Angelo Izama Profile picture
Recovering runner. Writer.
Feb 21 11 tweets 3 min read
#1 Real-estate prices in Uganda continue to dumbfound me. If only because it is a constant reminder of the capital sunk in brick and stone that could go into some other part of the productive economy. (a thread) #2 A friend reached out the other day to say a relative was selling a couple of acres of prime land near Kampala for 450M an acre. While I have encountered high prices, it still shocks me that the local market can sustain such high prices.
Oct 30, 2023 13 tweets 3 min read
A few comments on this story @933kfm. Firstly, it is important to know that Hon. Fungaroo's vision for an Idi Amin Institute is for a tertiary ( in other words academic) degree awarding institution. This is why it came under the ambit of NCHE. I was initially confused about this and read the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act ( then asked Hon Fungaroo). When he mentioned degree awarding as a goal, I explained that an institution/think tank on the Idi Amin period did not need to award degrees.
Apr 22, 2022 14 tweets 3 min read
1. A few thoughts on the #Coffee debate with regard to what comes next ( a short thread). Government incentives such as tax relief, land etc are essentially equivalent to commercial and monetary value that the state "invests" in the given project 2. In short, incentives are a proprietary tool by the government to give up expected revenue, say from tax or other sources, in order to advance some greater public purpose. In the case of the Vinci deal, the stated purpose is value addition to coffee
Apr 19, 2022 11 tweets 3 min read
Samson. I think you are mixing up two things. Paying a mortgage is about ownership ( save via equity accumulated over time). There are folks renting in some places where mortgages are widely available. Renting in Uganda is partly due to the absence of mortgage opportunities (cont On a mass scale. This also means sadly that mortgages as an instrument of mass participation in the economy is limited. In so called advanced countries home ownership ( paying a mortgage) is a primary score of credit worthiness (contd)
May 22, 2021 6 tweets 3 min read
#1 Thread| #Tanzania, Uganda Finalize Oil Pipeline Deal | OilPrice.com oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-… #oilprice #2 The 1923 letter by the Commissioner of Mines at Entebbe, E.F Wayland referencing the Anglo-French Middle East Development Corporation doing investigations into oil in Bunyoro, 98 years ago today.
Jan 19, 2021 12 tweets 3 min read
Good morning. Here is a shorter thread on the press conference I attended with @HEBobiwine about the conditions of his detention and his plans, hampered as they are by his confinement. This is a portion when his wife Barbie spoke about how they were coping. "We have many men in soldiers in various uniforms. Some are in green uniform, some in blue uniforms and some in brown. They seem to be taking turns. There are different faces" Barbie said. She added" There are some standing peeping into the compound. Others are already in."
Jan 18, 2021 18 tweets 5 min read
Attended a press conference yesterday (online) given by @HEBobiwine and his wife Barbie Kyagulani. It lasted nearly an hour and was also addressed by his US based lawyer Mr. Bruce Afran. I will tweet a thread of his views on what happens next soon. He is under house arrest. The only question that I asked was about his legal representation, considering that he was a candidate in a presidential election which has not concluded and he is also afraid for his safety and that of his wife. Barbie answered that their local lawyers have been denied access.
Jan 15, 2021 12 tweets 3 min read
One of the weaknesses of collective action in #Ugandan elections is how, reflecting the weakness of political parties, the dynamic MP races overshadow the presidential race and its peculiarities as all parties endorse the result of MP races but contest that of president. Even now, after a particularly violent pre-election period FDC and even NUP are reporting wins and losses for their MP candidates while attempting to separate this process from that of the election of president as a political reality and statistical question.
Dec 26, 2020 8 tweets 2 min read
One of the untold stories about my friend @nickopiyo is how he slaved in silence with a multi stakeholder Police reform process in which he was a consultant. Totally independently when we got together I was also volunteering for a prison reform process (thread) Years later after the proposals of this reform process were largely abandoned ( a lot of it focused on accountability and human rights focused policing) I was told of how a former head of police would hiss and puff at his volume of the recommendations.
Dec 24, 2020 6 tweets 2 min read
Update on @nickopiyo . Two charges are being presented in the case. One is based on the Anti-Money Laundering Act and another a claim that @chapterfourug failed ( in this COVID19) period to file returns with the NGO Board ( contd) Our consultations have long expected these charges. The principle aim is to bring non-bailable offenses before a magistrate and cause the remand of @nickopiyo for an extended period perhaps including the election (contd)
Sep 26, 2020 16 tweets 4 min read
Small Thread| I will miss Nasser Ntege Ssebagala. They don't make them like that anymore. Just this week I was starting to write about the contradiction he embodied in relation to the debate about "academic papers" and qualifications btn supporters of Bobi Wine and YK Museveni If there are two forces competing for moral and material space in the life of a #Ugandan it is the struggle to "buy a plot of land and build a house" alongside the busy activity involving the acquisition of "more papers", degrees, diplomas and certificates.
Sep 5, 2020 5 tweets 3 min read
One of my fav moments from the run of my sister and friend @HonAniteEvelyn . It is a long way from her first race (when we first met) and her career continues to show how a new generation navigates the practical politics of #Uganda’s Democratic experiment #UGDecides2021 Since I started reporting on Ugandan elections ( and politics) there have been (now nearly) 3 generations of young, idealistic and pragmatic leaders that have spanned the longevity of NRM’s dominance of national elections. It speaks to how impactful this period has been.
Aug 24, 2020 4 tweets 1 min read
CULTURE WARS| It is quite difficult if not impossible for a new generation to be educated about the struggles of a previous one. This is best done when it is itself recruited and inducted into past struggles. (Contd) If old enemies are now vanquished- the gains and interests that the victors earned require that the spectre of these past enemies be kept alive and the conflicts re-enacted. This is often the role of bards, writers and filmmakers today.
Aug 4, 2020 4 tweets 2 min read
Just moderated an invigorating conversation about the escalating violence in Karamoja sub-region since September last year. A breakdown in disarmament, spoilers from Turkana, cattle mafia and failure to transition society after decades of conflict were all mentioned Special thanks to Major Peter Mugisa of the UPDF and the team at Karamoja Development Forum for putting this conversation together. The high loss of life, gun violence and social upheavals in Karamoja would have been major national news but for continued discrimination
Jul 30, 2020 4 tweets 1 min read
Right. Having been on the strategy and management side of decisionmaking the 1st consideration for programming is audience share. Commercial targets determine this. A lot of the segmentation by income, gender, social category etc are based off Balkanization for commerce. This means that revenue determines programming and it is important for your intial critic. Income and consumption of the Subaru+3 hostel chics+Netflix and Chil+airtime bundles+bank loans+rental income+CNN and arts degree dominate but it is narrow.
Jul 10, 2020 10 tweets 4 min read
As the weekend starts I am looking forward to the conversation this evening headlined by global figures on the subject of democracy and political science and hosted by @chapterfourug where I serve and which is led by the remarkable civil liberties attorney @nickopiyo (thread) Not since the Arab Spring has a political event been moderated by emerging tech. In 2010 unbeknownst to me, I wrote two articles for @DailyMonitor about change. One has a small piece about inflation ahead of the 2011 election
Jun 23, 2020 10 tweets 2 min read
It is always interesting, if not puzzling, to see how high the trust in the GoU is from research into how it handles crisis ( COVID19 included). The "scientific" election with all its hallmarks of being fixed - on an unfair terrain to start will likely go the same way ( a thread) The scientific election is a misnomer. Social distancing as a form of pandemic control has largely been a failure and does not explain the social history of COVID19 in #Uganda. Expanding it to the polls may be overtly abt the pandemic but covertly..?
May 23, 2020 6 tweets 2 min read
Late to this but this appears patently dishonest. I did not support the dissolution of the Fund due to this pandemic because Government has other tools ( such as PAYE relief) to provide cover for workers. Most workers provided alternative interventions would too @nssfug Secondly, of course NSSF owes members common sense flexibility in crisis. This note appears to suggest the Fund which exists only to serve its members is doing them a favor by being “magnanimous”. This is silly @rpbyaru.
May 13, 2020 9 tweets 3 min read
A few thoughts on some lessons about the "post #COVID19" economy ahead of the conversation tomorrow. Firstly, if Africa must walk away with yet another lesson it should be that there is no viable GLOBALIZATION without INDIGENIZATION. A thread Local value chains that improve the quality of life at home, supported by local skilled labor, producing quality goods and services – determine how you take advantage of external markets as well as your resilience when those markets and supply/demand chains are unavailable.
May 4, 2020 7 tweets 2 min read
I feel a sad for salaried workers esp professional classes, most of who want the lockdown lifted. They have already been thrown under the bus by the lack of interest of the political class to address their needs because they are not “essential” to the economy or votes. ( thread). The approach of @KagutaMuseveni is to treat the economic crisis as an opportunity for state&private (state allied) capital to pursue import-substitution (not a bad idea) reduce debt ( from funding a stimulus) & hope working classes will bear this pain in exchange for “security”
Apr 17, 2020 7 tweets 2 min read
Members of Parliament have successfully managed to redirect the #COVID19 response to the other virus ever present in public administration; Corruption but its not about money alone. A better working definition is that corruption is about inequality Whenever political higher ups talk of the corrupt- they often mean the ones to whom the official rules should apply. Parliamentary corruption is not about money. It is about the ability of parliament to make rules to accommodate itself to the exclusion of others