Three
years ago, I had a conversation with a fellow Ugandan on the health of our
economy, society and the environment. He confidently reported how happy he was
with the government whose policies had worked wonders – inflation had been
tamed, export performance had reached record levels, GDP and per capita income
were improving, Kampala city was experiencing tremendous growth, cell phone
users were up and growing, the housing industry was doing exceptionally well
and donors’ approval rating was high – no mention of Ugandan’s approval rating
was made. On rural housing, he observed
that most houses had corrugated iron roofing thanks to earnings particularly
from coffee and other commodities. He even referred to a World Bank report
which had revealed that the share of iron-roofed houses in total residential
houses had increased from 38 percent in 1991 to 48 percent by 1996, reflecting
increases in disposable income. Another Ugandan who had travelled through my village
in south west
Regarding
the agricultural sector, he observed tremendous progress, emphasizing that the NRM’s
commercialization of agriculture policy has enabled farmers to sell their
crops, earn incomes with which to improve the quality of their lives.
In
the area of population, he felt that more needed to be done because the rapid
demographic rate was undermining economic growth as more resources are spent on
consumption than on investment. He recommended that family planning efforts should
be stepped up without further delay. He wondered whether as a demographer, I
had some advice to offer on this important national issue.
It
was my turn to talk. I concurred with him on most of what he said but pointed
out that the government should report more and accurately on social delivery.
Regarding
iron-roofed houses (a clear sign of social progress) in my village in Rujumbura,
I did not agree entirely that it was an increase in household income that had enabled
the purchase of corrugated iron sheets.
Before
1975, my village was covered in thick swamps with papyrus and other grasses
used as thatching materials. Following the introduction of Amin’s ‘economic war’
to boost economic growth, all the vegetation including wetlands was cleared.
Accordingly, there was a shortage of thatching materials.
Two
things have happened since. Many people sold their assets such as goats, cows
from dowry and parts of land to purchase iron sheets because they had no other
choice since very little coffee and other cash crops grow in the area. Because
of resource limitations, the newer houses are smaller than the thatched ones
they had before. Accordingly overcrowding and associated ills have become a
problem.
Regarding
family planning, I recalled what had happened in developed countries. There
family planning followed improvements in overall standard of living. Children
lived longer, child labor was no longer available because of compulsory
education, there was old age pension scheme, girls stayed at school longer and
found employment upon graduation which delayed marriage and empowered them to control
their reproductive behavior resulting in fewer children. Family planning in the
form of contraception was a small part in the family planning equation.
I
recommended that a comprehensive program needs to be developed by local
communities (with help from outside as needed) who understand better the
environment in which they live and warned against setting targets at national
and couple levels, pointing to the problems caused in China by a one-child
policy.
With
reference to Rujumbura, I observed that while the county had done pretty well in
part because the capital of Rukungiri district is located there, some
communities or social groups had not benefitted. In some cases, their standard
of living has deteriorated. In these communities unemployment, malnutrition,
stress, domestic violence, alcoholism, crime, school drop out, early marriages
because girls drop out of school early were all up, signaling that corrective
measures are needed urgently. I added that the operation of private enterprise
and market forces did not work well in the particular circumstances of the
county and strongly recommended intervention by local and central governments
to avert political economy difficulties.
I
concluded by suggesting that future reports on
reflect social delivery to give a balanced pictue. He concurred.