By Henry Okurut A state-of-the-art ethanol manufacturing plant in Luwero District is emerging as a flagship example of Uganda’s push to stop exporting raw materials and instead add value locally, in line with recent directives by President Yoweri Museveni. PRO Industries, a family-owned investment under the Oswal Group, is producing Extra Neutral Alcohol (ENA) and ethanol from maize grain a first of its kind in East Africa, where most ethanol plants rely on molasses. According to the company’s Director, Riddhi Oswal, maize-based processing delivers the highest purity alcohol currently available in the region. “DNA, the highest purity alcohol you can…
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The United Nations General Assembly has elected former President of Iraq, Barham Ahmed Salih, as the next United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees marking a new chapter for the UN agency at a time of unprecedented global displacement. Salih was chosen following a competitive selection process in New York that attracted candidates from several countries. He will assume office on 1 January 2026 for a five-year term and will be based in Geneva, succeeding Italy’s Filippo Grandi, whose decade-long tenure ends on 31 December 2025. Welcoming the decision, Grandi praised his successor’s extensive public service and lived experience. “Barham Salih…
Former Kiboga Woman Member of Parliament and current Energy and Mineral Development Minister, Ruth Nankabirwa, has spoken candidly about her 2021 election loss, describing the National Unity Platform (NUP) surge as a moment she believes was divinely timed to mark her exit from elective politics. Nankabirwa lost the Kiboga Woman MP seat in the 2021 general elections to NUP’s Kaaya Christine Nakimwero, amid a strong opposition wave that swept across much of Buganda and urban Uganda. Reflecting on the outcome, Nankabirwa said the scale of the political shift caught many leaders unprepared. “I am a believer, and the wave caught…
As Uganda intensifies preparations to co-host AFCON 2027, the Bunyoro sub-region set to host games in the new Hoima International Stadium is facing an urgent accommodation shortfall estimated at 800 hotel rooms. Hoteliers and leaders say this gap, far from being a setback, represents one of the region’s biggest economic opportunities in decades made possible by massive infrastructural transformation under the NRM government. According to Dr. Fred Kabagambe-Kalisa, Chairman of the Bunyoro Hotel Owners’ Association and Presidential Advisor on Oil and Gas, the region is experiencing a level of attention and growth never seen in its long history. “For a…
State Minister for Housing Persis Namuganza Princess has defiantly ruled out withdrawing from the Bukono County parliamentary race, insisting she cannot support the official NRM flag bearer after what she describes as the most chaotic and fraudulent primaries Namutumba has ever witnessed. Her hardline stance comes just days after State Minister for Works Musa Ecweru bowed out of the Amuria County race a move welcomed by NRM Secretary General Richard Todwong, who urged other ministers and independents to follow suit in order to strengthen party cohesion ahead of the 2026 general elections. But Namuganza says withdrawing is not an option,…
The National Resistance Movement Secretary General Richard Todwong has welcomed the decision by Minister of State for Works Francis Musa Ecweru to withdraw from the Amuria County parliamentary race, describing it as a rare act of discipline and loyalty that other leaders should emulate. Ecweru, who had been nominated to contest as an independent candidate following a disputed party primary, announced early in the week that he would not appear on the ballot for the 2026–2031 term, opting instead to focus on mobilizing support for President Yoweri Museveni’s re-election in the greater Teso subregion. “The election in Amuria was grossly…
President Yoweri Museveni has insisted on a temporary halt on the creation of new administrative units, saying government must first focus on funding development projects and wealth creation before expanding bureaucracy. Speaking during a press briefing in Soroti City towards the end of his campaign trail in the Teso subregion, the President said the government’s priority is to strengthen infrastructure and support productive enterprises rather than multiply administrative costs. “You cannot have a sub-county on every hill when you have no money to tarmac the road,” Museveni said. “Let’s first build the economy: roads, electricity and factories before adding more…
State Minister for Works and Transport, Musa Ecweru, has applauded President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s pronouncement to appreciate former Arrow Boys; the community self-defense force that played a pivotal role in defeating the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency in Teso sub-region in the early 2000s. The President made the declaration while campaigning in Kalaki District, one of the areas that bore the brunt of LRA attacks and where the notorious rebel commander, Charles Tabuley, was killed in 2003. Ecweru, who once served as a local rebel leader before being integrated into government structures, went on to command the Arrow Boys a force…
It was a defining moment for environmental justice in Africa when, on October 16, 2025, the Malindi Environment and Land Court upheld a 2019 decision to cancel the license for the proposed Lamu Coal Fired Power Plant in Kenya. The ruling, which declared the project’s environmental license invalid, marked the end of a long legal battle led by community activists under the Save Lamu coalition. The court found that the license was issued without proper public participation and failed to consider cleaner, sustainable energy alternatives a violation of Kenya’s environmental laws and constitutional rights to a clean and healthy environment.…
By Henry Okurut A long-awaited promise by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to open up Karamoja to the world is finally taking shape with the commencement of works on Kidepo International Airport in Karenga District. It is a project many describe as a game-changer for the sub-region’s tourism and economic transformation. The airport, being constructed by investors from the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce (UAE), features a 3.5-kilometre runway capable of handling large aircraft such as the Boeing 777 making it Uganda’s second major international gateway after Entebbe. The estimated USD 300 million investment marks one of the largest infrastructure projects ever…