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 […]
·”It’s not merely the abundance of attractions but the excellence of our ancillary services that matter. Consider the Pissing Man in Brussels, which draws 3 million tourists annually; we can aspire to achieve the same.” – Matsiko Kahunga ‘Hands-up here, if outside your gate, you can walk 200 metres barefoot…or even 500…let’s discount the outliers. […]
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 […]
Busheeka, Friday, February 17, 2023. (Flashback: Kampala, July 2020) It is an enigmatic scare. A mixed bag of hope and despondence in a single pack, in a spate of a fortnight. First, it was the announcement by the World Food Programme declaring Uganda a food hub for region. By coincidence or design, the regional headquarters […]
“UCDA should transform from an authority into a profit-driven value-chain manager in a public-private partnership with global coffee giants like Nestlé.” “Import substitution manufacturing is key to creating a productive, rich middle-class Uganda that will drink coffee.” Coincidence perhaps. We had been musing over Mzee Mashurubu’ s Lockdown Exam questions. One such piercing question stated […]
Did you know that there is something unique, a mystique, about the air in Mbarara, which renders the place conducive to learning? And did you know that the lion statue that welcomes you into Ntare School campus literally roars? This and more, you will discover in a captivating, easy-to-read book about the school, authored by its […]
The African Question is up again…how do we escape another Berlin Conference’? ‘…he started well, but seems to be veering off, taking the wide path…we are into strange times, we can only sail through by taking the narrow path…’ Passionate about matters East African, Mzee BSN has literally established a predictable patter of behavior […]
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 […]
The family business question in Uganda …since 1853 (Levi Strauss)…since 1759 (Guinness)…since 1906 (KIWI)… since 1986 (Hotloaf). You have read these and others. Anything special about this word ‘Since’? It communicates one key message: the resilience of these companies, virtually all of which were started as family businesses, as evidenced in brands like Guinness, Nestlé, […]
MUSEENENE: THE MONTH OF THE GRASSHOPPER ‘…I screamed aloud upon touching these things that were wriggling…. I had thought they were green peas… you guys can’t be serious… ati munakula hawa wadudu?… sio cool!’. This was the greeting my workmate in Nairobi had reserved for me as I reported to head-office from my market territory. […]
We are full circle regionally, with regards Independence Jubilee celebrations. The revival of the East African Community was one of the milestones marking our Uhuru jubilations. Introduction The new Community has a membership of 7 Partner States namely (Source info (https://www.eac.int/) Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of Burundi Republic of Kenya Republic of Rwanda […]
SMEs are Businesses and not charities Prominent Industrialist, the late Dr. James Mulwana (Rest in Peace) was once quoted by the media, calling on government to force foreign companies to support SMEs, for the latter to overcome the many challenges they face, especially competition against foreign big companies. Whereas they do need support, SMEs are […]
One fact to be remembered about Mr. Ngoma Ngime when he served as RDC in Mbarara, was the learning and familiarisation tours he organized regularly for district leaders. At the end of one such tour, during a cock tail at the Uganda High Commissioner’s residence in Nairobi, he lamented why Ugandan farmers cannot adopt the […]
OIL COMPENSATIONS: LESSONS FROM MFALME AND BYAMAKA The experts and policymakers in our oil sector may want to pay a study trip to a minuscule humble remote village called Kanyeganyegye. The story rife in this village today is about two ba-falme. Mfalme in ordinary Kiswahili means king. In this village, it is a popular slang […]
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 […]
He savours those moments. This is his pass-time, ever since he retired from a high-flying corporate life among multinationals. We thus added BSN to our appellation of him. We call him Mzaai BSN. BSN is Been there…Seen it all…Nothing new…exciting…to prove. His favourite moments are the hours he spends mentoring corporate leaders, with a preferred […]
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 all started with American Presidential aspirant, Donald Trump. ‘This guy is very blunt’, is the spontaneous reaction of my team member as we digest what Trump had just said about Africans, capping it with the vow to deport them from the USA, once he enters Capitol Hill. ‘People who even import match sticks’, he […]
Reviving Uganda’s Textile Sector: We Need a Dose of Gandhism ‘Sir, I have three hundred workers…unemployed. And families to feed…please …’ ‘….I have three hundred million back in India……’ We return to this shortly. The latest from the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives (MTIC) is that Uganda is set to revamp its textile industry, […]