THE LAST WORD

By Andrew M. Mwenda The benefits of high food prices go to the rural poor (the majority) while the costs are incurred by urbanites, a minority. As I write this article, food prices in Uganda are falling rapidly. For instance, the farm-gate price of a kilogram of maize in Kiryandongo …

It is difficult for a foreign country to dismantle the military, administrative and intelligence infrastructure of another country and establish a stable political order thereafter Last week the French parliament voted to continue their country’s involvement in NATO airstrikes in Libya to remove Muammar Gaddafi. I hold a strong scepticism …

By Andrew M.Mwenda Because the CPA did not define borders clearly, Khartoum will not want to see the evolution of an effective state and stable government in South Sudan Last Saturday, South Sudan became the newest nation in the world. Yet beyond the celebrations in Juba that featured President Omar …

By Andrew M.Mwenda If you criticise the opposition about their lack of an alternative policy, they do not present it, they instead accuse you of having been bought by the President.  A striking feature of intellectual life in Uganda is the paradox of political debate; the country is at once …

By Andrew M.Mwenda Forgive a public servant who delivers a quality product even if he violated 100% procedural rules but punish one who follows every rule and gives a bad product. In this column last week, I argued that the various institutions mandated to exercise oversight functions on the executive …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Since 1996, it has become hard for the government to initiate and implement a big development project because of power struggles. The contest for political power in Uganda between President Yoweri Museveni and the opposition largely led by Dr Kizza Besigye has become so intense that …

By Andrew M. Mwenda In 2005 Museveni gave Shs5m to each MP to remove presidential term limits; in 2010, he paid Shs20m per MP to pass the Cultural Leaders Bill. Last week, I was in Johannesburg to attend a World Bank conference on the South-South dialogue on natural resources. I …

By Andrew M. Mwenda If individual ability and the right circumstances are necessary but not sufficient for success, what else is needed? Recently, I chanced upon a documentary on Discovery Channel titled “Altered Statesmen” and featuring British World War II hero, Winston Churchill. It is a story of alternative history. …

By Andrew M. Mwenda While it is political choices that have fostered poor service delivery, it is reconfiguration of the civil service that will make service delivery possible Finally, President Yoweri Museveni has ended the anxiety that was eating up the ruling classes – politicians, business persons, civil servants, prelates, …

Without placing allegations of human rights abuses in context, it is easy to call Obama or Cameron delusional despots. Last week, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, while on twitter, got into a heated exchange with a British journalist, one Ian Birrell. The journalist was accusing him of human rights violations, …