Karuma, Isimba power raises new questions Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | On the face of it, Uganda’s sole national electricity distributor, Umeme Ltd, has a stronghold on the sector. It has seven more years on its concession, has recently posted stellar financial and operational performance, and – with workers’ …

MTN licence expires: Dirty details of Uganda telecom sector exposed Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | Uganda’s largest telecom company, MTN Uganda is caught up in a fight to secure the renewal of its licence which expires this year, The Independent can reveal. With 55 percent of telecom market share …

UGANDA: $20 billion up for grabs Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | Ernest Rubondo, the Executive Director, Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU), is optimistic 2018 will be big for Uganda’s oil industry. “The sector will be felt in 2018,” he told The Independent in an interview at his offices at …

  President snubs IGG, DPP, and Financial Crimes Unit Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | Sub-Saharan Africa’s second biggest gold refinery, the Uganda-based African Gold Refinery (AGR) deals in big money – with its volumes of exports, according to informed sources, valued at over Shs. 2 trillion over the last …

Saving Bank of Uganda: Why Kasekende, Bagyenda, Mutebile fight isn’t helpful Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | Bank of Uganda (BoU) is under fire as its top managers; Governor Tumusiime Mutebile, the Deputy Governor Louis Kasekende, and the Director Supervision Justine Bagyenda, fight each other amidst accusations of incompetence and abuse …

French domination sparks fight with Chinese   Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | Oil companies—Total E&P, Tullow Oil and CNOOC—are locked in a bitter fight for control of Uganda’s oil sector.  The coveted prizes are deals worth about $20 billion. The three entered a partnership in 2012 when Tullow Oil, which …

How American bribery case sucked in Museveni Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kutesa is likely to come under fire from Parliament following exposure of a deal in which he received a dodgy “donation” of US$500,000 (Approx. Shs1.8 billion) from a Chinese NGO cum think tank. The …

The battle that shouldn’t have been fought Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | “I bring to this race 25 solid years of political activism; I bring new energy that is currently lacking in the party. And I belong to the ideology of defiance.” With such words, former Kumi Municipality lawmaker, Patrick …

Museveni and the army: Failing to learn from past mistakes? Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | If a position is operationally strategic, President Yoweri Museveni will appoint a soldier to it. If a job is critical to his survival in power, Museveni will appoint a soldier to do it. As …

How US$7bn deals are reshaping relations in the region Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | If President Yoweri Museveni has a best buddy amongst his East African counterparts, it might as well be Tanzania’s John Pombe Magufuli. When they are not sharing a hearty laugh at an African Union meeting in …