Tag Archives: The Last Word

THE LAST WORD: By Andrew M. Mwenda How Trump won not because he violated American values but because he upheld American vices This week, Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton to win the US presidency. This is especially intriguing because Trump had been vilified by America’s powerful weapons of mass propaganda; …

THE LAST WORD: By  Andrew M. Mwenda Lessons for Uganda from the failure of Crane Bank and what should be done going forward Last week’s central bank takeover of Uganda’s third largest bank, Crane Bank, was another step in our nation’s march to the absolute mastery of our economy by …

THE LAST WORD: By Andrew M. Mwenda Why foreign direct investment is overrated and why Africa needs to cultivate local businesses There is a fad in Africa. It is called Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Across our vast continent, foreign investors are the most treasured visitors. Practically every country is obsessed …

OPINION: By Andrew Mwenda Why criticising MPs for demanding more benefits is misguided and what can be done about it Our MPs want Shs200 million each to buy cars. They want their wages and allowances increased. They also want Shs68 million spent on their funeral when they die. The public is …

THE LAST WORD: By Andrew Mwenda Why East African governments need to involve local firms in big infrastructure projects The East African nations of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda are involved in massive investments in infrastructure. They are contracting companies to build roads, railways, bridges, airports, seaports, dams, electricity lines, …

  THE LAST WORD: Andrew Mwenda The postcolonial state needs to transform not replicate existing social arrangements Lately, I have been thinking about the postcolonial state inAfrica, and this column reflects these growing thoughts. Why do our states and their political leaders fail to do the things we expect of …

 Danger of expecting leaders of poor African countries to govern like the rich Imagine a romantic relationship between a poor young guy and a demanding girlfriend. They live in a community with former school and classmates all of whom are rich kids living in posh neighborhoods, driving fancy cars, wearing …

How the opposition has been joined by elements inside government to fight the IGP and the risks it poses Over the last few weeks, the police and its Inspector General Kale Kayihura have been in the eye of the storm. The opposition see Kayihura, and correctly so, as the biggest …

THE LAST WORD: By Andrew M.Mwenda How do you govern a country that has average public spending per capita of $450 annually in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)? Is it possible to govern it using the same strategies as a country whose public spending is $22,000 per person annually? Yet all …

On March 31 2016, the total value of all loans in Uganda’s commercial banking industry was Shs21.7 trillion of which Shs528 billion were non-performing loans (or “bad loans”) i.e. 2.64% of the total. Under the effective oversight of Bank of Uganda, especially its director for supervision; Justine Bagyenda (known in …