Business

By Patrick Kagenda Economic growth drops to 2.4%, 700,000 could die Africa may have been an innocent bystander when the global financial crisis was hatched in the developed nations but they stand to suffer most according to the latest World Bank forecasts. The queen of African economic gloom, Obiageli K. …

By Independent Team On April 15, transport ministers of the East African Community countries were locked in a meeting in the Tanzania city, Arusha where the body is headquartered. The topic of their meeting was: Railways Master Plan; the EAC Transport Strategy and Road Sector Development Programme. In attendance was …

By Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili Less than a year ago, there was a sense of optimism in many African countries. Growth rates in Sub-Saharan Africa were comparable to Asia, hovering around 6 percent, a result of high commodity prices, a favorable global environment — and also of improved economic management, investment …

By Independent Team & Agencies Equity Bank survived being locked out of the Nairobi stock Exchange after two regulators battled over an attempt to suspend its custodial license for two weeks over alleged breach of regulations. Equity’s suspension resulted from the bank failing to pay the Central Depository Settlement Corporation …

By Patrick Kagenda Crane Bank registered tremendous growth in its asset base on top of growing its lending portfolio. The Independent’s Patrick Kagenda talked to the bank’s managing director A.R.Kalan. Crane Bank made Shs 25.88 billion in profits in 2008 even as the global financial meltdown hit most businesses. Your …

By Patrick Kagenda Small import/export clearing firms form the backbone of local clearing and forwarding business in most countries. So to survive in the competitive international trading environment “” both against bureaucratic red-tape and well-resourced multi-nationals, they have always naturally found strength in numbers by operating under umbrella bodies. In …

By Patrick Kagenda Central Bank Governor Tumusime Mutebile called it “the most innovative thinking in development literature in 30 years” but the 2009 World Development Report has sparked strong opposition among Uganda’s economic experts. They disagree on answers to two fundamental questions posed by the report: Whether the growing concentrations …

By Patrick Kagenda As discussions on the East African Common Market protocol closed in Kampala at the beginning of April, the Uganda Manufactures Association (UMA) leaders were meeting Uganda’s first deputy prime minister and minister for East African Community Affairs Eriya Kategaya. The UMA bosses had one major concern: the …

By Independent Team & Agencies After it ended on April 2 the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group President, Donald Kaberuka, who was part of a NEPAD delegation, said the G-20 summit was a major success because it adopted specific African proposals. I think we made a very surprising level of …

By Independent Team & Agencies AS expected, Tullow Oil and its partner Heritage Oil have won back rights to explore for oil in the Democratic Republic of Congo after a year-long dispute, the country’s hydrocarbons minister, Rene Isekemanga Nkeka, has said. Congo’s previous hydrocarbons minister, Lambert Mende, in February 2008, …