By Rosebell Kagumire & Maya Prabhu Rwandan refugees forced back across the border The sprawling Nakivale Refugee Settlement in south-western Uganda is home to over 50,000 asylum-seekers and refugees. At one time it represented a testament to Uganda’s reputation as one of the most refugee-friendly countries in Africa. But recent …
Read More »Tomorrow’s money today
By Maya Prabhu Hot deals lure mobile money subscribers into cash-less class Mobile money first became available in Uganda a little over a year ago, and represents potential solution to the poor access to financial services that is a problem in many developing countries. In neighbouring Kenya, Safaricom has already …
Read More »Exploiting the police uniform
By Maya Prabhu A story of abused authority and the victimised vulnerable Helens* work environment is more dangerous than most. On the night-time streets and alleyways of Kampala, her short skirts and revealing blouses flag down cruising clients, but also attract unwanted, and all too frequently violent, attention. Crucially, Helen …
Read More »Experts give banana new look
By Maya Prabhu Uganda is one of the world’s top banana-growing countries, producing as many as 10 million tonnes of the fruit each year, but the banana market is under-exploited. Its potential to act as a bastion of food-security and create lucrative openings for ambitious entrepreneurs requires innovation in the …
Read More »Homosexuality: Should culture be a basis for law?
By Maya Prabhu On March 1, Speaker of Parliament Edward Ssekandi was presented with a petition bearing the signatures of 450,000 people calling for the rejection of the Anti Homosexuality Bill, 2009. The petition was written, and undersigned, by a group referring to themselves as AIDS service providers, spiritual mentors …
Read More »Climate change poses new challenges
By Maya Prabhu The rains have come. The streets of Kampala run fluid brown, ladies heads are half-hidden under thin plastic bags as they hop from island to island along the roadsides, and inside-out umbrellas quiver uselessly in the hands of miserable boda-boda passengers. Early in the hours of Feb. …
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