Norah Owaraga

Research Findings: Governments do not trust NGOs

A story on non-governmental organisations (NGOs) recently caught my attention and set off my reflective mind. The story was titled: “How the NGO crackdown has spread to some democratic nations” (The Guardian Weekly 2015). The ‘democratic’ nations that were mentioned in the story were Israel, Ecuador and Hungary. According to the story, in Israel “NGOs…

Iteso afflicted with Pull Him/Her Syndrome

We, Iteso, seem to have internalized an inferiority complex which we willed through pull him or her down syndrome (PHD) against each other. Alinga Farms’ Atorot – dried calyces of Hibicus Sabdariffa Fruit Take for example, on 13th September 2015, my brother, who is one of the best service providers in Uganda’s tourism sector, shared…

Government’s excuse for pushing for enactment of a new draconian NGO law

Uganda’s move to pass a new law regulating the tens of thousands of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Uganda has generated very interesting and at times polarizing debate among NGOs. Government is justifying its need for stricter regulation of NGOs on grounds that NGOs serve interests of ‘outsiders’. Sometimes colluding with ‘outsiders’ in order to undermine…

Weakening of the Uganda shilling against the US dollar not good for Uganda’s agriculture

The weakening of the Uganda shilling against the US dollar cannot be good for Uganda’s agriculture. This is because most of the inputs that are used throughout Uganda’s agricultural value chains are imported. This means that whatever gains that farmers make in an increase in farm-gate prices are eroded when the farmers need to purchase…