Joe Powell:

Uganda Talks and Barya Interview

2009-07-26T20:50:00.004+03:00

As expected July has been an incredibly busy month with the launch of Uganda Talks. We seem to be making good progress and the reader figures are very encouraging. If anyone has any ideas on how we could improve they would be much appreciated.

Returning to Makerere issues, I did an interview a few weeks ago with one of the Vice-Chancellor candidates, Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba. He is the current Dean of the ICT faculty and has proposed a whole host of reforms to restore Makerere to its former position as one of the most respected universities in Africa. An extract:

JP: Now for the question everyone is asking, you are the youngest ever Dean at Makerere, can you be the youngest ever Vice-Chancellor?

VB: I am the only one who is qualified. As somebody who has been in the administration system since 2001 I know a lot that goes on in Makerere. I know what works and what doesn’t work. I can tell you the type of VC that Makerere needs is somebody who is of course a Professor with excellent academic credentials, but you must also have other talents. For example you have a limited budget from Government so you need to have money from other sources. Somebody must have that entrepreneurship and an idea of how the private sector works. However, the best way to change Makerere is not to rely on the VC but sort out the whole top system. The VC is just one position. We have a lot of redundant staff at Makerere in positions that don’t know what is going on.

JP: So you would be merging administrative departments, removing some academic departments, raising fees and removing some staff. Do you think you’re too radical for Makerere?

VB: That is not all! There is also duplication of academic programmes, duplication of services and unnecessary recruitment. If you look at the visitation committee report all these things were highlighted. The only issue is what do you start with? You have to have a strategy to say what comes first. For example duplicated academic programmes can be handled immediately and we will get a lot of savings. But you cannot say these are radical issues so we never handle them. Look at South Africa, look at the UK, their universities had problems and the government came in and restructured the institutions.

Uganda Talks

2009-06-29T11:28:00.001+03:00

Blogging on this site is going to be much lighter in future with the launch of Uganda Talks, the new current affairs blog of The Independent magazine. It's been a while coming but we finally launched today and for the time being I will be editing the site. I hope that you have a look and I would really value any feedback you have. There are bound to be teething problems in the first few weeks but it is my hope that we will soon be established as the best place to find cutting edge opinion and analysis related to Uganda. We will also be running guest spots so if anyone has something to get off their chest please contact me either through the comments here or: joepowell at independent.co.ug

Enjoy and spread the word!

Budget Boxes

2009-06-21T19:16:00.003+03:00

One of the steps towards economic integration in the East African Community is a requirement that all the member countries hold their budget readings at the same time of year. This year the combined budgets of the countries (excluding Burundi) was $23.5bn. In Uganda the new Minister of Finance, Syda Bbumba, increased spending but kept taxes as they are, meaning a likely increase in the deficit. That is, of course, unless she can miraculously improve the ability of the taxman to pull in what is due to him.

One thing that caught my eye was this photo from Business Week. In the UK the Chancellor poses with the famous red box every year. I hadn't realised, though, that this tradition had been exported. Is this just a Commonwealth thing or do other countries have a similar practice?

Climate Change in Uganda

2009-06-15T09:58:00.003+03:00

Last week I attended a British Embassy exhibition about climate change in the National Museum. The displays themselves were fairly basic, being aimed, I guess, at the hoards of school kids who make up the vast majority of the museum's visitors. However, the speeches beforehand were interesting, with the British High Commissioner acknowledging the fact that Uganda is suffering through no fault of their own and promising investment in 'clean development' through the international Climate Investment Funds.

An article in today's South African Mail & Guardian is well timed in that respect. It describes the melting of the Rwenzori ice caps in Western Uganda and the multiple effects that is having on the local community:

But on the dusty, quiet streets of Bundibugyo, the potential impacts on the region’s hydrological system are remote concerns. The locals are more bothered by the emergence of malaria, which they insist used to be a scarce occurrence in their cool mountain community. "Earlier we used to not hear mosquitoes and we had no malaria here. Mosquitoes were down," Maate said, gesturing to the warmer lowlands in the distance. "But now they are here."

"When we used to slaughter goats we could leave the meat for two days and you would never see bugs flying around," said Bikalwamuli. "When you slaughter a goat now, so quickly flying insects are everywhere."

Crop planting seasons have also changed and elders are quoted in the article describing the dramatic retreat of the ice. On an aesthetic note I always thought it fantastic that huge fields of snow and ice existed a short distance from the equator. That looks like it will soon be a thing of the past. Something, perhaps, for the climate change deniers in the Western world to consider.

Zumanomics Review for The Independent

2009-06-10T13:58:00.002+03:00

My latest book review for The Independent is now on-line here. The book is Zumanomics, edited by Raymond Parsons. This is an extract:

It is indicative of President Jacob Zuma’s larger-than-life personality that so much of the international press coverage of him has ignored what the people of South Africa have elected him to do: run a country of huge income inequality which, despite growth rates of over 5% per annum since 2004, has failed to make any meaningful inroads into reducing poverty. Instead we have heard ad nauseam about the multiple wives, the rape trial in which he claimed he avoided HIV infection by taking a shower, the alleged corruption and the very un-Mbeki like dancing to the campaign anthem ‘Bring Me My Machine Gun’...

Zumanomics can be heavy going, but then it is hard to see how essays on inflation targeting and labour policy could ever be anything else. In all, it is refreshing to read a serious analysis of the problems facing sub-Saharan Africa’s industrial leader, and there are no shortage of lessons for Uganda. It is a popular misconception that the state sell-off of utilities for example, has hurt the Ugandan consumer and harmed the economy. However, a quick glance at the country’s roads should be enough to realise that it is no use putting the state in charge unless it has the capacity to deliver. A focus on effective regulation of the private sector is in fact a far more useful job for the state to play in Africa. Whether that is what Zuma has in mind remains to be seen, but it is certain that the whole continent is watching with great interest.

Chinese Newspaper Launched in Africa

2009-06-10T10:29:00.003+03:00

More interesting developments in the continuing mass migration from China to Africa:

The Oriental Post, a Chinese-language newspaper, was launched in Gaborone, Botswana on Friday, making it the first paper to serve the Southern African Development Community's Chinese population.

Miles Nan, president of the Oriental Post, said he hopes the newspaper will enable better communication between service providers and product developers wanting to reach the Chinese community in Botswana. Nan said the fact that "most of the Chinese do not understand English and speak very little Setswana" has created a large information and communication barrier for the Chinese population in Botswana. Botswana receives important contributions to both its rural and urban populations from Chinese services.

Dr. Jeff Ramsay, the coordinator of the Botswana Government Communications and Information System, lauded the launch of The Oriental Post as significant achievement in the growth of the Botswana media, Mmegi reported.

H-T: My heart's in Accra

Links etc

2009-06-08T11:07:00.003+03:00

1. If you have a spare hour and a half-decent Internet connection then Barack Obama's fantastic speech in Cairo is well worth watching. A little thing maybe, but can you imagine George Bush ever saying 'Asalaam Alaykum'?

2. President Museveni also delivered a major speech last week, addressing Parliament for his annual State of the Nation. The New Vision interpreted the speech as the beginning of a war against corruption, while other commentators were underwhelmed by the lack of policy announcements. A nice line from the paper: When the opposition refused to applaud him, he accused them of being jealous and teasingly said they can "go hang."

3. Angelo Izama has an interesting post about the latest goings on in the Ugandan oil scene. Museveni's insistence that the oil be refined in Uganda appears to necessitate a larger company to come in and work with/take over Tullow and Heritage.

Kristof's Misplaced Travel Advice

2009-06-04T07:48:00.001+03:00

I had to read Nicholas Kristof's New York Times column on tips for 'evading bandits' abroad several times before deciding whether is was genuine or spoof. The latter theory was supported by advice like the following:

4. At night, set a chair against your hotel door so that it will tip over and crash if someone slips in at 4 a.m.

12. If you are held up by bandits with large guns, shake hands respectfully with each of your persecutors. It’s very important to be polite to people who might kill you.

14. If terrorists finger you, break out singing “O Canada”!

Overall, however, I decided it was a genuine article, although if its purpose was really to encourage American students to visit far-flung places it surely fails. A mention of the fact that the vast majority of people in any country are kind, helpful and welcoming might have been in order to balance the story. Indeed either Kristof has spectacularly bad luck when travelling or he has exaggerated a few stories to suit his column.

Ironically, though, the article has come out at the same time as the Economist's Global Peace Index, which this year ranks the United States at number 85 out of 144 countries surveyed. This places the country below perennial coup candidates Equatorial Guinea and Madagascar, as well as numerous other states that might be considered 'dangerous'.

Now just imagine the reaction if Kristof's advice had been directed at visitors to the US...

President Wine of Kamwokya

2009-06-01T12:02:00.003+03:00

A friend has just sent me this great link to a Guardian blog about the Ugandan dancehall scene. Naturally as a neighbour to ghetto President H.E. Bobi Wine, it was the references to Kamwokya that piqued my interest:

VBS.TV recently flew out to Uganda to film a documentary about a dancehall collective called Fire Base Crew, who have set up a breakaway republic, the Ghetto Republic of Uganja, in one of the slums in Uganda's capital, Kampala.

While there, the internet TV station discovered the republic has a full cabinet of appointed members: Bobi Wine (who is the leader of the crew) is the president, the vice president is an artist called Buchaman, they also have a prime minister, a defence minister, a minister for disaster preparedness, a minister of agriculture (whose crop of choice, unsurprisingly, is cannabis) and many more.

The whole concept may appear trivial, but these musicians have much more influence on local people than politicians could ever wish for. If the government needs to communicate a message to the people in the slums of Kamocha [sic], where the Ghetto Republic of Uganja is based, they will get in touch with the crew. Recently, according to Buchaman, they were contacted by the government to help encourage wary locals to go and receive immunisation jabs, and the crew obligingly recorded radio messages telling locals it was safe.

The documentary looks good too. I'll be loading it up overnight (Note to Seacom: your cable cannot come soon enough).

Africa Maps

2009-05-31T14:56:00.000+03:00

Ryan C Briggs has posted this great map based on the number of times African countries feature in the New York Times. Scarlett Lion adds a couple of long-standing Africa map favourites here. I would also add the following take on Uganda to the list, courtesy of Ugandan Insomniac's workmates:

Campus Water

2009-05-27T07:45:00.001+03:00

When it comes to bottled water I have always been a one brand man (for UK-based readers the tap water revolution has yet to hit Uganda. I blame cholera). Highland, Aqua Sipi, Riham, Wavah, Dasani, Ripples, Peak, Refresh and the other atrociously named bottles on offer just don't compete when a bottle of Rwenzori is on sale - although I have to admit being disappointed when I found out it was actually tapped from a swamp at Namanve (also home to a large power station) and not the ice topped border mountains with DRC.

However, my loyalties are now going to be tested as the ever-innovative Makerere Food Science department has launched their very own 'Campus Water'. Now if they could just improve the metallic taste...

Higher Education Minister Slams Makerere

2009-05-26T07:33:00.001+03:00

Mr. Mwesigwa Rukutana has been Minister of Higher Education for a little over three months, however he has already begun the baiting of Makerere which is a favourite hobby of most NRM politicians. At a conference of African business academics I attended last week he delivered a highly disingenuous speech of which the following are some highlights:

Many universities in the Third World countries turn into opposition agents.
In Uganda dons attack the government, condemn the government and castigate the government but make very little contribution in terms of policy.
Ugandan academics need to come down from the clouds and live here on Earth with us or they will remain irrelevant.
When did practical ideas ever emanate from Makerere?
Where are the Makerere professors? I only ever hear from Mamdani and Mazrui.

Of course the reality is that there are plenty of ideas coming out of Makerere but they are ignored if they fail to conform to the narrow political agenda of the government. For example Dr Augustus Nwagaba has publicly argued that Uganda's rapid population growth is likely to harm the country's attempts to reduce poverty, which is contrary to the President's position that it is actually a good development for Uganda. There are countless more cases like this.

It would also help if the line minister focused more on getting the university the resources it desperately needs rather than repeatedly criticising the place.

Dr. Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem Dies

2009-05-25T11:35:00.005+03:00

For those of you who haven't yet heard, pan-Africanist giant Dr. Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem tragically died in a car accident near Nairobi yesterday. He has recently been involved with trying to promote a peaceful solution to the Migingo island dispute, and leaves behind a vast legacy of writing and activism. Alex de Waal has this moving tribute:

Dr. Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem, the most irrepressible Pan Africanist of his generation, died in Nairobi on 24 May 2009. His friends and colleagues are stunned at the loss of a man who was so full of life and humour, such a determined Afro-optimist, and such a devoted father to his children, Aisha and Aida. Africa is impoverished by his untimely death...

Tajudeen was a Director of Justice Africa, Chairperson for the Pan African Development Education and Advocacy Programme (PADEAP) and Chair of the International Governing Council of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD). He joined the United Nations as its coordinator for outreach on the Millennium Development Goals in Africa, and was living and working from a base in Nairobi in recent years.

Tajudeen never allowed his critical sense degenerate into cynicism or disillusion. His confidence in Africa and Africans to resolve their problems, whatever the setbacks, was always undimmed. His untimely death leaves a vacuum of human energy and hope that will be difficult to fill.

Kabushenga in Unfortunate Salute

2009-05-25T08:46:00.002+03:00

Possibly time for Vision Voice to hire a new marketing team?

H-T: Rowan

Quote of the Day

2009-05-19T11:54:00.003+03:00

"[The] National Resistance Movement is modelled along the lines of the Communist Party of China"

Government spokesman Ofwono Opondo quoted by Angelo Izama. At least they're being honest about it I suppose...

The Tories on International Development

2009-05-15T18:25:00.000+03:00

Owen Barder's excellent podcast series 'Development Drums' has an interview this week with Shadow International Development Minister, Andrew Mitchell (pictured). Mitchell has held the post for four years so is well versed in the challenges facing DFID and aid more generally. On most topics he follows the Labour lead, for example guaranteeing that the Department will remain independent with a minister in cabinet (historically Conservative governments have tended to have development under the control of the Foreign Office).

Mitchell does, though, propose some changes. He wants a Department that focuses on outcomes rather than inputs, that engages more with the private sector, and rather cryptically calls for an injection of 'civil service DNA into DFID'. Having listened to the section several times I am still not entirely sure what he means by this. I do, however, agree that there should be more emphasis on the private sector and the critical role it has in the development of any country.

Also in the interview Barder talks about the general consensus that exists in the British political mainstream on development policy. While I agree that Cameron and most of his front bench speak genuinely on the issue I return to my analysis in a LabourList piece from February:

Andrew Mitchell may have tried to drag his party kicking and screaming to the centre ground on the issue, but does anyone truly believe that the phalanx of right-wing MPs behind him will not influence the character and content of a Tory development policy?

To give this some context a group of backbench Tories tabled a bill today (that was withdrawn at the last minute) which would have effectively abolished the minimum wage in Britain. These extreme MPs will evidently have more power if and when a Conservative government takes office, a fact that we would do well not to forget.

Recession Brings Ugandanomics to France

2009-05-12T13:18:00.002+03:00

The New York Times had a great piece yesterday on how the French have been pouring money into cows as an alternative form of savings during this period of rock-bottom interest rates at the banks. The featured farmer's Holsteins will give a 4-5% return on investment through the selling of their offspring:

“At this difficult time, it’s a much better investment than real estate and much more tangible than the stock market,” Mr. Marguerit said. He then proceeded to praise the new interest “in natural, organic and lasting things” among the French, who have always romanticized the countryside and imagined themselves shrewd peasants at heart.

“This is part of the patrimony,” he said. In the steep financial crash, “we’re having a moment of realization — we’re landing hard and people are asking real questions.” Diversify into cows? Why not?

Of course any self-respecting Muyankole or Muhima could have told you that a long time ago, not least the Big Man himself.

The BNP Slurs Uganda

2009-05-11T12:09:00.002+03:00

Ugandan Insomniac has been having fun with the Simon Darby (he of the far-right British National Party) comments about Uganda last week. For those of you that missed his rant this is the best part:

Dr Sentamu should not interfere in the political process. He’s not in any position to tell me or anyone else who is, or isn’t, English. If I went to Uganda and told them that they were all genetic mongrels and that anyone could be Ugandan I’d still be picking spears out of myself now.

He went on to defend his remarks:

I am not implying that all Ugandan people use spears at all. I was speaking specifically about the indigenous people. The spear is an integral part of their culture and lifestyle.

Ah, the indigenous people. That explains it. Ugandan Insominiac then helpfully compiled a day in her life to help Darby with his future proclamations about the country:

Once I’m done with my breakfast of warm buffalo blood and slugs, I’ll shower in the jungle waterfalls outside my cave and smear myself with pig fat. I think I’ll wear my chicken bone earrings today; they go well with my goat skin skirt and my leopard teeth necklace...It’s gonna be busy, but only after my supper of wild mushrooms, ostrich eggs and giraffe intestines, will I write an appropriate response to Mr. Darby.

It is comments like his that reinforce my belief that the best way to deal with the BNP is to let them spout their rubbish and then tackle it head on. Gagging them invariably results in free publicity and undeserved sympathy. In this case I cannot believe that his ignorant, juvenile and racist comments will win them any votes in next month's elections.

Review of Moyo's Dead Aid in The Independent

2009-05-08T13:10:00.002+03:00

My review of Dambisa Moyo's controversial new book 'Dead Aid' is now on-line at The Independent's website here. There have of course been a huge number of reviews already so I tried to see how practical her prescriptions would be specifically in Uganda. This is an extract:

The vast, and often complacent, global aid establishment has rarely been as panicked as they have since the publication of Dambisa Moyo’s debut book ‘Dead Aid’. The Zambian ex-investment banker, educated at Oxford and Harvard, declares the $300 billion of aid money that sub-Saharan Africa has received since 1970 as not only wasted, but as a key factor in the decline of relative living standards in many countries. Moyo concludes that all direct government to government aid should be cut off in five years (emergency humanitarian and charity-based aid are spared).

For those that have spent years campaigning for increases in global aid the idea is anathema. It is made all the more galling that the suggestion has come from an African woman. How can an African, they ask, have the temerity to call for a decrease in aid?

Interestingly President Paul Kagame of Rwanda has a piece in today's Financial Times which also discusses the book. This is part of his take on it:

Dambisa Moyo’s controversial book, Dead Aid, has given us an accurate evaluation of the aid culture today. The cycle of aid and poverty is durable: as long as poor nations are focused on receiving aid they will not work to improve their economies. Some of Ms Moyo’s prescriptions, such as ending all aid within five years, are aggressive. But I always thought this was the discussion we should be having: when to end aid and how best to end it.

Stomachs Rumble at Makerere

2009-05-07T09:32:00.002+03:00

Not for the first time the university administration is threatening to stop providing free meals for students on Government scholarships. The above cartoon is the take on the situation by Mr Ras, the New Vision's often inspired cartoonist.

In other news lecturers are likely to hold exam marks hostage until salary arrears have been cleared. The situation prompted a stinging editorial in The Daily Monitor:

The long-term solution is to run Makerere like a private university. It must be allowed to charge, within reasonable ranges, fees that allow it to return value in the form of good education. The government should scrap its sponsorship programme and replace it with a student loan scheme which beneficiaries have to pay back.

This way, Makerere shall have a predictable and sustainable source of funding and shall have a vested interest in providing quality education, say by paying lecturers well and on time, in order to attract top students. The students, with their loans in mind, will also ensure that they demand and get an education that allows them to succeed on the outside.

Other private universities in Uganda do not have Makerere’s chronic financial woes and are catching up on quality. It is time for the Ivory Tower to learn a few tips from the new kids on the university block.

Links etc

2009-05-05T18:39:00.001+03:00

I don't normally post link lists but I think these are worth sharing:

1. Alison Evans pays tribute to the 11 years Simon Maxwell spent as Director of the Overseas Development Institute. Maxwell's mantra of 'find out who is making what policy decision and when, and what evidence they need to make it' should be at the forefront of every researchers mind. His attitude reminds me of one of my old Cambridge Professors, Ron Martin, who drummed into us the importance of doing policy relevant research.

2. Rosebell Kagumire chides the Ugandan Journalists Association for accepting a gift of UGX 150m from the President.

3. Paul Collier points out the trillion dollar 'aid' flows from China to the US.

4. For those of you abroad who crave good radio the Africa Online Digital Library has a great podcast series which I've only recently discovered.

5. Nancy Birdsall writes about the disappointment many in the 'development community' have felt about the lack of attention USAID has received during Obama's first 100 days

And...

6. An innovative scheme by Kenyan women's activists to break the country's political impasse.

1912 Update - bonus link:

7. White African charts the rise of the motorcycle taxi (boda-boda) in Africa.

Gold Diggers

2009-04-30T17:25:00.003+03:00

I am a great fan of Polyp's cartoons. His work in the New Internationalist was always first rate and directly to the point. As so often this one is simple but highly effective.

Hat-tip: Africa is a Country

Will The Ugandan Githongo Please Stand Up

2009-04-29T19:00:00.005+03:00

It is hard to avoid John Githongo these days. The publicity generated by his starring role in Michela Wrong's excellent 'It's Our Turn to Eat' has once again catapulted him to the forefront of Kenyan politics. He is staring out of the latest edition of the Kenyan aspirational men's magazine 'Adam' and is on the cover of the East African version of The Africa Report (which is, by the way, vital bimonthly reading). His vision is to launch a new grassroots political party cutting across tribe and based on the principle of honest and effective government. Many African Governments will be watching (not least in Uganda) with interest, and a little trepidation, to see whether he succeeds. But this got me thinking: where is the Ugandan John Githongo? Is there any one individual who we can really say is carrying the fight against corruption in this country?

Once upon a time it would have been Teddy Cheeye, who ran an underground paper exposing corruption called 'Uganda Confidential'. However, Cheeye's fall from grace has been spectacular and he now resides in Luzira prison having been sentenced to 10 years for stealing money meant for the victims of HIV/AIDS and TB from the Global Fund. Current candidates are painfully thin on the ground. Faith Mwondha, the Inspector General of Government, has had some successes but suspicion remains that certain individuals and ministries are given an easy ride. Andrew Mwenda has done a huge amount for press freedom in Uganda, and has repeatedly embarrassed the Government, but he is just as likely to do this in the fields of human rights and nepotism as he is in corruption.

So, to paraphrase Eminem, will the Ugandan Githongo please stand up?

Swine Flu Boosts Pharmaceuticals

2009-04-27T12:43:00.004+03:00

I am the only one that finds this type of market reaction to a crisis slightly disturbing?

Subs Having Fun At The Independent

2009-04-27T09:28:00.003+03:00

Quote of the Day: Wisdom of a Traffic Cop

2009-04-22T14:08:00.002+03:00

From a retired Major in the traffic police:

"At night in Uganda when a car is swerving all over the road we know they are ok. It's when they're driving in a straight line that we arrest them, as we know they are too drunk to avoid the potholes"

The Rebuilding of Makerere's Reputation?

2009-04-20T12:21:00.000+03:00

There is interesting article on the rebuilding of Makerere's reputation at the Science and Development Network website. It writes glowingly about the return of a 'research culture' at the university, indicated by a sharp uptick in the number of PhD students graduating in the past few years. This comes after Makerere's reputation as one of the best university's in Africa was hurt by years of neglect and hostility during the fifteen years of political turmoil that consumed Uganda from 1971. It is notable, though, that the article attributes many of the gains to foreign donor money (including the gleaming IT faculty - pictured above from ibeatty on Flickr), a source that is clearly unsustainable. It remains that Makerere is desperately short of resources from central Government, as any visitor to campus will quickly realise.

This extract addresses both the the recent improvements and the huge problems that remain:

Patrick Okori, a crop scientist at Makerere University in Uganda, is breaking a departmental habit of 40 years. He is employing a postdoctoral fellow.

"Today," beams the triumphant scientist from behind his spectacles, "I have been able to employ the very first postdoctoral fellow in the department. And I have also trained 17 postgraduates, 14 MScs and three PhDs over the last four and a half years." Across the university other scientists tell similar stories as Uganda's highest seat of education gradually regains its prestigious reputation of 40 years ago...

But all is not yet perfect and some successes have heightened the challenges. The recent report for IDRC, which it commissioned to assess its own support to the university, highlighted the strain caused by the enormous number of students, up from just 7,000 in the 1990s. Problems include large classes, increased teaching and marking loads and poor salaries, said the IDRC, noting that "at the same time, [staff] are facing an increasing pressure to conduct research and publish"

Hat-tip: Africa Unchained

Ugandan Guide To Road Users

2009-04-16T00:16:00.000+03:00

In four weeks time I will, according to the friendly lady at the Automobile Association of Uganda, be the proud owner of a three year driving permit. That is of course if I can successfully negotiate the theory test, which is based on a handbook containing such gems as:

Do not overtake just for the fun of overtaking
Never compete with a train
Do not just dangle your arms out the window (in the signs section)
You can easily smell if the other driver has been drinking

And my personal favourite:

If you hear the siren or see blue flashing lights of the State motorcade approaching draw your vehicle to the extreme left...Do not try to overtake or join the motorcade.

Not join the motorcade! Do they want to take all the fun out of driving?

The Ups and Downs of IT at Makerere

2009-04-15T12:03:00.004+03:00

Two recent articles related to IT development at Makerere caught my eye. The first is an upbeat post from Spartakuss on how the vast number of student elections on campus can now be conducted online, saving time and resources:

The room is packed and the tension is high as girls line up to cast their votes for their different candidates. The candidates in turn throng the lines of voters reminding them constantly with little flyers and sweets and candies, more commonly known as “logistics”, to nudge voters to include their names on the list they, the voters, will be ticking. But this is no ordinary election. It is Makerere University’s very first election that is being conducted using the E-Voting System.

The online system that has the aspirants and their pictures entered into the system was built at the Makerere University faculty of Computing and IT (CIT) as part of the National Software Incubation Center’s first batch of projects to be incubated. After being turned out as project, the system has now turned into an application. It has seen its first daylight during the current SCR {senior Common Room} elections at the university and seems to be taking the pressure pretty well. The idea, according to Mr. Benon Jurua, the Chairman, Electoral Commission, was to make voting faster and easier while reducing the long queues that are so often a result.

The second is a worrying story in the Monitor about the continued problem of theft from academic departments, this time a seemingly inside job at the flagship IT faculty:

Police is hunting for thieves who over the Easter weekend entered the Information and Communication Technology faculty at Makerere University and stole computer accessories worth over Shs96 million. The Police say the burglars did not break into the building but smartly found their way in. The robbery is captured in the Police’s Easter weekend crime statistics...

Despite the university deploying a big number of security guards, the campus has become prone to crimes ranging from theft and office break-ins. This is the fourth time computer equipment is stolen at the Makerere University in less than a year. The first incident happened in the Faculty of Arts last year. The crimes forced the Police management to upgrade the university post to a station in order to combat rising crime.

Wrong Review for The Independent

2009-04-11T13:45:00.002+03:00

My review of 'It's Our Turn to Eat' by Michela Wrong for The Independent is now online here. This is an extract:

"John Githongo was appointed Kenyan anti-corruption czar on a wave of optimism in 2003, as the newly elected NARC Government led by Mwai Kibaki ended 24 years of rule by Daniel arap Moi. Promised unfettered access to the new President, the man responsible for reviving Transparency International in the country confidently set about uncovering the institutional corruption that had characterised Kenya for so long. The signs seemed good. Two new Acts were announced, the first of which would regulate the conduct of public officials and the second set up a new anti-corruption commission. Perhaps most symbolically, Kenya, the home of graft for so many years, became the first country to ratify the UN Convention against Corruption. Two years later, however, and his belief in a fresh start for his country had evaporated as Githongo pieced together a corruption racket that went to the heart of the new regime...

So what lessons to draw for Uganda? Clearly Anglo-Leasing is of a magnitude far greater than Temangalo, the ‘junk’ helicopters, or any of the other recent corruption scandals here. However, with several thousand barrels of oil a day likely to soon be in production, the potential for a large-scale scandal continues to loom large. An Ethics Minister who cares more about graft than miniskirts may be the logical place to begin beefing up Uganda’s fight against corruption, but it is Wrong’s description of the post-election troubles that should most pique the interest of Ugandans. The rigging by a small tribal clique surrounding Kibaki led to an overwhelming outpouring of anger, which expressed itself in ethnically motivated violence within communities that has previously lived peacefully side-by-side. It is, therefore, incumbent on Ugandan political parties to collectively reject the politics of region and tribe, or to run the risk of bloody mayhem come 2011."

G20 Snub Gaddafi?

2009-04-03T15:51:00.002+03:00

Looking at the G20 guest list it was interesting to see which international and regional organisations were represented. The IMF, World Bank, World Trade Organisation and UN leaders were all understandably present. So was José Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission, and the Prime Minister of Thailand represented the Association of Southeast Asian nations. But the African Union (AU), Chaired by President Gaddafi, was noticeably absent. Instead Prime Minister Zenawi of Ethiopia attended in his capacity as Chair of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), a programme which is run by the AU. Surely protocol would normally dictate that the Chair of the AU would be invited before the Chair of NEPAD? Or perhaps it had more to do with who could be trusted to behave themselves at dinner and not disrupt the negotiations?

The Expat Bar

2009-04-01T19:00:00.004+03:00

BraveNewTraveler (via Owen Barder) has an amusing sketch on The 6 Characters You'll Meet At Every Expat Bar. I think anybody who has spent an evening (or two) at Bubbles Irish pub in Kampala could identify with this particular type:

Who is this leather-faced man, camped out on a stool which has over the years conformed to his shape, taking half-bottle gulps of the mid-range national beer between whisky shots?

He’s The Lifer, and nobody knows much of anything about him other than the fact that he’s been in town as long as anyone can remember.

Where does his money come from? How did he end up here? It’s all a mystery. But one thing’s for sure, when The Lifer first came through town, that’s when “travel was real, man.”

The Lifer is good for a few amusing stories involving the ingestion of huge quantities of drugs which haven’t existed since the mid-80’s, but be careful: he’s not in any hurry to get anywhere, so you could be in for a long night.

Report on the 'Africa Trade and Investment Conference' in Cape Town

2009-03-31T21:38:00.001+03:00

For those of you interested in trade-led development and ways to deal with the global 'credit crunch' in Africa:

SOUTH-SOUTH TRADE TO COMBAT CREDIT CRUNCH

Bankers from across Africa gathered in Cape Town last week to call for an increase in South-South trade as a means to combat the effects of the global financial crisis on the continent. Trade between "South" economies currently makes up only 6% of global trade flows, although growth has been rapid. Since 1985 Africa's trade with other "South" economies is up 1170%.

The call comes as the financial crisis hits the continent in the form of reduced remittances, a drop in Foreign Direct Investment and an expected cut back in aid monies. Similarly as international banks scale back their credit lines to Africa a liquidity crisis has been growing, with businesses unable to find sources of trade finance for import-export deals. This is threatening the high levels of economic growth in many African countries, with Uganda’s growth estimates recently downgraded from 9% to 6% for the 2008/09 cycle. It was estimated at the Africa Progress Panel in Geneva that total GDP for the continent would fall by $40 billion in 2009.

Opening the high level trade and investment meeting Jean-Louis Ekra, President of Afreximbank, argued that “there is a strong argument that the potential benefits from freer South-South trade may indeed be as large as the gains that developing countries can obtain from better access to rich countries’ markets”. Ekra also called for a “de-commoditising” of African exports, with value-addition seen as essential to development. In Uganda areas suggested for investment in this area included beef products, aquaculture and forestry.

Due to the global nature of the crisis, unilateral action was labelled as futile by Kenyan Trade Minister Omingo Magara. He slammed “mutual mistrust” and an unnecessary focus on “sovereignty” as holding back regional integration. Delegates suggested that cooperation between governments could result in an estimated $460 billion in foreign exchange reserves being freed up to support African banks to lend more freely. The money is currently sitting in non-African banks earning low levels of interest as Western countries continue to cut rates in an attempt to stimulate their economies. The need to be involved in global financial decision-making led South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel to recently call for the African Union to be given a permanent seat at the G20 meetings.

Poor infrastructure, however, continues to hold back economic development across the continent, prompting Magara to suggest 30% of African budgets should be directed at the problem. This, he believed, would have the duel effect of stimulating economies during the downturn and improving the investment environment. As an indication of the lack of reliable power supply, MTN estimates it spent $130 million on diesel for generators at its transmitting towers in Africa in 2008.

Despite the economic challenges facing Africa the conference did, however, remain upbeat at the prospect for continued growth. The telecoms sector is particularly robust, with Uganda experiencing 95% growth in 2008, second only to Uzbekistan globally. With penetration rates still low this is expected to continue in 2009. Similarly the substantial comparative advantage Sub-Saharan Africa enjoys in agriculture makes the sector ripe for further investment once credit becomes more easily available.

China, the Dalai Lama and the ANC: Lessons For Africa?

2009-03-28T11:18:00.005+03:00

The refusal of a visa for the Dalai Lama to attend a Peace Conference has dominated headlines in South Africa this week (see cartoon in Mail & Guardian). It has attracted widespread criticism from newspaper columnists, and from the deafening silence emanating from most top members of the ANC it is not hard to imagine what they are thinking. It was, after all, not long ago that Nelson Mandela himself was labelled a terrorist by many countries and denied visiting rights.

Perhaps more interestingly, however, is what implications this may have for China's relationship with Africa. It is an oft-repeated mantra that China is only in Africa for profit, that they don't impose even the most basic of conditionalities and that African governments prefer doing business with them as a result. However, it is clear that China applied considerable pressure on the ANC to refuse entry to the spiritual leader. This comes on the back of a South African spell on the UN Security Council in which they refused to support resolutions on Burma and Darfur, presumably again due to Chinese influence.

This raises several questions. The first, and most important, is whether or not China would seriously have curtailed its investments in South Africa if the Dalai Lama had attended the conference? The answer, I'm sure, is not. The Dalai Lama visits many countries around the world with which China do far greater business than South Africa. The fact remains that China are primarily in Africa for economic, rather than political, reasons. Why, then, was the visa denied? I think this has far more to do with the large amounts of direct funding the ANC party receive from China. Like any political party beholden to one or two major donors they have adapted their policies to ensure that the money continues to flow. Bernie Ecclestone and tobacco advertising immediately springs to mind.

However, in this case China are manipulating an entire country's foreign policy, effectively creating a client state to support their positions on the world stage. Few other African countries have the international clout that South Africa do, making them such an attractive target for the Chinese. I feel, though, that they may have just gone too far this time and I am hopeful the backlash will raise awareness of this new form of neo-colonialism in Africa. Regardless, South Africa must start showing stronger leadership if they truly aspire to join the BRIC countries in creating a new world order.

Chris McGreal Will Be Missed

2009-03-27T17:37:00.002+03:00

Chris McGreal is moving to Washington D.C. after reporting on Africa for nearly two decades in The Guardian. He has been one of the best Africa correspondents for that period and his final dispatch shows that it is possible to write about Africa without resorting to tedious clichés, even when the subject is as brutal as the Rwandan genocide (although his does appear to have attracted some - I think unfair - flak in the comments).

Why do Western Journalists Continually Fall Into This Trap?

2009-03-23T18:44:00.003+03:00

Mary Riddell is one of Britain's better columnists. She generally manages to produce original material, rather than resorting to the lazy rehashing of tired arguments and opinions that make up a lot of comment pieces. However, her article today reads like a checklist of what not to do when writing about Africa, ruining a potentially interesting analysis of the thawing in relations between Presidents Kabila and Kagame. Instead the piece is relegated to the overflowing dustbin of nauseating Western writing about the continent. An attempted fisking follows:

"A glimmer of hope in the dark heart of Africa?"
Phew! Don't keep your readers in suspense that you might be one of the first Western writers not to make reference to Conrad's racist book when writing about Congo, get it straight in the headline instead.

Photo (see above) of mother and scared looking baby.
Check.

"Mr Kabila had not been eager for this meeting. "Maybe I will see you," he had told me earlier. "I underline the maybe." "
Is that the same President Kabila who we learn later is in charge of a country the size of Western Europe with one million Internally Displaced Persons? How dare he have the temerity to keep a columnist from The Daily Telegraph waiting in suspense.

"This is the heart of darkness and the ultimate failed state"
It's been at least 200 words since the last Conrad reference after all.

"The latest handbrake turn in Congo's history began late last year when an internal insurgency threatened not only Mr Kabila but also his neighbour, Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda"
An interesting way to describe Kagame's arming and support for Laurent Nkunda, only to succumb to international pressure to reign him in. Perhaps placed by the President's press office?

"Such pragmatism [working with Bosco Ntaganda] will cause shivers in an outside world alarmed by Congo's long implosion"
Because the 'outside world's' distaste for pragmatism has worked so well in Darfur, where a complex relief operation has been torn apart by idealistic, but probably unenforceable, ICC warrants.

"If Congo, with every natural blessing, cannot survive, then the future of all Africa hangs in doubt"
Eh? I don't remember the future of all of Europe being in doubt when Yugoslavia broke up. Does Riddell really believe that continued unrest in DRC will mean that Botswana, South Africa or Egypt will collapse?

"Now the UK's closeness to Rwanda and France's ties with Congo at last give the West some diplomatic leverage in a crisis whose ripples spread across the planet."
And we finally get to the heart of the problem - not enough Western leverage.

"For decades, the world has averted its gaze from a country drowning in blood and debt. This time it cannot afford to look away."
Is this the same world that happily lent Mobutu huge sums during the height of the Cold War? The same world that is addicted to mobile phones stuffed full of Congolese coltan? The same world that voted in the largest ever (albeit highly ineffective) UN peacekeeping force to the East of the country? And of course by 'the world' sub-Saharan Africa is implicitly excluded given that at one point six national armies were present in the country. I would surmise that the world has often had its gaze on Congo, but for entirely the wrong reasons.

Am I being too harsh?

Umony Mania

2009-03-22T18:20:00.006+03:00

Brian Umony is fast becoming the poster boy for the 'Cranes', the national football team of Uganda. Yesterday at Namboole stadium he scored a terrific goal against Malawi, lashing the ball in from 20 yards to equalise in a match they went on to win 2-1. Last month he scored both goals in an away game against Sudan and he has been prolific for his club this season, including a crucial goal against South African giants SuperSport FC in the African Champions League. Umony is also a great role model for young footballers in the country. A university graduate, he possesses none of the petulance or arrogance associated with Premiership stars in the UK. No doubt the continent's scouts will be paying close attention to his form in the coming months. He certainly deserves a chance at a higher level.

Is This the Worst Interview Answer Ever?

2009-03-20T14:26:00.002+03:00

Margaret Mbeiza is a rare breed of politician in Uganda for all the wrong reasons. She was the only new Presidential appointee who failed to pass the Parliamentary vetting process, after the committee in charge expressed grave concerns over her ability to handle the Economic Monitoring portfolio to which she had been assigned. After reading her interview in this week's Independent (during which Steven Kibuuka implies her 'special' friendship with the President is the reason behind her appointment) it is easy to see why Parliament rejected her. My favourite response is this one:

Independent: How does it feel like being appointed a minister?

Margaret Mbeiza MP: It's very good; in fact very good because everyone will fear you and you will be called titles like honourable minister which is fantastic.

No further comment needed.

Oil Roundtable Tomorrow

2009-03-18T19:46:00.002+03:00

Tomorrow the US Embassy and Fanaka Kwa Wote are hosting an oil roundtable debate at the Protea from 9.30am. It will be chaired by Andrew Mwenda of The Independent. Looks like it should be interesting. More details here.

Election Fallout: Was 2008 Rigged?

2009-03-18T14:31:00.002+03:00

The final tallies for Monday's election make for interesting reading. The DP's Robert Okware won with 6,129 votes, over 3,000 clear of the NRM's Kisuule in second place. Natukunda in third received 1,090. Overall turnout was up by nearly 300%, from 3,500 last year, and the winning margin increased tenfold.

Student politicians I've spoken to on campus attribute this this to one thing: the determination of the opposition parties not to be the victim of what they saw as 'blatant rigging' in 2008. They suggest that ballot boxes were 'pre-stuffed' before polling opened and that the postgraduate vote was a target for ringers, due to the fact that the majority live off campus and don't tend to vote. Indeed security around the ballot boxes was significantly beefed up this year, with four police officers assigned to each polling station for the entire day.

Even after his huge victory, Okware (right) acknowledged the common perception of Makerere politics as corrupt:

"It is the students who decide whether you bribe or not. This is about brain power not money as many think. I thank the students for the support and I promise them the best"

Let's hope he can deliver.

DP Take Back Campus

2009-03-16T22:23:00.002+03:00

In what is likely to be seen as a return to normality at Makerere, Democratic Party candidate Robert Okware won the Students' Guild Presidency by a comfortable margin today. The NRM's wonderfully named Castro Robertson Kisuule finished in second place, while Independent Husnah Natukunda came in a better than expected third. Natukunda also managed to carry the postgraduate constituency, who are perhaps less easily seduced by the type of money which was thrown around by the DP and NRM campaigns. Regardless, though, all students should now be hoping that Okware can deliver real change in staff-student relations at Makerere.

Democracy In Action

2009-03-16T17:03:00.002+03:00

Results to follow here. We should know the winner this evening.

Makerere Election Looms

2009-03-15T20:15:00.002+03:00

Tomorrow is Election Day on campus, with eight candidates vying to replace Robert Rutaro as the Guild President. Rutaro's term has been largely uneventful, notable mainly for the fact that he was the first NRM candidate in a decade to capture the position. The campaigns this time around have been the standard mix of pointless noise-making, wasted money and terrible political slogans. This year we get to choose from such gems as 'Celebrating Diversity in Leadership', 'East African Community Oyee', 'One for All, All for One' and 'Struggle is Our Life'. Depressingly it appears as though the contest will likely once again come down to a battle between the candidates representing the NRM and Democratic Party, although I am hopeful that spirited Independent Husnah Natukunda will run them closer than expected. An improvement on last year's dismal turnout would also be a bonus.

Ivory Post, the (regrettably rarely updated) Makerere students' online magazine, has a good rundown of the campaign here.

BBC Goes Crazy for Uganda

2009-03-12T21:33:00.002+03:00

Uganda has been all over the BBC for the past few days, with four stories of varying importance. The rush has in part been sparked by the President's visit to the UK, during which he managed to meet his old friend the Queen, as well as Gordon Brown.

Does anyone want to guess which story will have had the most hits? I know where my money is...

Should MONUC be Advertising in the Monitor for Combat Equipment?

2009-03-10T18:07:00.004+03:00

MONUC, the United Nations mission in Eastern D.R.C, is a regular target for those that believe the UN is incapable of providing robust peacekeeping forces in conflict areas. Perhaps the most damming criticism came last month from Médecins Sans Frontières:

Shocked by the extreme violence of the LRA, MSF teams do not comprehend the inaction of MONUC forces regarding the protection of civilians. During a November 1, 2008 attack on Dungu, the “Blue Helmets” remained holed up in their base. Furthermore, the MONUC contingent has never intervened to protect people in towns under attack, even as attacks multiplied. The number of UN troops has remained virtually unchanged since their deployment in July 2008, despite the dramatic deterioration of the situation.

Attacks on their professionalism also include allegations of corruption and supplying arms to local militias. In their defence the 17,000 troops are expected to cover a vast area of Eastern DRC with few roads and multiple armed rebel groups. However, it did strike me that a truly professional force would not be advertising for combat equipment in the Daily Monitor.

LRA Chic

2009-03-10T11:11:00.003+03:00

The excellent Chris Blattman blog had this last week. It is possibly the worst taste item of clothing I have ever seen on sale (yes, yours for only $20 here). The most generous I can be is to hope that Invisible Children are employing the age-old cliché that 'all publicity is good publicity'. In this case, though, they are certainly pushing the limits of acceptability.

The ICC and Bashir

2009-03-10T00:40:00.001+03:00

There is something deeply troubling about the ICC decision to indict President Bashir of Sudan. The aftermath suggests that there had been no real planning for what would happen next. NGOs have been forced into an ugly retreat over a warrant that is highly unlikely to be acted upon, at least while Bashir remains in office. The fact ignored by many is that most parts of Darfur have been relatively stable over the past three years and that agreements with Khartoum have allowed the UN and NGOs to construct effective systems for delivery of humanitarian aid. That is now threatened with destruction. As Julie Frint and Alex De Waal put it:

International justice is a virtuous enterprise, but not risk-free. Sudanese people are already paying a high price for the abandonment of the diplomatic approach that has yielded such benefits over the last four years. We fear there is more to come. There will be no justice in Sudan without peace. When peace and justice clash, peace must prevail.

The lack of forward-planning and cooperation reminded me of the fallout from the recent UPDF-led attacks on the LRA in the Garamba Forest of the DRC. In this case American intelligence and logistical support was provided in order to try and capture or kill LRA leader Joseph Kony (also ICC indicted). However, the operation failed in its primary aim and as a result the civilians of the DRC/South Sudan border area have felt the full brunt of the LRA's terror tactics over the past few weeks. It appears no thought was given by either Ugandan or American planners as to what might happen if the mission was unsuccessful.

As with the Bashir arrest warrants, it is ultimately the most vulnerable civilians who suffer due to the unacceptable lack of foresight of others.

Kagimu Calls for Privatisation of Makerere

2009-03-06T17:56:00.002+03:00

Hajji Habib Kagimu has a colourful history as a link man between Libya and Uganda, and has become incredibly wealthy in the process. Today he was invited to speak to the Makerere University Private Sector Forum in the prestigious Main Hall and was to be introduced by Vice-Chancellor Lubobi. After the audience had waited for nearly an hour his son arrived to deliver the speech on his father's behalf, Kagimu having apparently been called to an urgent meeting with the Big Man at State House.

It was, however, worth the wait. Kagimu effectively called for the complete privatisation of the university, with lecturers renamed 'service providers', students 'primary customers' and sweeping market reforms to be rolled out across campus. He told the crowd that supply and demand should dictate what courses they take, as when they graduate they will become mere 'products' that could prove useless. Given the incendiary content of the speech it was perhaps lucky for the VC, who is facing numerous challengers as his term draws to an end, that he didn't have to respond to Kagimu directly. I wonder if any of the eight Guild President candidates will have something to say on the issue?

The Deadly Flash Drive

2009-03-05T18:01:00.001+03:00

Before training with Kamwokya FC last week (in an under-reported January transfer I made the switch from the University team), we (the players) participated in a drill designed to raise awareness of STDs. We lined up in two groups of ten facing each other and passed the ball behind our backs until the coach blew his whistle. A member of the other group then had to guess where the ball was, and inevitably chose wrongly on most occasions. The lesson? You cannot tell who has, or doesn't have, an STD just by looking at them.

This seemed to me a simple and effective way of spreading an important message. And it could easily be adapted for campus students. Under my plan 100 USB flash drives would be distributed to students of University Hall. They would then be told to go and print their work in one of the many duka computer shops in Wandegeya, before bringing their sticks back for testing. The horrified look on the students' faces as they see that every single flash drive is infested with viruses would surely be enough to solve the sugar daddy problem once and for all...

Strike Threat Returns (As If It Ever Went Away...)

2009-03-03T11:36:00.002+03:00

It seems like the Makerere lecturers have come up with a new plan to scare the university's administration into paying decent salaries on time. The move? To threaten a crippling July strike which will shut down campus when, erm, there are no students around. Perhaps the new leader of the Staff Association, Dr Tanga Odoi, has decided that students should no longer be the proverbial trampled grass in their long running dispute, however I doubt his campaign will get very far if he has.

Makerere Jumps in Web Rankings

2009-03-02T17:49:00.004+03:00

I'm a couple of weeks late on this story as we had been hoping to get a letter in one of the daily newspapers giving our opinion on Makerere's rise from 47th to 32nd in the Webometrics rankings of African universities. The letter below is self-explanatory, although it is perhaps a tad disappointing it failed to make it into print ahead of important missives such as 'Caution Those Rollar Skaters' and 'What Happened to Bundesliga?'

EDITOR -

The Council of Graduate Students at Makerere would like to congratulate the University on its recent rise in the Webometrics rankings from 47th to 32nd position in Africa. However, we believe that it is unfortunate that the only system in place to rank African universities has such a narrow criteria. To rise in the Webometrics table you are required to increase Internet presence through making academic papers available online, being linked by other institutions, and improving visibility on 'Google Scholar'.

While we accept the Internet has become a key part of university success, it is still only one aspect. Teaching quality, research output, student satisfaction, faculty resources, student to teacher ratios, graduation rate performance, academic awards and the achievements of alumni are just some of the other ingredients needed in a thriving educational institution. A more comprehensive ranking system based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria is therefore urgently needed for Africa. The universities, and their students, deserve no less.

Regards,

Abdul Muhiire, James Taylor and Joe Powell (COGS Representatives)

Quote of the Day

2009-02-24T09:24:00.002+03:00

Via Norbert Mao and Professor Mahmood Mamdani:

"In a 1972 visit, Amin went to Makerere with a full battalion of troops. He said: “I came with a full battalion of troops so that when you raise your heads from your books, you know who has power.” Amin then added: “On my way, I stopped at Mulago (the university teaching hospital) and I looked at your medical records and I saw that most of you are suffering from gonorrhea.” Then he paused and said: “I will not tolerate you spreading political gonorrhea in Uganda”. This attitude of “might is right” exists even in today’s Uganda."

Separated at Birth?

2009-02-23T08:59:00.005+03:00

Col. Mummar Gaddafi, Africa's 'king of kings', and newly appointed head of the African Union, has been taking time off from his United States of Africa project to concentrate on something far more important - suing the scandal rag Red Pepper for publishing slanderous stories that he is having an affair with the Queen Mother of the ancient Toro kingdom in Western Uganda. Red Pepper has never let the facts get in the way of a good story, and apologies or corrections are rare in the Ugandan media, however so far Gaddafi has merely ensured that everyone is talking about the rumour and its merits. Perhaps most amusingly, though, is the amount is he demanding in damages, a figure so large that there is absolutely no chance the Red Pepper could ever pay (even if it was in shillings). $1,000,000,000 remind you of anyone...

Was the President's Arua Speech Unconstitutional?

2009-02-19T18:08:00.000+03:00

"If you give me 20 per cent of votes and another area gives me 90 per cent votes, then I will automatically consider the [region that offers] higher votes” - President Museveni speaking in Arua on Monday.

The implication of the words are clear: the national cake will not be divided equally and the State will discriminate against traditionally opposition areas like Arua. Unfortunately these statements are so common I tend not to notice them, but surely they should be provoking more of an outcry? Leafing through my copy of the 2006 Constitution National Objective III is very clear:

"Every effort shall be made to integrate all the peoples of Uganda while at the same time recognising the existence of their ethnic, religious, ideological, political and cultural diversity"

This is followed by National Objective XII (ii):

"The State shall take necessary measures to bring about balanced development of the different areas of Uganda and between the rural and urban areas"

I won't pretend to have had any extensive legal training but there seems little doubt the President is in breach of his own Constitution, which is under Article 2 "the supreme law of Uganda". Indeed Article 3 (4) states:

"All citizens of Uganda shall have the right and duty at all times to defend this Constitution and, in particular, to resist any person or group of persons seeking to overthrow the established constitutional order"

So who is going to stand up for the Ugandan Constitution? It is time to take a little more care of this battered and beleaguered document. Certainly it should not only be the subject of debate when Presidential term limits are discussed. The American Constitution is never out of the limelight, despite being written in 1787. On paper the Ugandan Constitution is a well designed, comprehensive expression of the rights of the people and the aims of the country. Implementation, however, is almost non-existent. When that is corrected politicians will no longer be able to get away with the type of casual threat that we saw in Arua. It should be a national priority.

Dynasty?

2009-02-19T15:15:00.003+03:00

There is not much I can add to the pages of reshuffle analysis in the newspapers, except perhaps to give a summary for non-Ugandan readers:

The President's wife and MP for Ruhaama County, Janet Museveni, received her first ministerial appointment in charge of Karamoja affairs. This was widely seen as a sign of things to come. On a personal note, having worked on Karamoja for the past two months, I was delighted to see a high profile Minister taking over the portfolio. The region is in urgent need of attention.
Finance Minister Suruma was sacked, the move being variously attributed to his role in a major land scandal or his inability to take on entrenched interests in the ministry.
The fiery Major General Otafiire was unhappy at being moved sideways from Local Government to Trade and Industry. Again on a personal note I am happy to see someone with more clout in the Trade Ministry, which had become incredibly ineffective under previous leadership.
In a range of other promotions Museveni rewarded supporters of the under-fire Security Minister Mbabazi, who was heavily involved in the same land scandal that may have ended Suruma's career.
In general the changes are being seen as creating an 'election cabinet'. Role on 2011.

LabourList Post: We should still talk about Africa, even in the downturn

2009-02-13T11:19:00.004+03:00

You can find my full post for the new LabourList site here. This is an extract:

"It is tempting to think that in times of recession Labour’s commitment to international development should be downplayed. Focus is rightly on securing domestic jobs, ensuring people stay in their homes and providing help to small businesses and the financial sector.

However, it would be a mistake to begin ignoring Africa after the huge strides Labour have made in the past 12 years. It would be similarly injudicious to accept that international development is now a cosy bi-partisan issue. All evidence suggests that Conservative governments have been less kind to the cause. Major’s administration is infamous for the Pergau Dam scandal, in which aid was promised to Malaysia in return for an arms contract. Overall the Thatcher-Major years saw a fall in official development assistance from 0.5% of GNI in 1979 to 0.26% in 1997. 1979 also marked the abolition of the Ministry for Overseas Development, with the portfolio subsumed into the Foreign Office. The message was clear: foreign aid will be used to further British interests and not those of the bottom billion..."

When Leaders Exercise

2009-02-11T10:09:00.006+03:00

Ugandan Insomniac flagged up this wonderful photo of the President doing press-ups at a visit to a secondary school, apparently to demonstrate the importance of exercise to the onlooking students. Of course it's a political stunt (time to amend the 75-year age limit in the constitution anyone? Never mind 2011, 2016 is fast approaching...) but one that every politician worldwide indulges in. There are some great example of paparazzi 'stumbling' across our leaders engaged in vigorous, virile activity, and it has the potential to do some good. President Obama has been credited with giving the US fitness industry a boost due to his daily workout. Similarly President Sarkozy has gone some way to changing the French attitude to jogging. Perhaps, though, we should hope that PM Putin's exploits prove less of an inspiration...

Our President, The Farmer

2009-02-09T12:34:00.007+03:00

Being from good, solid Mhima stock it is no surprise that the President loves his cows. One of his favourite hobbies is lecturing small-holder farmers on how many litres of milk per day his farm produces, and advising them on the best way to take advantage of high food prices. In theory it's great to have a farmer in charge of a country where an estimated 82% of the labour force is engaged in agriculture, although I somehow suspect the President's vast farm is slightly better served in terms of fertiliser, machinery, good seed and all the other farm inputs that are important in raising production quality and quantity.

Given this background, it is not surprising that one of the most common gifts given to the Big Man are cows and other types livestock. It appears, though, that despite the much-awaited oil billions soon to pour into the Government's coffers, these gifts are to be auctioned for state funds. I wonder whether this has more to do, however, with the his love of pure breeding and the long-horned Ankole cow (see right). In a fascinating (yes...) New York Times article on the rare cow, the author argues that its leanness and low cholesterol levels make it perfect for meat export. The President concurs in this passage:

At one point, a reporter asked if the ranch had any Holsteins. “No, those are pollution,” Museveni replied. “These,” he said, referring to his Ankoles, “the genetic material is superior.”

The 'polluting' and often-sick Holsteins do have one great advantage though. They can produce over 20 times the amount of milk as an Ankole cow. For a dairy farmer in Western Uganda that is too good to ignore and as such the Ankole cow is an endangered species.

News of the auction reminded me of another one of my favourite Museveni-the-farmer moments, this time in a Vanity Fair profile of development economist Jeffrey Sachs. The transcipt speaks for itself:

"Yeah," says Sachs, hurrying to the crucial matter of Uganda's farm productivity. "What we saw in Ruhiira, they're going to get, in maize, six tons per hectare probably. This is really a bumper crop—not just a crop, a bumper crop. And it's because they never had fertilizer before."

Sachs is urging Museveni to launch a nationwide voucher program: offer bags of fertilizer and high-yield seeds to every small-hold farmer in the nation, he suggests. "Go for the big scale," he says dramatically. "Why wait? There's no reason to wait."

Museveni clears his throat. "I use fertilizers once in a while," he remarks, referring to his personal farm, his own situation. "I'm trying to remember: when I grew maize, I harvested 800 bags."

"Eight hundred," repeats Sachs, politely.

"Yes, 800. Eight hundred bags. I must have been using like 50 acres. The bag is 100 kilograms."

"That's 80 tons over 50 acres," says Sachs, running the numbers off the top of his head.

"Mmmmm." Museveni, reaching for the calculator on his desk, starts tapping the keys: "That's 1.6 … "

Sachs is way ahead of him. "Times 2.5 would be … " he says, before concluding, "That would be four tons per hectare."

"Four tons?" asks Museveni, puzzled by the figure.

"Per hectare," repeats Sachs.

"Ah, O.K.," agrees Museveni. "That's what I harvested. Yes."

"You're a master farmer: you got four tons," says Sachs, complimenting the president on his crop yield and anxious to return to the matter at hand. "But the average here is less than a ton," he points out, referring to Uganda. "But with fertilizer you get four tons," Sachs adds, hoping to seize the day. "If you had all the farmers quadrupling their yields, do you know what kind of growth that would mean for this country? That's like a 25 percent increase of G.N.P.!"

Museveni has settled back into his chair. As he sips his sweet tea, his response to Sachs is: "Mmmmm." On the wall directly behind his desk is a single framed photograph, of Museveni.

Grumpy Old Man

2009-02-08T20:33:00.002+03:00

Dear BBC,

I have lived in Uganda for two years and always thoroughly enjoyed the World Service. The programming is mostly of fantastic quality and I know how popular it is with Ugandans and expatriates.

However, I have one complaint to make which may seem trivial but I know is a real irritant for listeners here in Uganda. Why are Sportsworld and Sportsworld Extra constantly interrupted to cut to the news is Swahili? This happens week after week, one example being today when commentary of Manchester United versus West Ham was taken off with 10 minutes remaining. Why does this happen? Why can't Swahili news be scheduled normally (aside from the fact that the vast majority of Ugandans don't speak Swahili)? From canvassing friends I know that football commentaries are one of the most popular programmes on the radio station. Please allow us to enjoy the little we get without interruption.

Many thanks,
Joe Powell

BBC Gets it Right

2009-02-05T09:16:00.002+03:00

Wrong (Carol Thatcher stuns Adrian Chiles with racist remark)

All the time (Queen's shop removes golliwog toy)

In Public or Private (Iain Dale defends use of golliwog)

Simple.

Refugee Camp Report

2009-02-03T15:27:00.003+03:00

I'm now back in Kampala and have realised that I never followed up on the promise to write about Nyakabande refugee camp on the DRC border, where I spent some time before Christmas. Fortunately James has come to the rescue and you can read his excellent account here:

http://jtinuganda.blogspot.com/2009/01/on-border-volunteering-at-nyakabande.html

That is of course, if you don't mind reading a report written by a Canadian. Perhaps the Tories have spent so long out of office that they've become diplomatically incontinent, but quite what Canada and Korea have done to be on a tacky advert that implies the innate mathematical quality of British people is being stifled by Labour, I'm don't know. Perhaps this is one that should never have left the back of an envelope?

'Bottom-Up' Development in Barlonyo

2009-01-08T19:45:00.005+03:00

I've been wanting to post this video for a while but have had to wait for a decent Internet connection back in London. In development policy discussions one of the debates you will hear most often is between the 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' approach. Unhelpful pieces of jargon perhaps, but the underlying concepts are central to how you think foreign aid money should be spent and what you consider to be the more effective government approach.

This video shows a demonstration of a classic 'bottom-up' piece of development work in a community that I have worked with on several occasions in the village of Barlonyo, in the Lira district of Northern Uganda. Barlonyo was the site of one of the worst LRA massacres in 2004 and has also had to deal with cattle-rustling from neighbouring regions.

Action Aid asked the people what interventions could help them recover from the LRA and improve the livelihoods of the poorest in the community. Ox-ploughs and oxen were at the top of the list and so we began distributing them to small-holder farmers. The advantages are fairly obvious but have had a remarkable effect on the village's food production. Larger fields can be ploughed with less labour, allowing the women (who do the vast majority of agricultural labour work in Uganda) to grow more food and subsequently have a greater surplus to sell at the market. The more disposal income that families have, the more of their children can continue to secondary school and thus a cycle of development is initiated.

The purpose of this post is not to say, however, that all mega development projects (think dams, motorways and airports) are bad. It is to point out that small-scale local interventions can be incredibly effective and much cheaper in comparison. Of course the huge structural barriers to sustainable global development are not being challenged but there should always be room in public policy for providing clear, measurable benefit to the daily lives of the poorest members in society.

And so it starts again...

2008-12-14T22:37:00.002+03:00

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE4BD1AJ20081214

Governments launch military offensive on Uganda rebels

By Jack Kimball

KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and south Sudan launched a joint military offensive on Sunday against northern Ugandan rebels in Garamba, eastern Congo, a Ugandan army spokesman said.

The three governments agreed in principle in June to launch joint military operations against the LRA guerrillas -- known for mutilating survivors and kidnapping thousands of children -- if leader Joseph Kony did not sign a final peace deal to end two decades of conflict.

"It's a joint operation ... We have attacked Lords Resistance Army bases. The operation began this morning," Uganda army spokesman Paddy Ankunda said.

Ankunda said they had attacked several camps, and no casualties had been reported so far.

Officials from south Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo were not immediately available for comment.

A swift victory would be unlikely against the guerrillas, experts say, noting they have been in the area for some time and are used to launching hit-and-run attacks against larger and better equipped forces.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni last week renewed a call for Kony to sign the peace deal. He was speaking after Kony again snubbed mediators by failing to show up and sign the agreement, thrashed out in two years of negotiations in south Sudan.

Kony has demanded International Criminal Court indictments for him and his top deputies be withdrawn before they leave their forest hideouts in northeastern Congo.

Thousands of people have been killed and 2 million displaced during the 22 years of fighting between Kony's rebels and the Ugandan government.

The conflict has destabilized parts of oil-producing south Sudan and mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Congo

2008-12-12T00:45:00.001+03:00

For the last six days I have been in Kisoro District, volunteering with the Uganda Red Cross at Nyakabande Refugee Reception Centre on the D.R.C. border. I will post a full account in the next few days, however I would like to quickly draw attention to the excellent Ushahidi site which is tracking the conflict day-to-day. Ushahidi came to prominance during the Kenyan unrest earlier this year. It allows people on the ground to report acts of violence on the web and then uploads them to create a live map of the conflict. As you can see from the above clip violence has been particularly concentrated on the Uganda border, creating an estimated influx of 30,000 Congolese into the country.

Photo Update

2008-12-12T00:40:00.002+03:00

For those that hadn't guessed the photo in the previous post is of the elaborate grasshopper catching technique that dominates the tops of Kampala's buildings at the moment. Operating much like the Venus Flytrap, the bright lights attract the grasshoppers to an area surrounded by smooth iron sheets propped up vertical in old oil drums. When the grasshoppers attempt to land on the sheets their grip fails them and they slide helplessly into the drums from which they can't escape. Hours later they will have been de-winged, deep-fried and devoured.

Kampala At Night Photo Competition

2008-12-02T21:52:00.007+03:00

While I admit this photo is unlikely to be on the short-list for a Pulitzer, try squinting a bit and using your imagination, and then see if you can guess what is going on here just 100m from our house...

Hint: 2 storey building, large iron sheets, 1 x 1000 Watt light

Grasshopper Season

2008-11-28T20:48:00.000+03:00

There is only snack to be seen eating in Kampala at the moment...fried grasshoppers. All around the city ladies have set up stalls where you can buy bags of the insects either alive, dead + wingless, or fried and ready to eat. One benefit of increased electrification is that street lamps now provide a magnet for grasshoppers at night, making the job of catching them much easier. I have to admit that I haven't yet plucked up the courage to try one but if/when I do, I'll let you know...

Letter in Monitor

2008-11-27T10:57:00.003+03:00

Excellent Piece by Prof. Nuwagaba

2008-11-27T10:07:00.004+03:00

Prof. Augustus Nuwagaba is based at Makerere and is an outspoken expert on poverty eradication. This article is a very good analysis of the moral bankruptcy of corruption, entitled 'The Corrupt Are Heroes, The Honest Are Fools'. This is an issue we have touched on in lectures and is undeniably a pervasive attitude in all sectors of society. Driving without insurance? Pay off the traffic police. Find yourself as Minister of Health? Supplement your salary with donor funds meant for AIDS drugs. Want to change the Constitution to give yourself a third term? Distribute brown envelopes stuffed with 5 million shillings to Members of Parliament. As Nuwagaba put it:

"Corruption is like a snowball, once it starts rolling it must increase. This implies that when those who are corrupt go unpunished, few are willing to swim against the tide"

Below is an excerpt and the full article can be found on the New Vision website at the following web address:

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/459/661419

"The Inspectorate of Government on November 19, officially released results of the third National Integrity Survey, yet, another milestone for the Inspector General of Government (IGG), the Police and Judiciary who took the trophy of the poorest integrity in the land.

According to the report, the corrupt practices were largely attributed to greed, a practice characterised by what I call primitive accumulation of capital. This refers to a situation where people steal public resources with impunity, including drugs for children, and medical equipment.

As a result, Uganda continues with a shameful infant mortality rate of 76 per 1000 children born alive every year and even a more shame of death of 435 per 100,000 women annually during child delivery.

How about our schools and roads? The answers are known to every body. It is, however, most saddening the corrupt and the wealthy are perceived as “heroes” while the honest and the poor are regarded as “fools”. This is the highest level of moral decadence and societal betrayal."

Boda-Bodas Banned From Campus

2008-11-19T20:00:00.002+03:00

It's been a turbulent couple of weeks on campus. First Kenyan students rioted in protest at paying more in fees than their Ugandan counterparts. Seemingly oblivious to the fact that (as far as I know) every university in the world charges their international students more, the Kenyans threatened to take senior staff members hostage and as a result there is now a police enforced curfew at Makerere. The situation was not helped by a knee-jerk request from the Big Man to allow them to pay the same. It seems the way forward will now be for the next session of the East African Legislative Assembly to agree on a common tariff, so that all citizens in the region can study at a cost below that of the standard international rate.

The second major issue to arise is today's banning of boda-bodas on campus. In the past few days a resolution was passed by administrators to prevent the motorcycles from entering, and as a result three friendly (if AK-47 wielding) police officers were stationed at the main gate to turn around the drivers and their passengers. It was not a coincidence that our lecture hall was half-full tonight. I expect this will last for a few days before the police get bored, however the point remains that there are surely more pressing concerns at the university than a pointless ban of this popular, and generally harmless, form of transport.

(Full Disclosure: Our lecture hall is a 25 minute walk from the main gate...)

A Word of Warning on the Free Trade Area

2008-11-17T11:42:00.005+03:00

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the potential of a Free Trade Area for Africa in terms of strengthening regional integration, growing inter-state trade and even promoting peace on the continent. However, I was probably too brief on the potential problems in setting up such an agreement and on the economic imbalances that exist between countries. Karl Lyimo in The East African has summarised some of the issues here:

http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/opOrEd/comment/-/434750/491166/-/9ocypo/-/index.html

An extract:

" To that end, these new dreamers on the socio-economic development bloc propose a memorandum of understanding in six months that would commit them to the establishment of an FTA with a combined GDP of $625 billion — about 58 per cent of the continent’s total, nearly half of which is South Africa’s. This is still less than the $700 billion in taxpayer funds that US President George W. Bush sought to bail out his country’s ailing financial sector.

The disparity in GDP levels among the 26 is disruptive enough to be distortional in FTA terms. According to the CIA, South Africa’s GDP is $282.6 billion while Egypt’s is $127.9 billion. On the other end, Somalia’s GDP is $2.48 billion; it’s $1.726 billion for Zimbabwe and $1.001 billion for Burundi "

Is it a Crack Den?

2008-11-09T13:05:00.004+03:00

No. It's the wash room in the Faculty of Food Science and Technology at Makerere, where our enthusiastic International Relations class meets four times a week for evening lectures. Unfortunately anyone who has spent any time on campus will find this photo totally unremarkable. They may be surprised that it comes from one of the newest buildings at the university - built with Norwegian aid money - but the state of disrepair will be sorely familiar. My question is when will students and staff stop accepting the situation? When will it become the exception to find examples of shoddy workmanship, as contractors and their employers scrabble around to 'save' money which consequently disappears.

The university is the flagship institution in Uganda. It is high time for a new civic pride in its appearance and performance which reflects that status.

Election Prediction

2008-11-04T16:37:00.005+03:00

Having spent more time than is healthy in the past 9 months studying polling data, reading first hand accounts of volunteers and browsing political blogs, the following is my electoral prediction for tonight...

Barack Obama: 382 (53.5% of vote)
John McCain: 156 (45.5% of vote)

This is based on:
Obama retaining all the Kerry states.
Picking up now near-certainties in Virginia, Iowa, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada.
Winning surprisingly handily in Florida.
Squeezing through in Ohio, Missouri and North Carolina.
Causing an upset in Georgia and Montana.

The last two may be a little far-fetched but it is my guess that rather than seeing a 'Bradley effect' of white voters changing their minds in the booth to vote for a white candidate, the pollsters will suffer an 'Obama effect' of overwhelming turnout amongst African-Americans and harder to contact young voters. This could even lead to Obama topping 55% in the popular vote which would be an extraordinary achievement.

Uganda is certainly abuzz with talk about the election at the moment. In two different Makerere administrative offices today I was asked if I had voted - all looked disappointed when my nationality was revealed - and in one whether I could 'lend' my vote to him. It is the way that ordinary Ugandans feel the American President will have an impact on their lives that makes it an election like no other. And although I find the 'who the world would vote for' polls a little insulting to Americans who will have to live with the domestic policies of the next President, there is of course absolutely no doubt who Uganda would be voting for today.

Good News Story? Africa Free Trade Area

2008-11-04T14:48:00.002+03:00

Amid the renewed violence in the DRC, a disputed election in Zambia and the splitting of the ANC in South Africa, there has been little coverage of the Tripartite Summit that met in Kampala recently to agree on the first steps towards a vast African free trade area stretching from Egypt to South Africa. It will encompass 26 countries, 527 million people and a combined GDP of $625 billion (See BBC Map right).

There are several reasons this could be of huge significance for African economic development. The first is stature on the world stage. There has been a marked shift in recent years in the politics of world trade because of the decision of Brazil, Russia, India and China (B.R.I.C) to negotiate together on many issues. This combined clout has made it harder for the West to impose their agenda on the rest of the world. An African bloc of this size would be in far stronger position to ensure their interests are also met.

Second, the bloc will provide a large internal African market for exporters. Currently high tariff levels, bureaucracy and transport costs mean inter-state trade is running well below its potential. If these issues can be addressed capital circulation within Africa can be increased and capital flight to the West reduced, thereby boosting economic growth.

Third, the agreement will bring an end to the confusing nature of African economic integration which currently has some countries as members of four different organisations. It will also address one of the main concerns of the new Economic Partnership Agreements with the EU (they were negotiated with small groupings of countries), which was that they would economically fracture Africa rather than foster regional integration.

Finally, the greater political and economic integration that such an area will bring improves the chances of a peaceful continent. States which have a vested interest in each other's stability are far less likely to engage in conflict.

Of course there are concerns about the ability of small businesses in less developed countries to cope with an influx of competition, and it is likely to be several years before the institutional capacity is in place to launch the free trade area. However, in the medium to long-term I am confident this will be a great leap forward for African economic and political development.

Obama Fever

2008-10-29T08:12:00.000+03:00

Although I'm sure security in the Great Lakes region has crossed Barack Obama's mind, I think it is just possible that in light of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, American troops engaged in two intractable wars, a huge energy deficit and a healthcare system which leaves millions out, the New Vision might have got slightly carried away yesterday.

Photos from the 'HungerFREE Campaign'

2008-10-22T22:39:00.004+03:00

Over the past three weeks a team of Action Aid staff has been touring Uganda to promote our 'HungerFREE' campaign, with a particular emphasis on the role of rural women in food security issues. Our broad themes of access to seed, land and markets remained the same, however we were also aiming to raise some of the specific problems that women in certain parts of Uganda have to deal with. To give some context women in Uganda constitute 80% of the agricultural labour force and yet only 7% of women own land. This means that the proceeds of production are dominated by men, who, it is generally thought, waste far more. Of course the issue of land ownership is highly sensitive in certain cultures, meaning our campaign has to tread carefully. However, after speaking to dozens of women farmers on the tour I have no doubt that Ugandan agriculture would be in a far stronger position if women were allowed to have full control over the means of production, and not just supply the hard work.

These are some of the photos I took during the campaign, starting with children holding up 'HungerFREE' placards outside the campaign bus in Barlonyo, Northern Uganda:

A group of women farmers from the islands of Kalangala discuss what changes they would like to see to improve their livlihoods:

A mass rally of women farmers marching through Masindi town as bicycle boda-boda men look on:

Action Aid staff discuss the Masindi march:

My Kind of 'Straight Talk'

2008-10-22T16:31:00.003+03:00

In my opinion this is one of the best quotes of the campaign so far. It came from Gen. Colin Powell last Sunday on 'Meet the Press':

I'm also troubled by, not what Sen. McCain says, but what members of the party say, and it is permitted to be said such things as: "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is: he is not a Muslim. He's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is: What if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is: No, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some 7 year old Muslim-American kid believing he or she can be President? Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion: he's a Muslim, and he might be associated with terrorists. This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

Quake

2008-10-01T22:34:00.003+03:00

Hardly earth-shattering (sorry) news I know, but what the below image indicates is that at 5.15pm local time an earthquake of 4.6 magnitude hit the region. The epicentre was 195km from Kampala under Lake Victoria. The window panes were rattling over here in Kamwokya but fortunately the rumblings were no match for the sturdy foundations of an ex-Kampala City Council flat. Now if only they could put the same effort into their roads...

Update:

Thursday's New Vision take on the quake: http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/652506

'Kenyans are unfriendly/thieves/mercenaries' (delete as appropriate)

2008-09-23T10:30:00.003+03:00

Travelling to Nairobi with a bus load of Ugandan postgraduate students was an interesting lesson in the attitude of an African nation towards one its neighbours. Of course neighbourly stereotypes are nothing new. France is to Britain as Belgium is to France and so on. However, it seemed to me that Ugandans had primarily reserved this type of scorn for the tribal groups within the country, and not for the other nations on their doorstep. Apparently I was very wrong.

For four days of a working trip to discuss the problems facing graduate researchers, poor old Kenya was dismissed as having bad food, dirty hotels, corrupt police (ahem), ancient cars, shady shopkeepers and expensive beer. The assassination of the character of Kenyans was even more brutal. It seemed that nearly a whole week without matooke was too much for the homesick Ugandans on the bus (the delicious Kikuyu food irio was summarily dismissed) and had triggered a backlash against their economically more developed neighbour.

However, as we crossed the border at the dead of night to return to the motherland there was no collective sigh of relief from our party. Instead we found the Ugandan immigration check-point closed as the relevant official had fallen into a booze-fuelled slumber and was nowhere to be found. As the hours ticked by (five in total) the rage of the group, previously so damming of Kenya, found a new target. 'These Ugandans are so lazy' a friend remarked, 'someone call the Internal Affairs Minister and we get them all fired' said a lawyer (the Minister was indeed called but that's another story), 'our civil servants are a disgrace' said another, and most tellingly 'this would never happen in Kenya' said absolutely everyone.

Rare mention of Uganda on the BBC gets to the heart of country's problems

2008-09-19T14:27:00.001+03:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7621823.stm

Uganda seeking miniskirt ban

Uganda's ethics and integrity minister says miniskirts should be banned - because women wearing them distract drivers and cause traffic accidents.

Nsaba Buturo told journalists in Kampala that wearing a miniskirt was like walking naked in the streets.

"What's wrong with a miniskirt? You can cause an accident because some of our people are weak mentally," he said.

The BBC's Joshua Mmali in Kampala, the capital, said journalists found the minister's comments extremely funny.

Wearing a miniskirt should be regarded as "indecent", which would be punishable under Ugandan law, Mr Buturo said.

And he railed against the dangers facing those inadvertently distracted by short skirts.

"If you find a naked person you begin to concentrate on the make-up of that person and yet you are driving," he said.

"These days you hardly know who is a mother from a daughter, they are all naked."

Vice list

According to the minister, indecent dressing is just one of many vices facing Ugandan society.

"Theft and embezzlement of public funds, sub-standard service delivery, greed, infidelity, prostitution, homosexuality [and] sectarianism..." he said.

Earlier this year, Kampala's Makerere University decided to impose a dress code for women at the institution, our reporter says.

The miniskirt and tight trousers ban has yet to be implemented, but our correspondent sought the opinions of women on campus about the minister's opinions.

"If one wants to wear a miniskirt, it's ok. If another wants to put on a long skirt, then that's ok," one woman said.

But others had more sympathy with Mr Buturo.

"I think skimpy things are not good. We are keeping the dignity of Africa as ladies and we have to cover ourselves up," one woman, called Sharon, told the BBC.

A Map of Stereotypes

2008-09-06T19:36:00.004+03:00

One of the best written blogs here is called Ugandan Insomniac. Yesterday she posted the following map after asking workmates for a word to describe the various regions of the country. This was inspired by the people at GraphJam who came up with the Africa version below.

Royal Ascot Goat Races

2008-09-03T13:39:00.011+03:00

It is hard to know where to start in describing the annual goat races at the swanky Munyonyo resort on the banks of Lake Victoria. I imagine when the event began the organisers had tongue firmly in cheek when naming the event after one of the UK's premier flat racing - and society - meetings at Ascot. Indeed comparing the two events would surely be futile? Ascot is of course defined by lavish hats (check), huge corporate tents (check), free-flowing booze (check), long networking lunches (check), gambling (check), excitable race commentary (check) and the finest thoroughbred horses (ah ha!). I'm sure thoroughbred goats do exist but they certainly weren't on show on Saturday. And needless to say even the lightest of jockeys would struggle to mount these farmyard animals.

After the first four races, and with my pocket considerably lighter due to that classic racing ailment of second-itis, it was time for the showpiece race of the afternoon, the Zain Gold Cup. Ten goats were to race three furlongs (or three circuits of the track) for a prize pool of 6 million shillings, or just under two thousand pounds. If only Walthamstow had caught onto this craze.

Having had little luck so far, and armed with a tip from a goat owner in the Pakistani telecoms corporate tent where our group was being hosted, it was time to head to the paddock to check out these racing demons for myself. Happily grazing on the sand dunes one fine young billy goat caught my eye. Wearing the Number 2 vest and straining at its leash, it looked primed for the race of its life. After thrusting my last battered notes into the hands of the friendly Tote lady I headed to a position near the winning line and waited for the off.

To my surprise with a circuit to go Number 2 was three lengths clear and pulling away from the chasing pack. As it rounded the last bend it seemed certain to win but, and herein lies the peril of goat racing, the grass on the home straight proved far too tasty for my goat's finely tuned racing mind. Losing a vital five seconds as it paused to snack, Number 2 was overtaken by the suspiciously muscular favourite, who stormed past to take the race following a photo finish. I'll let these photos do the rest of the talking.

Back in Uganda

2008-09-03T12:32:00.002+03:00

As I've now been back in Uganda for just over a week I thought it was about time to reactivate this blog. I am back here for the start of the third semester in the two year Masters I'm taking at Makerere. I will also be continuing work as an intern (although now part-time) at Action Aid, working on trade and food security issues for the policy team. Indeed I'm just back from clocking up the first workshop of the new term at Entebbe, the snappily titled 'East African Community Regional Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on Economic Partnership Agreements and World Trade Organisation Negotiations'.

This semester is when the research element of the Masters really kicks in. I am looking into Ugandan export industries and the potential effects that the furthering of free trade with the EU will have on them. This is the context of trade-led development which is increasingly seem as a far more effective path to higher living standards than the traditional aid strategies. I will aim to keep this blog reasonably up to date with the state of the research but as I'm aware this post has been incredibly dull I think I'll leave it there for now!

Quick Update: Guardian Competition Semi-Final

2008-07-17T18:36:00.004+03:00

Just a quick update from London to post the link to a piece I wrote a while ago on the village of Barlonyo in Northern Uganda. It was home to one of the worst LRA massacres in 2004. The piece has been shortlisted for the Guardian's International Development Journalism Competition and can be found at the following web address:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/journalismcompetition/resistance.army

"The children of Barlonyo, in northern Uganda, have taken to playing on the memorial to the 121 villagers buried after the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) attack on February 21 2004. The long, curving concrete slab has the appearance of a pavement, but in rural Northern Uganda looks horribly out of place. The mass burials that took place in the days after the massacre were out of necessity and the memorial's figure of 121 reflects only those who could be identified. The LRA tactic of razing the thatched mud homes to the ground had meant many people were burned alive and never afforded even this most rudimentary of resting places. Many more villagers are simply listed as "missing". Among the parents of Barlonyo there is the uneasy knowledge that many of their children were abducted on that day and will have since spent their formative years fighting in the lawless jungles of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo..."

Summer Break

2008-06-15T17:21:00.002+03:00

I am now back in the UK until August. I will resume posting blogs about life at Makerere University then.

New Vision: Why would a British student choose to study at Makerere?

2008-06-04T18:05:00.003+03:00

The New Vision got in touch asking for an interview for their education section and this is the result. It is basically the same content which appeared on the BBC World Service/Website. Below is an extract and you find the full version online here:

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/9/35/631366

"Every year, thousands of African students leave for western universities, but it is not a one-way traffic. Arthur Baguma writes...

JAMES Taylor, 25, had the leeway to go to a university anywhere in the world, when a scholarship opportunity came his way. The Canadian had up to five choices. “My first choice was Makerere,” he says, before adding “It could have been Oxford or Cambridge, but Makerere stood out as offering the experience I was looking for.” Taylor lives in an apartment in Kamwokya, a Kampala suburb. He says his passion to see a different perspective of international development led him to Uganda. “There are people back home who speak authoritatively about countries they have never been to. That to me is wrong, which is why I came here to be able to understand issues on the ground. When I go back I will be talking from an informed view,” Taylor, a student of International Relations and Diplomatic studies, explains, . Taylor is among the international students pursuing different studies at Makerere University. He is the minister of Information and Public Relations of the Council of Graduate students at Makerere. “Some of the teachers I have are the best I have had in the history of my education. I wanted to study somewhere with rich culture and history,” Taylor says.

Joe Powell, a 23-year-old student pursuing a master’s degree in International Relations, echoes these views. Instead of choosing a university at home in the UK, he came to Uganda. He says he will consider taking up a job opportunity in Uganda after his course. “I came here because I like the reputation of Makerere. Despite its problems, the university is still held in high esteem internationally,” he explained. “Life here is totally different from anything I would get in the UK,” Powell explained in an interview. This trend is a silver lining on the problems that have dogged the university. There is congestion in the lecture rooms. In halls of residence, rooms that were designed for two occupants accommodate more than three. But despite this, students from the West are forking out about twice the fees their local counterparts pay to study at the university. Foreign students pay up to $4,000 (about sh6.6m) per year..."

"Two Whites and a Colonel" - Unnamed Observer During the COGS Swearing-in

2008-05-28T19:31:00.004+03:00

Introducing Your New Foreign Minister

2008-05-28T12:48:00.012+03:00

Okay, so it is only the Council of Graduate Students (COGS) at Makerere, and the election process was not exactly rigorous, but even so the title sounds good and it should be an opportunity to do some worthwhile work. My friend Abdul Muhiire (pictured right) is the newly elected President of COGS and he has the power to appoint his cabinet, hence as one of his campaign team he offered me the above position. It will basically involve forming more international partnerships between Makerere and other universities, and ensuring that international students have a enjoyable and trouble-free time here.

The swearing in ceremony took place last Thursday and was presided over by the Government Chief Whip, Hon. Kabakumba (over my left shoulder as I give the oath). The cabinet also contains a retired Colonel, Fred Mwesigye, who played an important role in the NRM bush war which brought Museveni to power in 1986 and who donated ten bulls to the victory party for the recently elected Students' Guild President, Robert Rutharo - the first NRM President for ten years. Also in the cabinet is James, the new Minister for Information (Mis-Information?). There is a possibility that a report about the new 'COGS' cabinet will appear in the New Vision shortly. If it does I will post the link here.

View From My Window

2008-05-22T12:17:00.005+03:00

I recently moved out of 'Dag' postgraduate hall on campus, and into a house down the road in Kamwokya where James has been living since last August. 'Dag' was good fun but it was beginning to feel claustrophobic and with most of my friends having left in the past few months it made sense to move. Having a fridge and a kitchen also means I am becoming slightly less reliant on take-aways in Wandegeya, much to the relief of my internal organs.

From my new window you can see the stark difference in the quality of housing in Kampala, which is easily identifiable by the type of roof a house has. New well-to-do houses tend to have expensively tiled roofs while a rusting iron number normally indicates a more modest home. Indeed, this is also the method the President uses to judge the development of rural areas as he flies over in his helicopter. In the rural areas, however, it is the iron roofs that are a sign of prosperity and the thatched mud huts that indicate greater poverty.

My window also overlooks our shared garden, complete with matooke (banana) plants and a towering paw-paw tree. The photo above is of two boys shinning up the tree to try and knock down the riper fruits.

I Know Times Are Hard But...

2008-05-19T13:24:00.003+03:00

Much of our work in 'Food Rights' at Action Aid at the moment is concerned with the repercussions of rising food prices in Uganda. The President declared that this was a good thing for small-holder farmers. However, with the cost of essentials such as salt, sugar and soap also rising it seems that any benefit will be short-term and as always the main beneficiaries will be the middle men anyway. At the same time the urban poor can afford even less food and many are sleeping hungry.

One thing we did not investigate was the possible impact on that most maligned sector of society, students. It appears from the New Vision that the Dean has, though, beaten us to it. He has declared that campus canteens will be serving only posho and beans for the rest of the semester. Beef, chicken, rice, potatoes and matooke will be absent just as students enter the exam period, provoking the inevitable complaints from the Students' Guild. This coincides with the time in the year when most students are broke, having spent their termly allowances, and thus are unable to buy meals from elsewhere. Let's just hope the desire for chicken and chips in Wandegeya doesn't give the sugar daddies any more excuse to trawl around campus looking for prey.

Audio of Network Africa Interview

2008-05-15T13:36:00.006+03:00

You can now listen to the 4 minute interview about Makerere that went out on the BBC World Service on Monday here.

BBC Appearance

2008-05-12T15:38:00.006+03:00

Listeners to Network Africa on the World Service this morning would have heard an interview with me conducted a couple of months ago by Uganda correspondent Sarah Grainger. It focused on what it is like to be a foreign (bazungu rather than other Africans) student studying at Makerere and the differences between here and Western universities. My Canadian classmate James was interviewed too and should be appearing on BBC World shortly. They also talked to our Ugandan classmates and I particularly like this quote from Daphne: "At first I thought he was crazy".

You can read a written version of the interview here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7342706.stm

And until tomorrow morning it should be possible to listen to it from here (23:50 onwards into the 30 minute programme):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/2007/12/000000_network_africa.shtml

Cabinet Meets on Makerere Future

2008-05-08T12:04:00.002+03:00

As exams approach on campus the atmosphere continues to one of near-open hostility between senior management and the academic staff, represented by the MUASA union. In recent days the union has threatened to stop teaching all evening classes for privately sponsored students (full disclosure: that's me) from next semester unless allowances of over 10 billion UG shillings are settled. Cabinet is now calling an emergency session to try and solve the financial mismanagement at Makerere, the root cause of the lecturers' strike earlier this year. The President has promised to chair cabinet on May 23rd to specifically address Makerere and its woes.

The missing 10 billion has apparently been channelled into infrastructure improvements but any visitor to campus would find that hard to believe. The roads are deteriorating at a rapid state and are currently in an embarrassing condition. When you hear people praising Kampala City Council roads in comparison, you know things have got bad.

The President's clout is now needed to solve the problem. With NRM-leaning candidates having taken both the Student's Guild and the Council of Graduate Studies, let's hope that the President no longer views Makerere as a bastion for the opposition and will direct some of his energy to bashing heads together to come up with a lasting settlement. What is sure is that the time for 'band-aid' solutions is over. We need radical ideas to break the impasse and stop the endless speculation which is harming both the students and the academics.

Why I Hope Boris Proves Us Wrong

2008-05-06T10:15:00.009+03:00

There is a connection between London's new right-wing Mayor, Boris Johnson, and Uganda. It was here that he uttered one of his 'amusing' asides:

"Right, let's go and look at some more piccaninnies*." Reported remark, while visiting Uganda, to Swedish Unicef workers and their black driver, the Observer, 2003.

* Offensive, a small Black or Aboriginal child [perhaps from Portuguese pequenino tiny one]

The new Mayor is, though, one of the rare politicians who seems to be able to do and say anything he wants and get away with it due to his 'funny' hair and bumbling way of speaking. Contrast this with US politics where in the Democratic Primary race Obama's far less offensive 'bitter' remark was almost enough to knock him out the race, and Senator Allen's comparable 'macaca' comment lost him Virginia at the last election. For Teflon-Boris though, he is able to not only get away with slandering the whole of Liverpool and Portsmouth, but also registering in print his insulting, colonial-minded comments about Africans:

"No doubt the AK47s will fall silent, the pangas will stop their hacking of human flesh, and the tribal warriors will all break out in watermelon smiles to see the big white chief touch down in his big white British taxpayer-funded bird."· In 2002, on Tony Blair's visit to the Democratic of Republic of Congo, Daily Telegraph.

However, I think on balance Boris is probably not a racist. Lacking any understanding of London's multicultural mosaic, yes, stuck in the British upper-class mindset of Prince Phillip and co, yes, but racist, no. Furthermore it is clearly incorrect to label the million-odd people who voted for him racist either, especially considering the many flaws of the incumbent.

I also don't agree with the legions of Labour supporters who want to see him fail. The job is too important for that. Personally I hope Boris proves us wrong, works hard to remedy his pariah status amongst London's ethnic minority communities and does a competent job for London. That won't stop me being the first in the queue to boot him out in four years time though...

Caning in Primary Schools

2008-05-01T12:05:00.003+03:00

In my mind caning is a British institution. While I'm sure children were beaten, or 'disciplined', before the British arrived in East Africa, it was the British that formalised the practice in schools, and it has remained in Uganda long after dying out in the UK. As someone who counts themselves fairly liberal on these kind of social issues, I admit that I find the whole idea of caning school kids morally difficult. As a volunteer teacher four years ago I deliberately didn't inform the Deputy Headmaster about two boys I had caught swapping exam scripts, knowing what their punishment would be. Naively I thought that they might realise I had 'saved' them and that they would then be perfect students from then on. Somehow I doubt that was the case.

This story, a few weeks ago in New Vision, reminded me of that time. The veracity of the father's claims (that the caning directly killed his son) are impossible to prove, but it remains the fact that a boy in the fourth year of primary school was subjected to a caning shortly before he died. Surely at the very least in primary schools there must be alternative ways of correcting bad behaviour? Or is this just my liberal, squeamish tendencies running away with me?

Would this song pass the Advertising Standards Authority?

2008-04-22T13:25:00.003+03:00

Bell Lager is the oldest and one of the most popular beers in Uganda. While it has had many campaign slogans in the past - 'You can tell who drinks a Bell' - the current campaign centres around the dubious claim that Bell won't give drinkers a hangover. Indeed they are not alone in promoting hangover-free booze. Somewhat more incredulously a new company is promoting vodka and whiskey which is 'guaranteed' to leave you with a clear head in the morning. Although I can't vouch for the latter I can unequivocally confirm that Bell is not the miracle drink it claims to be...

The following is Bell Lager's official anthem, which is aired night after night on Kampala's radio stations:

Evenings with friends,
The good times never end,
And yet mornings are as bright as the sun.

Take on the next day,
Clear as the sun ray,
Despite the long, long evenings of fun.

Bell evenings…
Are followed by clear mornings!

The brewing of Bell Lager involves a time-honoured process that ensures a unique quality you can see, hear, smell and taste.

It is so well matured that you can enjoy longer evenings...
and clear mornings.

Bell evenings…
Are followed by clear mornings!

Bell Lager shares your passion for quality.

The Future of the LRA

2008-04-17T16:07:00.002+03:00

It was almost laughably predictable that Joseph Kony, leader of the Lords' Resistance Army which has terrorised Northern Uganda for the past two decades, wouldn't come out of the 'bush' to sign a permanent peace agreement with the Government as planned last week. The UN and various donors had gone to extraordinary lengths to set up a tented camp at Ri-Kwangba on the Sudanese-DRC border, and had flown in journalists from across the world to cover the signing. In the event of Kony failing to show-up the lead LRA negotiator was sacked/resigned, the Government delegation went back to Juba in a huff and Kony returned to what he knows best by abducting over 50 children and killing one of his longest serving deputies.

There are many reasons why the talks were doomed to failure, foremost among them the total failure to agree on what kind of justice (if any) the LRA top command should face. It seems staggering that this most central of issues had not been agreed upon and yet people still expected the signing to take place. The difference between Kony's preference for mato put, a traditional form of Acholi justice involving little more than a few rituals and a public apology, and the International Criminal Court's demands for him to appear at The Hague, could not be starker. The following are my personal predictions for the future of the LRA (the percentages are totally unscientific but hopefully give a rough idea of what might happen):

- Return to Uganda with the top leaders facing a special tribunal along the line of the war crimes cases in the Balkans or Rwanda, while lesser ranks, including the child soldiers, are forgiven (15% chance)

- Return to Uganda to face traditional justice mechanisms and then integrate peacefully back into society (5%)

- Become a roving proxy army for Khartoum, operating in the DRC, CAR, Chad, South Sudan and Northern Uganda (30%)

- Defeated militarily through multinational cooperation, with Kony most likely KIA (25%)

- Kony apprehended and taken to The Hague to face war crimes charges (5%)

- LRA disbands with Kony given amnesty in a third country (most likely Sudan) as a reward(10%)

- Sign peace agreement with Uganda but continue operations on behalf of Sudan in the rest of the region (10%)

Strike Threats Resume

2008-04-10T10:18:00.002+03:00

(At the risk of sounding like a broken record)

The prospect of further strikes at Makerere has become a distinct possibility in the past few days, much to the consternation of students on campus. There are now 7 days remaining of a staff association issued ultimatum demanding the resignation of the Vice-Chancellor and three other high-ranking university officials. This time round the issue is over salary enhancements that would mean professors at Makerere would earn slightly more than their counterparts at other public universities. This is against Government policy and as such the extra money is, apparently, being diverted towards teaching materials and facilities.

As is always the case on campus it is difficult to see through the fog of propaganda on both sides, but my instinct is that the lecturers would lose the sympathy of the students if they walk out again. Having already had a lengthy disruption at the start of the semester, which the student body largely supported, the semester has been compressed to the point that exams are being pushed back into the recess. The current grievances need to be resolved in the boardroom, and not by punishing those that simply want to get on with their degrees.

Monitor puffs Casino Simba again

2008-04-07T13:30:00.004+03:00

Just a brief follow-up on a story I posted here a few weeks ago. It seems the Daily Monitor, strap-line: 'Truth Every Day', has again decided that a lengthy article on sports betting prominently featuring Casino Simba would be of interest to its readers. The headline this time around is the more sober 'Sports betting for the money, and the fun', rather than the 'Ugandans make billions' front page of last month.

I have no problem with articles on the increase of betting in Uganda but the Monitor's offerings are little more than an elaborate product placement. In the latest article Casino Simba is mentioned 8 times, while on March 3rd the company had 5 name checks. People working at the paper have told me it is not uncommon for money to exchange hands when writing this type of article. This is disappointing, especially from the Monitor which is Uganda's main independent newspaper and is relied upon by many for accurate and impartial news reporting. If the practice is found to have taken place here then heads should roll.

Makerere Update: Politics and Seduction

2008-04-02T12:18:00.000+03:00

After two weeks on the road I am now back on campus and catching up with lectures missed and impending coursework deadlines. I have missed two stories of interest involving students here, the first of which was the surprising victory of Robert Rutaro in the Guild (Students' Union) Presidency elections. A victory for Rutaro was unexpected as he was running under the banner of the governing National Resistance Movement (NRM). It is the first time in ten years that the NRM has captured the presidency, which in the tradition of student associations across the world has been dominated by opposition activists.

The election campaign itself was not dissimilar to those run at UK universities, albeit a lot noisier due to the seemingly obligatory campaign trucks which, for two weeks, made early evening tours of campus blaring out popular hits while drunken supporters danced and shouted slogans at passers-by. The photos here were taken at the hustings in my hall of residence, which frustratingly was far more beauty parade than discussion of the many pressing issues affecting students at Makerere. Indeed, despite numerous enquires it was virtually impossible to separate the candidates on policy, aside from man standing on a socialist and anti-privatisation platform. Unfortunately the candidate reminded me of a young George Galloway, although to be fair this was more due to his flash brown suit than any evidence of extreme pomposity and dubious relationships with dictators.

The second story to hit the headlines was the front page splash in the New Vision that female students are sexually harassing Makerere lecturers. This included the following shocking findings amongst the staff:

- 78% see inappropriately dressed women on campus (read anyone daring to flash provocative body parts such as shoulders and ankles...)

- 40% have had a suspiciously irrelevant visit to their office from a female student

and my personal favourite...

- 34% of lecturers have been subjected to winking

Although there is probably some truth in the story it is certainly a two-way issue at campus. For every student behaving seductively in order to improve her grades there are lecturers offering marks in exchange for inappropriate liaisons. President Museveni describes these as 'sexually transmitted grades', an unfortunate phenomenon in Uganda which I suspect is more widespread in universities worldwide than academics care to admit.

Joe Powell:

Uganda Talks and Barya Interview

Uganda Talks

Budget Boxes

Climate Change in Uganda

Zumanomics Review for The Independent

Chinese Newspaper Launched in Africa

Links etc

Kristof's Misplaced Travel Advice

President Wine of Kamwokya

Africa Maps

Campus Water

Higher Education Minister Slams Makerere

Dr. Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem Dies

Kabushenga in Unfortunate Salute

Quote of the Day

The Tories on International Development

Recession Brings Ugandanomics to France

The BNP Slurs Uganda

Review of Moyo's Dead Aid in The Independent

Stomachs Rumble at Makerere

Links etc

Gold Diggers

Will The Ugandan Githongo Please Stand Up

Swine Flu Boosts Pharmaceuticals

Subs Having Fun At The Independent

Quote of the Day: Wisdom of a Traffic Cop

The Rebuilding of Makerere's Reputation?

Ugandan Guide To Road Users

The Ups and Downs of IT at Makerere

Wrong Review for The Independent

G20 Snub Gaddafi?

The Expat Bar

Report on the 'Africa Trade and Investment Conference' in Cape Town

China, the Dalai Lama and the ANC: Lessons For Africa?

Chris McGreal Will Be Missed

Why do Western Journalists Continually Fall Into This Trap?

Umony Mania

Is This the Worst Interview Answer Ever?

Oil Roundtable Tomorrow

Election Fallout: Was 2008 Rigged?

DP Take Back Campus

Democracy In Action

Makerere Election Looms

BBC Goes Crazy for Uganda

Should MONUC be Advertising in the Monitor for Combat Equipment?

LRA Chic

The ICC and Bashir

Kagimu Calls for Privatisation of Makerere

The Deadly Flash Drive

Strike Threat Returns (As If It Ever Went Away...)

Makerere Jumps in Web Rankings

Quote of the Day

Separated at Birth?

Was the President's Arua Speech Unconstitutional?

Dynasty?

LabourList Post: We should still talk about Africa, even in the downturn

When Leaders Exercise

Our President, The Farmer

Grumpy Old Man

BBC Gets it Right

Refugee Camp Report

'Bottom-Up' Development in Barlonyo

And so it starts again...

Congo

Photo Update

Kampala At Night Photo Competition

Grasshopper Season

Letter in Monitor

Excellent Piece by Prof. Nuwagaba

Boda-Bodas Banned From Campus

A Word of Warning on the Free Trade Area

Is it a Crack Den?

Election Prediction

Good News Story? Africa Free Trade Area

Obama Fever

Photos from the 'HungerFREE Campaign'

My Kind of 'Straight Talk'

Quake

'Kenyans are unfriendly/thieves/mercenaries*' (*delete as appropriate)

'Kenyans are unfriendly/thieves/mercenaries' (delete as appropriate)