SPECIAL REPORT | As unreliable rainfall leaves smallholder farmers across the country counting losses, the government is preparing to expand irrigation infrastructure. Solar-powered pumps could help farmers take greater control of water; but affordability, access to water and the delivery of public programmes will determine whether the technology reaches …
Read More »Uganda’s fight against HIV is far from over
The East African country’s HIV progress is running into a stubborn diagnosis gap, as prevalence stands at 7.3% among women and 4.1% among men COVER STORY | RONALD MUSOKE | Uganda’s HIV prevalence among adults aged 15 years and above has remained at 5.9%, with women almost twice as …
Read More »If Africa is generating more electricity, why are millions still without reliable power?
Uganda’s seven-decade electricity journey reveals the gap between generating electricity and getting it reliably into homes, businesses and communities Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | On April 29, 1954, Uganda switched on a new chapter in its economic history. At Owen Falls, where the Nile leaves Lake Victoria, the country’s …
Read More »Olara Otunnu’s long road to the UN’s top job
From Kampala to New York, Islamabad, Riyadh, Paris and Moscow, Otunnu has turned his late campaign into a diplomatic roadshow COVER STORY | RONALD MUSOKE | At 76, Olara Otunnu has embarked on an extraordinary diplomatic odyssey, travelling from capital to capital with former Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, …
Read More »Wildlife Ranger Challenge: Kidepo runs for victory, and in memory of a fallen ranger
The race, the rangers and the cost of protecting Uganda’s wild places SPECIAL REPORT | RONALD MUSOKE | At around six o’clock on the morning of September 19, as the first orange light of the sun began to spread across the savannah in the northern sector of Murchison Falls …
Read More »Will Uganda’s NIN tax push deliver more revenue?
SPECIAL REPORT | Uganda is betting that replacing the Tax Identification Number (TIN) with the National Identification Number (NIN) will widen the tax base and curb leakage. But with millions already registered for tax, the harder test is whether better identification can actually translate into more revenue, reports Ronald …
Read More »Has Uganda’s gold tax incentive run its course?
For policymakers, the clock is ticking on a choice between continuing an expensive experiment or rewriting the rules of Uganda’s mineral wealth Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | For years, Uganda’s decision to give gold special treatment in its tax regime has been defended as an investment incentive. The idea …
Read More »Uganda gives its oil a name. Now it has to find a market
20 years after the discovery announcement, ‘Pearl Sweet’ marks the moment Uganda’s crude moves from political promise to commercial test Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | After almost 20 years of waiting, Uganda has finally given its oil a name. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni unveiled the name “Pearl Sweet” …
Read More »Orom-Cross: Uganda’s graphite gamble moves up the value chain
As global demand grows, Orom-Cross is betting that processing graphite in Uganda can deliver more than a mining project NEWS ANALYSIS | RONALD MUSOKE | A graphite project in northern Uganda is taking on a more ambitious shape. What began as a proposal to mine and export graphite from …
Read More »Uganda finally gets Ebola clearance from WHO
But the virus is still advancing next door in DRC Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Uganda finally got the Ebola declaration it had effectively claimed for itself a month earlier. On Thursday, Aug. 27, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price