Institutions and Economic Performance in Africa: A Comparative Analysis of Mauritius, Botswana and Uganda

developmental nationalism, economic performance, Africa

Institutions and economic performance in Africa: A comparative analysis of Mauritius, Botswana and Uganda

This paper examines the relationship between institution building and economic performance in Mauritius, Botswana and Uganda. The rationale for comparing these cases is simple. While the three have been super-economic stars in their own right, they have achieved substantially different outcomes. Mauritius has achieved Asia-type rapid growth, backed by the structural transformation of the economy from colonial commodity production (sugar) to postcolonial higher value-added industrial and information outcomes. Botswana has delivered rapid and sustained growth with no structural economic transformation. Uganda has attained rapid growth for a shorter postcolonial period (since 1992) and with no structural transformation. This paper contends that these cross-national differences largely arise from the presence of developmental nationalism plus Weberian bureaucracies in Mauritius and Botswana, and their absence in Uganda

Gender and taxation: analysis of personal income tax (PIT)

the paper examines the gender dimensions of personal income tax (PIT) in Uganda with an eye on the possible gender biases that may be embedded in the tax system. It further addresses the issues of Uganda achievement of substantive gender equality rather than formal equality as regards the impact of taxes from a gender perspective. This is in line with Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against all people as if they are the same and synonymous with equality of opportunity... we find that PIT paid by different household earning types increases gender inequality. We also find that some tax systems only worsens gender gaps and hardly is a useful tool that could be used to close the gender gaps. This paper proposes how PIT could be reformed with a view to using taxation as a tool for the realization of substantive gender equality.Gender equality, CEDAW, Taxation, Income tax, Kiiza, Bategeka, Guloba, Economic policy research center, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Financial Economics, Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

The evolution of industry in Uganda

The paper looks at the evolution of industry in Uganda examining drivers and constraints since the pre-colonial period in the 1940s to date. It is argued that the state played a central role in industrialization during the pre-colonial and immediate post-colonial period. The paper further looks at industrialisation during the liberal phase. The current structure, size and distribution of industry are discussed in light of the laissez fair paradigm. The non-direct interventionist policy to industrialization has not been adequate to propel industrial development in Uganda. State withdrawal from direct involvement in industrial development was prematurely done and should be revisite

Youth empowerment against poverty in Yobe State, Northern Nigeria

Global efforts to end poverty and unfair development should focus on the empowered youth as the cornerstone. In Nigeria, the youth form 60 percent of the population. The majority of them are unemployed and ultimately poor. Poverty reduction requires empowerment to overcome the barriers to a better life. This study examined the nature of youth empowerment and its impact on the well-being of the youth in Yobe State, Nigeria. It used a quantitative method and administered questionnaires to 393 randomly selected respondents. Data was collected on youth's attitudes, views and experiences on various aspects of their lives and well-being and the nature of empowerment programmes in Yobe State. The study findings show that many empowerment programmes have been implemented but have had low impact on the youth. Poverty and unemployment remain high, mainly among the youth. In addition, youth attitudes and experiences show a lack of satisfaction with the nature of youth empowerment. Disempowered youth lack the confidence and belief that they have the opportunities to develop themselves or escape poverty and such disempowerment compromises their citizenry roles as the youth. Therefore, there is a need to improve the infrastructure and strengthen empowerment programmes to improve the well-being of the youth

Ethnic Party Bans in East Africa from a Comparative Perspective

Since 1990 the banning of ethnic and other identity-based parties has become the norm in sub-Saharan Africa. This article focuses on Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda as three East African countries that have opted for different ways of dealing with such parties. Using case studies, it traces the origins of the party bans in Tanzania and Uganda and explores the reasons for the absence of a ban in Kenya. The analysis shows that the laws on particularistic parties have actually been implemented by the appropriate institutions. However, these laws have only marginally influenced the character of the political parties in the three countries: A comparison of regional voting patterns suggests that bans on particularistic parties have not ensured the emergence of aggregative parties with a national following in Tanzania and Uganda. In Kenya on the other hand, where such a ban was nonexistent until 2008, parties have not proven to be more regional.Das Verbot ethnischer und anderer identitätsbasierter politischer Parteien ist seit Beginn der 1990er Jahre im subsaharischen Afrika zur Norm geworden. Der vorliegende Aufsatz analysiert drei ostafrikanische Länder, die verschiedene Wege im Umgang mit partikularistischen Parteien eingeschlagen haben und untersucht, warum Tansania und Uganda ein Parteienverbot eingeführt haben, Kenia jedoch nicht. Die Untersuchung macht zudem deutlich, dass die zuständigen Institutionen die Gesetze zwar anwenden, dies jedoch nicht zu nationalen Parteien führt: Eine Analyse der Wahlergebnisse auf subnationaler Ebene zeigt, dass insbesondere Oppositionsparteien oft regionale Hochburgen aber keine landesweite Unterstützung haben. Politische Parteien in Kenia sind dabei trotz divergierender Parteiregulierung nicht deutlich weniger national als Parteien in Tansania und Uganda

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

The myth of local content in Uganda’s oil sector: an eclipse of economic liberalism?

This paper interrogates local content with specific reference to the oil and gas sector in Uganda. Three theoretical perspectives are reviewed – the local-content-as-national-content theory; local-content-as-good-corporate-governance; and local content as ‘smart’ industrial policy. It is this third perspective that guides our scrutiny of the local content credentials of Uganda’s oil policies and laws. To what degree is Uganda’s local content rhetoric reflected in the difficult but necessary task of skilling the nation (that is, the ‘citizens’); empowering local businesses, and, in short, creating a virtuous cycle of local ownership, job creation and inclusive development? The methodology adopted herein includes critical desktop reviews; scrutiny of the oil policies and laws; and key informant interviews. The emerging conclusion is that the demand for measurable local content dividends – defined in terms of job creation for nationals; use of national suppliers; utilization of local inputs; and, in short, the inclusion of nationals in the upstream, midstream and downstream of the petroleum value chain – is undoubtedly real. The supply, however, we contend, is disappointingly poor, leading to what we term the myth of local content. This is largely, but by no means exclusively, attributed to the eclipse of economic liberalism.Keywords: local content, oil and gas, economic liberalism, Ugand

Market-Oriented Public Management in Uganda: Benchmarking International Best Practise?

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