention in 2016 when he unveiled teargas he says he made from a tiny store in his mother’s house using common items like onions, red pepper, and …
Read More »Khuram Butt: A London extremist with a friendly family image
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Khuram Shazad Butt, named Monday as one of the three London attackers, was known to Britain’s MI5 intelligence service and even featured in a documentary entitled “The Jihadis Next Door”. Butt had sparked alarm for his extremist views and allegedly had links to a …
Read More »Uganda’s 2017/ 18 budget
Business leaders want economic reforms to boost the economy Planned government borrowing and increased taxes to fund the Shs29 trillion budget for financial year 2017/2018 have left investors and business leaders worried about the coming year, ahead of the budget announcement next week, an informal survey by The Independent has …
Read More »Making sense of Uganda’s current economic struggles
Kampala, Uganda| CSBAG| Every time a government official comes out to explain why the economy is poorly performing, they cite external and natural factors. These range from slow growth in China, to fall in commodity prices, tight financing conditions in Europe, and geo-political events such as Brexit and U.S politics. …
Read More »ANALYSIS: There’s more to Africa’s growth story than lagging income rates
Pretoria, South Africa| Jakkie CILLIERS | ISS TODAY| As part of the ‘Africa rising’ narrative, much has been made of the continent’s growth story. The global recession of 2007/8 hit Africa hard, but it remained remarkably resilient, with growth forecast to 2030 at around 1.3% faster than average growth rates …
Read More »Montreal: The latest hotspot for Africa’s rulers to keep their wealth?
Montreal, Canada| AFRICAN ARGUMENTS| A new African Arguments investigation has found that politically-exposed African nationals hold Canadian real estate worth several millions of dollars. The study, conducted in partnership with the Journal de Montréal and Le Monde Afrique, reveals over a dozen individuals who have invested nearly $26 million in …
Read More »Rockefeller Foundation to boost Uganda’s electricity access
The Foundation plans to replicate the Smart Power India initiative in Africa starting with Uganda and Kenya The Rockefeller Foundation plans to create a Smart Power Africa initiative on the continent starting with Uganda and Kenya, according to its President Rajiv J. Shah. Shah, who was in Uganda on May …
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