Uganda had more poor people in 2017 than in 1991 indicating a rise in income and food poverty COMMENT | ENOCK NYOREKWA TWINOBURYO | On Feb.19, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) issued a second and revised version of the Uganda National Household Survey (UNHS) 2016/17. The major revision from the first …
Read More »Sh250 billion fund to lift youth out of poverty
Four years later, Youth Livelihood Programmeimplementers assess its impact Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | A business venture by a group of eleven youth in Katebe Village, Kamwenge district is thriving after they got a Shs 7.7 million interest free loan in 2015 from the Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP); a …
Read More »The poverty paradox
UGANDA: Why economic development tends to increase social insecurity leading to anger THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | A couple of months ago, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics produced its survey showing that between 2012 and 2017, the number of people living in poverty increased from 19 to 27%. This provided …
Read More »Districts with Elderly Grants see reduced poverty levels
Districts with Elderly grants see reduced poverty levels Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Districts that received grants from the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development have seen a drop in poverty levels, according to a recent analysis by Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS). While poverty levels in districts have …
Read More »Uganda’s faltering fight against poverty
Kampala, Uganda | DICTA ASIIMWE | Days after it emerged that the number of Ugandans living below the poverty line has increased to levels last seen twenty years ago, debate amongst experts is raging. But while the figures have raised eyebrows, experts say they are not overly surprised given the …
Read More »Global unemployment down but working poverty rampant: UN
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The global unemployment rate is expected to tick down in 2018, the United Nations said Monday, while warning that far too many workers still live in desperate poverty. The International Labour Organization forecast a worldwide unemployment rate of 5.5 percent this year, a marginal improvement on …
Read More »The poverty of Africa’s elites
THE LAST WORD: Why the tendency of African intellectuals to blame leaders for the failures of our nations is escapism THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | I recently had a Twitter debate with Prof. George Ayittey; the Ghanaian author of `Africa Unchained: the blueprint for development’ (Palgrave/MacMillan, 2004) …
Read More »Why our nations remain poor
African elites are victims of their own delusions about distorted history of developed countries THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | On Dec.01, I attended the Joseph Mubiru Memorial Lecture hosted by Bank of Uganda and featuring Prof. Ha Joon Chang of the University of Cambridge. A brilliant economist lecturer, …
Read More »Over half Syrian refugees in Lebanon in ‘extreme poverty’: UN
Beirut, Lebanon | AFP | More than half of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon are now living in extreme poverty, and the vast majority live below the poverty line, the UN’s refugee agency said Friday. According to the UN, more than a million Syrians have sought refuge in Lebanon since …
Read More »Africa’s highway to nowhere
Why our continent’s faith in foreign direct investment as a solution to our poverty is a pipedream THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Many presidents in Africa believe the development of our nations will come from Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). If a “foreign investor” – most especially a white man …
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