Hon. Matia Kasaija, the Minister of Finance has this evening asserted that the collaboration between Government and the Economic Policy Research Centre won't compromise its independence. This was in response to Dr. Sarah Ssewanyana's concerns that government may want to compromise the Centre's independence. In reiteration, the Minister noted that government is supportive of the Centre's autonomy. "The interaction between EPRC and the government doesn't affect the autonomy of the Centre," said the Minister. "My ministry respects the operational autonomy of the Centre to guarantee innovation and independence from vested  interest." The Minister however shared a few concerns and called upon EPRC to respond to the needs of its key stakeholders, by creating an effective mechanism for interaction with them, addressing urgent problems and widening the circle of policy actors who use evidence-based analysis for decision making.

The Chairman of the EPRC Board of Management and the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, Keith Muhakanizi made 6 key points during the re-branding event of EPRC and these were: 1. That the occasion aims at consolidating the past achievements of EPRC and repositioning the centre in responding effectively to emerging regional and global challenges. 2. Whereas the initial focus of EPRC was on monetary and fiscal policy, the Centre has now broadened its strategic focus and research themes in light of emerging national and global challenges. 3. The broadened research agenda is consistent with opportunities and challenges facing Uganda and aspirations of Ugandans as envisioned in the National Development Plan and the Vision 2040. 4. EPRC's mandate has been supported by funding by the Government of Uganda and development partners. 5. The government limited resource envelope makes it increasingly difficult for the government to fund EPRC on the necessary scale thus a need for no...

The former Vice Chairperson of the EPRC Board of Management and former Deputy Vice Chancellor, Finance and Administration Makerere University, Prof. David J, Bakibinga shared interesting insights about EPRC's past at the re-branding event. During his tenure at the Centre from 2006 to 2010, reforms were undertaken to strengthen the centre institutionally. These included the introduction of an internal audit function. Due to these reforms, EPRC's audited financial accounts became unqualified winning it the confidence and trust of stakeholders who include the Government of Uganda and Development partners. From being an understaffed Centre at inception, EPRC now boasts of a total of 32 staff, 18 of whom are research staff and 14 non research staff. However, the Centre is still below its required staffing capacity as it's supposed to have 44 members indicting a shortage of 12 members. Prof. Bakibinga then noted that the Centre won't attract and retain the best unless i...

1. Recognises the role played by the office of the Prime Minister and its appreciation for evidence-based research in informing the policy making processes in Uganda. 2. She notes that the talent, creativity, commitment and hard work of board of management, senior management colleagues and the entire staff have helped EPRC come this far. 3. She extends the Centre's sincere appreciation to all its core funders-Government of Uganda (since inception), the African Capacity Building Foundation and the International Development Research Centre. 4. Her appreciation also goes out to those who have utilised the Centre's research findings for policy purposes, to inform public debates as well as for advocacy/lobbying purposes. 5. Says it's not a surprise that the Centre has been elevated into a globally renowned research organisation. She affirms that the Centre has had an impact on Uganda's development path and inspired other policy think tanks in the continent and global...

It is generally believed that policy can make a difference in the growth and welfare of a society. For example ideological and policy differences are often cited in explaining the variance in economic development between North and South Korea, former East and West Germany or indeed Eastern and Western Europe in general. The effectiveness of public intervention presupposes the existence of a cause and effect relationship between the intervention and a desired outcome.  The conception of the causal chain is embedded in the prevailing ideology and development paradigms. Accepting the premise that policy is important is but one step away from asking how a country can put in place such policy framework for the effective attainment of the aspirations of its society. Invariably such a task by the official authority tends to require research support from dedicated institution or think tank that has the capacity to carry out rigorous research and effectively engage with policy makers t...

By Maria Nagawa, Research Associate EPRC On 25 th June, 2015, the Economic Policy Research Centre conducted the fourth annual forum on agriculture and food security, focusing on intensifying smallholder crop production in Uganda. Agriculture is a strategic sector of development: it employs 66% of the workforce, contributes to 37% of GDP, and contributes the highest proportion to export earnings at 40%. Despite all this, the sector notoriously suffers poor performance at 2% growth per annum, significantly lower than the services and industry sectors. The agricultural sector is largely dominated by smallholder farmers at 80%, whose average farm size is less than 2 hectares. These farmers produce at such low levels that there is barely a surplus for sale on the domestic market let alone for export, keeping them in a cycle of poverty. Moreover, due to population growth and declining soil fertility, farmers are opening up new lands; mostly by encroaching on wetlands and fo...

Isaac Shinyekwa and Maria Nagawa In 2003, Goldman Sachs projected that BRICS’ economic expansion was on track to overtake the G7 by 2040. Between 2002 and 2012, South Africa’s GDP had expanded by 41%, Brazil’s by 42%, Russia’s by 57%, India’s by 111%, and China’s by a whopping 170%. These countries have become increasingly important trade partners for low income countries. According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, they accounted for 20% of total trade for low income countries in 2009, up from 7% in 1995. BRICS countries can also provide a new opportunity for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), trade, development aid, and technology transfer and thus enable Uganda to better access supply chains that have higher chances of boosting export competitiveness, generating employment, and enhancing technological abilities. Trade intensity between Uganda and BRICS has been relatively high since 1996. In 2001, Uganda’s exports to BRICS were only US$5.3 million ...