Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Seventy-seven percent of the teachers in private schools didn’t return to the schools where they were teaching prior 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country, a new survey by the Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC) released on Monday has shown. Rehema Kahunde, a researcher at …
Read More »87% of youths are in insecure, unsafe informal jobs: EPRC research
Over 400,000 youths enter the labour force to compete for 9,000 jobs annually Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Cash crop production, light manufacturing, construction, agro-processing, wholesale and retail trade, financial services, insurance, transport and tourism, have been identified as key sectors that need intentional support to create large scale job opportunities …
Read More »How EAC can maximise AfCFTA trade opportunities
Experts outline ways in which partner states can benefit from the bloc | THE INDEPENDENT | Before COVID-19 hit world economies two years ago, there was optimism that Africa’s flagship project of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) would quickly reshape markets across the …
Read More »Focus turns to food and housing needs as L. Albert Oil Project gathers pace
Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | As the construction phase of the L. Albert Oil Development Project gathers pace, focus has now turned to how best local entrepreneurs in the agriculture and housing sectors can maximise opportunities the oil industry is attracting into Uganda. Two studies were launched on Feb. …
Read More »Economists call for budget re-prioritisation
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC) says the Covid-19 pandemic caused a drop in revenues, economic shutdown and new expenditure pressures which now calls for re-prioritization of national resources. According to Paul Lakuma, the Head of the Macro-Economic Unit at EPRC, a medium plan in reallocating …
Read More »Economists ask gov’t to attract externalized laborers to invest in fish value chain
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | While labour externalization is on an increase in Uganda, experts have pointed out that the country lacks a return policy that supports them to be able to sustain themselves in the economy when they return home. Agnes Igoye, the Deputy National Coordinator, Prevention of Trafficking in …
Read More »Inside Africa’s development dilemma
The dark side of African Continental Free Trade Area Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Africa’s heads of state on March 21, 2018 descended onto the hills of Kigali, Rwanda, to sign the long awaited agreement to create the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) that encompasses more than 1.2billion …
Read More »EPRC: Men doing work traditionally done by women
Makerere, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A new study by the Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC) has found notable shifts where men are increasingly taking on care work that was traditionally assigned to women. This is against the fact that previous data has stipulated that women and girls spend twice …
Read More »Sugarcane farming: Why Busoga has remained the poorest
Jinja, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Busoga has the biggest number of sugarcane mills and huge acreage of sugarcane, making use of its fertile soil around Lake Victoria and Lake Kyoga coupled with good rains. However, the persistent poverty in Busoga continues to raise questions whether cane cultivation is benefiting farmers. …
Read More »Economy not recovering soon, says Bank of Uganda
Who are the winners and losers? ANALYSIS | THE INDEPENDENT | The second wave of COVID-19 appears to have hit the economy severely and dimmed prospects for a quick recovery, according to the latest Bank of Uganda monetary Policy Statement for August 2021. The statement is the first major economic …
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