Institutional investors are driving much of the growth in domestic capital. Pension and insurance assets have now surpassed $1 trillion for the first time Nairobi, Kenya | THE INDEPENDENT | Africa’s domestic capital has grown to a point where it now exceeds external financing flows, marking a shift in how …
Read More »Protection of Sovereignty Bill
Regulating influence, unsettling markets COVER STORY | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda’s proposed foreign agents legislation is rapidly becoming more than a legal reform. It is evolving into a stress test of the country’s political economy, its regulatory philosophy and its relationship with global capital. Framed by government as …
Read More »Uganda’s labour market expands, but skills gap and informality persist
A new survey shows rising enrolment and modest formal job growth, yet highlights a widening mismatch between education and employment as most Ugandans remain in the informal sector Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Uganda’s labour market is expanding and becoming more formalised, but structural weaknesses in skills …
Read More »East Africa’s ports are busy, but stuck on the wrong side of global trade
Despite rapid growth and heavy investment, Mombasa and Dar es Salaam remain gateway ports rather than global hubs, as geography keeps East Africa just outside the main currents of world shipping NEWS ANALYSIS | IAN KATUSIIME | Geography, economists often say, is destiny. For East Africa, it may also …
Read More »The cost of lack of red lines
How Uganda came so late and lonely to acquire a cash and carry government where every citizen is for themselves THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | My column last week titled “When illness strikes a leader” attracted a lot of attention and commentary. In it, I …
Read More »How 20 minutes of nature can boost your health
A UK study, involving nearly 20,000 people, found that those who spent at least a total of 120 minutes every week in greenery were significantly more likely to report good health and higher psychological well-being. NEWS FEATURE | AGENCIES | If you’ve ever felt calmer after a walk in …
Read More »Love, grace and world peace: how an African saint has shaped Pope Leo’s worldview
Pope Leo XIV’s first official trip to Africa started with a fascinating stop in Algeria. Here the pontiff’s visit to the Grand Mosque of Algiers was an attempt to strengthen Christian-Muslim relations. The stop was also to pay homage to Saint Augustine, founder of the order that he is a member …
Read More »Herbal ‘contraceptive rings’ pique interest in Nigeria
Researcher says early results are promising, but human trials far off NEWS ANALYSIS | TITILOPE FADARE | When Mutiat Ibrahim, a pharmacognosy researcher at the University of Lagos, began surveying traditional medicine practitioners across Nigeria, she was cataloguing something many in formal medicine had long dismissed—the use of herbal rings and waist beads …
Read More »Rising petroleum prices rattle Africa’s insurance outlook
Currently, petroleum prices are still significantly higher than pre-war levels, when Brent crude was trading below $73 per barrel before the outbreak of the Iran war Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Insurance leaders across Africa are warning of a potential economic slowdown as surging global petroleum prices …
Read More »What next for South African opposition firebrand Malema after his five-year prison sentence?
Malema has vowed to challenge the judgment right up to South Africa’s highest court, the Constitutional Court, if necessary Johannesburg, South Africa | AGENCIES | The leader of one of South Africa’s main opposition parties, Julius Malema, has been given a five-year prison term for unlawfully possessing a firearm …
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