When you are poor, every Tom, Dick and Harry steps over your
nose. This was the impression I got when I read the lecture (as opposed to a
speech) by US President Barack Obama in Ghana. The uncritical enthusiasm with
which some elites in Africa received it was disappointing. Obama spoke like a
primordial father to his children: ‘We must start from the simple premise that
Africa’s future is up to Africans.’
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Jackson triumphed over media
Finally, the dust has settled over the death and burial of
Michael Jackson. Throughout his career, Jackson fought two battles; one with
himself, the other with general societal norms. The battle within himself was
an attempt to discover the childhood denied to him by his father’s ruthless
ambition combined with his becoming a celebrity at a tender age. It led him to
persistent attempts to live his childhood as an adult by having an obsessive
love for the company of young children.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Education reforms Uganda needs
In the 1997/98 budget, government allocated Shs 200 billion
to education; in the 2009/10 budget, Shs 1.1 trillion. Although the budget for
education has grown fivefold in twelve years, there is little (save for a spike
in student enrolment and new buildings) to show for it. Performance in public
schools has been stagnant at best and declining in most cases. Government has
achieved ‘allocative efficiency’ but has
failed ‘implementation efficiency’.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Iran reporting a travesty of journalism
For three weeks now, Western media have covered the
elections and resultant demonstration in Iran with unparalleled zeal. But the
reporting has been a one sided affair without even the slightest attempt to
show balance. The partisan way they have covered the opposition to the complete
exclusion of the government side is a travesty of journalism.
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