Mamdani's Response to The 20th Annual Joseph Mubiru Lecture, Bank Of Uganda, by Prof. Joseph Stiglitz

21 Jul, 2012,

Your Excellency, Mr. President; the Chair, the Honorable Minister of Finance; the Honorable Governor of the Bank of Uganda and the Honorable Deputy Governor, Bank of Uganda,

I assume that the Bank of Uganda has asked me to be a discussant hoping I would raise questions they do not feel comfortable raising.  I will take a cue from them and ask Professor Stiglitz questions hoping he will give responses that I do not quite feel comfortable giving.

I shall focus on four issues and I will ask four questions.  The first concerns the Clinton years.  The second is about Professor Stiglitz definition of the problem, as one of “market failure.”  Thethird question focuses on the contemporary global crisis; I call for a more comprehensive definition of the crisis, from the point of view of society and not just the state and market binary that framesProfessor Stiglitz’s discourse.  Finally, I ask that Professor Stiglitz situate our own crisis – the crisis of Uganda and East Africa – within an expanded frame.

Read more in the attached download.