NEWS ANALYSIS

By Haggai Matsiko How close links to Mbabazi  cost Chinese US$3bn deal When Uganda’s Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi visited China in June last year, he met with Wang Yilin, the chairman of China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC).   At the time, The Independent heard from sources that the two discussed …

Kawanda researchers refute allegation of using Ugandans as guinea pigs Ever since news broke in mid-June that Australian and Ugandan researchers had genetically engineered the so-called `superbanana’, claims have been aired that the enriched banana is nothing new and that Ugandans have been consuming it for a long time. Most …

By Joseph were From American protégé to near pariah When former President Idi Amin Dada died in August 2003, an American professor, Dr Ralph Nurnberger, published an article in The magazine of International Economic Policy under the title; “Why Sanctions (Almost)Never Work”. Dr Nurnberger, who is an expert on foreign …

By Haggai Matsiko Army that beat Machar’s fighters faces an unceremonious exit A potholed runway ushers you into Juba International Airport—the most critical South Sudan government installation.  A small old stuffy building with dusty window panes and a dusty cracked cement floor, the terminal is manned by policemen who don …

By Julius Businge Business owners query new taxes on ICT, education, health, agriculture Francis Kamulegeya, the senior country partner for PriceWaterHouseCoopers in Uganda says “you cannot grow a sector without taxing it”. Kamulegeya’s view flips the common belief that “you cannot grow a sector without giving it incentives”. But Kamulegeya’s …

By Haggai Matsiko Is she the reason Uganda’s most expensive parliament cannot deliver? The Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, continues notching good ratings in opinion polls and among commentators on public affairs. However, the same cannot be said of her House and its 385 legislators.  In a recent poll by …

By Patrick Kagenda Impact of international travel ban to Kenya on arrivals to Uganda being watched Uganda’s tourism sector is keenly looking out for spill-over effects of security advisories against non-essential travel to regional flagship destination Kenya.   Amos Wekesa, the Chairman of the Uganda Tour Operators Association, says Uganda has …

By Julius Businge Budget priorities expected to enhance socio-economic transformation What should a Shs 15 trillion budget focus on in a country like ours?  A mini survey conducted by The Independent in Kampala on peoples’ perception about the budget found out that they were interested in seeing medicines in public …

By Flavia Nassaka Part of NAADS problem is that it is used as a political tool President Yoweri Museveni has ordered the closure of the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) program. He says it has not delivered to his expectation. He now wants the money allocated to it to be …

By Julius Businge  New poll indicates majority of Ugandans happy with the economy but… A poll conducted in April this year by Research World International (RWI) in partnership with Monitor Publications Limited and Uganda Governance Platform paints a good picture about Uganda’s economy since 2011. The major objective of the …