NEWS ANALYSIS

By Eriasa Mukiibi Sserunjogi With Uganda’s economic growth slowed down to zero, Maria Kiwanuka needs some magic to save the day A mixture of high expectations and anxiety will greet Finance Minister Maria Kiwanuka when she steps up on June 14 to read next year’s budget. There is likely to …

By Omar Mohammed In March 2006, Juma V. Mwapachu was in Paris; a few months away from completing his four-year stint as Tanzania’s Ambassador to France, when he received a call from State House telling him that President Jakaya Kikwete needed to see him. Mwapachu quickly bought a ticket and …

By Eriasa Mukiibi Sserunjogi Presidents of the two parties may pay the ultimate price for the EALA fiasco The full extent of the damage exacted by the controversial election of Uganda representatives to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) will take some time to unfold. But the elections reopened old …

By Agather Atuhaire NRM favourite for speaker loses to a “rebel” as parties assess damage, victories and future The National Resistance Movement (NRM) party was supposed to be the ultimate victor in the election of Uganda’s delegates to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA). Of the nine seats, it took …

By Mubatsi Asinja Habati Varsity left short of 1,200 lecturers Makerere University is daunted by vacant academic staff posts leaving its few lecturers overloaded and fatigued, a 2011 value for money audit report by Auditor General reveals.  The university is supposed to have 2,491 academic staff in its eight colleges …

By Agather Atuhaire Mutual suspicion undoes the fragile unity of the Parliamentary opposition and hands victory to the NRM A conflict between opposition parties Forum for Democratic Change and Democratic Party has destroyed any hope of opposition unity and jeopardized equitable party representation in the East African Legislative Assembly. On …

By Mubatsi Asinja Habati Research World International (RWI) published its first ever political opinion poll on May 22 which has become controversial. Dr. Patrick Wakida, who is the chief researcher and RWI chief executive, spoke to The Independent’s Mubatsi Asinja Habati. What motivated you to do this political poll? It …

By Mubatsi Asinja Habati Hardly two months after an Afrobarometer opinion poll indicted President Yoweri Museveni’s management of Uganda and provoked the ire of First Lady Janet Museveni, another poll has arrived at a similar conclusion: Most Ugandans want the old man out. Near the top of the list of …

By Eriasa Mukiibi Sserunjogi As the Lord Mayor attempts to build bridges with the NRM majority in KCCA, his own opposition base is getting nervous Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago seemed to have a clear strategy concerning disagreements over running the city. He would position himself as a pro-people leader …

By Agather Atuhaire Does NRM’s overwhelming Parliamentary majority give it license to silence other voices in the regional assembly? Uganda’s Parliament risks frustrating commencement of the 3rd East African Legislative Assembly with its unwillingness to implement a ruling of the East African Court of Justice with respect to how Uganda’s …