Disclaimer first. This rejoinder is my personal opinion as a private citizen. The article I am responding to was authored by Prof Lawrence Muganga, Vice Chancellor, Victoria University, as an ‘Open Letter’ to President Museveni ( see https://www.observer.ug/index.php/viewpoint/81604-dear-mr-president-here-s-why-uganda-should-accelerate-technology-growth). My response is not an official government position, much less a response from President Museveni. It is […]
“The UN, founded to be the guardian of a global social contract, must reclaim its role as a sovereign government, where member states surrender a portion of sovereignty for the promise of universal peace and harmony.” Kahunga Matsiko Overview This article reflects on the symbolic significance of Isaiah 2:4, adopted as the motto by the […]
It was our turn to visit. After a 3-day checkered road ride across Uganda and Kenya, we were at the peak of our adventure and exhilaration, with a maize maze hide-and-seek being the signature activity of the day. Nyahururu Horticultural Farm, the production subsidiary of the Mavuno Salads Group, was our host. And Mzee Mashurubu […]
“By adopting a developmental approach, microfinance can serve as a driving force for inclusive growth, generating sustainable livelihoods and breaking down barriers to economic progress.” Kahunga Matsiko PRO DEO ET ECCLESIA ET PATRIA …hey, we got a 98% loan repayment and an 18% return on investment… …hey, we have reached the poorest of the poor… […]
The answer is a BIG NO… Knowledge per se may not expire, it can be improved on, added on, redefined and reorganised but to expire No. ‘…this country was and still is our ideal and aspiration in matters of education…Makerere was the dream and pride of our generation, as we pursued secondary education…this can’t be […]
‘Let’s start with a caveat. I admire and love Uganda, but legally and all, am not Ugandan, …so my explanation should not be construed to have any political nuances, sivyo Ange?’ Mzee BSN firewalled himself as he responded to an inquisitive sales representative freshly recruited from college. The staff orientation course we are conducting for one […]
It is possible to reduce informality in Uganda’s human capital. ‘…even these high-level economists are telling us lower high school economics…things we should have graduated from ages ago…informality is very easy to manage…shouldn’t be a subject of this level of national economy debate.’ Mzee BSN was taken aback by the findings of the Poverty Status […]
For Your Memories…October 21, 2010. ‘UGANDANS LAZIEST IN EAST AFRICA’, screamed New Vision lead header, Thursday, Yet nothing could be farther from the truth. Nkore -Karagwe wisdom has it that ‘ekihimbya omusi, ni ekiri omu nseiso’ (she who is grinding is motivated by what she is grinding). Uganda has the worst human resource development policy […]
‘…. you guys, munaweza mkahatarisha uchumi wenu bila kujua… This thing needs a cautious approach…you need a Maryhill Consensus …an airline is more than a business…. you recall Air Zaïre…it had been labelled ‘Air Peut-être …Air Perhaps’… in marketing, perception is reality… and this has implications to the health of an economy…more so in such […]
I must applaud my teachers at Makerere University, Prof. Oswald Ndoleriire and Dr. Sallie Simba Kayunga on their position regarding the sciences hype by government. This was the very same hype that greeted us over 20 years ago as we joined university at the time government scrapped students’ allowances, arguing that the monies saved were […]
‘…perhaps its founders had other thoughts about it…but it has now become a game-changer in our development trajectory. Its impact is seen and felt everywhere …’ The Executive Director at the Sage Fund was concluding his speech at the opening ceremony for Sage Leather Works, a multibillion leather complex in the city industrial park, one […]
‘…it’s the magic of 100 days…you only need to experience its sweetness, to believe it…it’s not another management buzzword…it works’…, a beaming NEMA official couldn’t contain her excitement while briefing the media and the country about the authority’s landmark achievements in a hundred days of their reorientation. And landmark they are, going by where our […]
Skills. Yes, we do need them as a country and economy, for the present and the future, including saving the planet. The latest we have from the BTVET ‘alliance’ (https://www.education.go.ug/btvet/ )is the modular training plan: a P.7 (Primary seven) leaver can attend a welding course ‘module’ for a few months, enter the world of work, […]