As we approach 2016, Uganda people must be provided with election choices well in advance of the elections so that they are well informed about what is at stake and make the right choices.
United Democratic Ugandans (UDU) which has become a formidable force was formed in July 2011 and has been consulting with the people at home and abroad including in a local language and conducting civic education to determine what Ugandans need. We have got some ideas which contrast sharply with what the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government has been implementing since 1987. Here are the contrasts on selected areas.
Civilian versus military-backed government
NRM is led by a military president with full backing of the military. UDU proposes a civilian president with full backing of the people.
Specific roles of security forces and the judiciary
NRM has militarized the police, mixed up the roles of the military and the police and weakened the judicial system in the administration of justice.
UDU will separate the roles of the military and police. The military will be adequately facilitated to carry out its principal function of protecting and defending the nation against external aggression. The police force will be adequately facilitated to maintain law and order inside the country. The judicial system will be adequately facilitated to administer justice by constructing a truly independent and competent institution.
Democracy
NRM has defined democracy purely in terms of conducting regular elections regardless of the conditions under which they are conducted.
UDU proposes major changes in definition and conditions. Democracy means conducting free and fair elections on a regular basis underpinned by an independent electoral commission, standardized campaign finance and a level playing field at presidential, parliamentary and local levels. For democracy to be complete, it must be accompanied by good governance in terms of full participation of the people, transparency in conducting people’s business and accountability by public officials for commissions and omissions. Democracy must also embrace elements of liberty and justice.
Systems of governance
NRM has pursued a unitary system of governance with limited decentralization to local administrations but with a considerable amount of involvement by the central ministry of local government. A unitary system of government has thus had serious flaws.
UDU proposes a federal system of governance that truly shares power between central and regional administrations. Following the October 2012 London conference on federalism, a national working committee will be established shortly, will conduct national consultations to determine people’s preferences. A national convention will be convened to discuss the recommendations of the working committee and decide what system they prefer. Those who prefer a federal system should have it; those who favor a unitary system should have it and those who favor a concurrent system (doing things by central and local governments together) should also have it. Put differently: the people of Uganda should be given the opportunity to determine how they want to be governed.
Economic, social and ecological policy
Since 1987 NRM has pursued an economic policy based on free and open markets, private sector, export orientation and labor flexibility as well as economic growth driven by service industry with a focus on the capital city of Kampala which generates some 70 percent of Gross National Income (GNI) with a population of less than 2 million out of a total population 35 million. The role of the state in the economy has been drastically reduced and distribution of economic benefits to social sectors, classes and regions left to the operation of a trickle down mechanism. Economic growth and export diversification orientation have been pursued without paying sufficient attention to food and nutrition security requirements at home and environmental sustainability. The result has been skewed income distribution, jobless economic growth, high poverty levels, spreading and deepening hunger, decaying social sectors particularly of education, healthcare, urban housing and environmental degradation.
UDU proposes a multi-sector policy framework that combines economic, social and environmental sectors in a mutually reinforcing manner with a focus on small-holder agriculture which with proper facilitation is productive, efficient, environmentally and socially friendly. Agriculture will be combined with agro-processing to broaden the economic base, add value and create jobs. Small and medium scale enterprises that create jobs especially among new entrants in the labor market will be promoted and protected against unfair external competition through smart subsidies or high tariffs until they are able to compete.
The state will play a strategic role in economic development through private, NGO and public partnership. It will focus on areas unattractive to the private sector such as infrastructure. It will also construct institutions such as extension and training and work closely with the private sector so that research results are applied in enterprises as soon as possible.
With Uganda’s abundant natural and human resources, UDU plans an economic growth rate of 9-10 percent per annum with equity rather than five percent and per capita income without equity by NRM.
Meeting domestic and external food requirements
NRM’s policy of food production for cash and not for the stomach will be replaced by a policy of food for the stomach first and cash second with food surplus. NRM policy of denying children school lunch will also be reversed. Every child will be provided with school lunch because lunch improves student attendance and performance especially of girls. This UDU policy of keeping girls in school longer will reduce teenage pregnancy and contribute to reduced population growth now at 3.5 percent and enhance gender balance.
Land policy
NRM has favored a policy of willing seller and willing buyer of land and is moving towards transferring land completely from peasants to rich domestic and foreign farmers without an indication of what it wants to do with displaced peasants constituting over 80 percent of total population.
Given that land remains the only asset and source of livelihood for the overwhelming majority of Ugandans and the fact that Ugandans haven’t been prepared for non-agriculture employment at home and abroad, UDU proposes that land ownership and use remain firmly, safely and with legal protection in the hands of Uganda peasants that should be facilitated to improve productivity, efficiency and advance from semi-subsistence farming practices to modern and commercial production.
Regional and external policy
By and large, NRM has pursued a destabilizing military policy in the Great Lakes region and commercial diplomacy in external relations based on export diversification in agricultural commodities. As NRM clout has faded because of rampant corruption and sectarianism; failure and abandonment of structural adjustment in 2009; plundering Congolese resources and allegations of support to M23 and committing genocide against Hutu people in DRC, NRM is focusing on defending itself by becoming a member of security and human rights councils like in the African Union, UN Security Council and UN Human Rights Council and active participation in peacekeeping operations while abandoning councils in charge of development such as ECOSOC and Commissions such as on Social and sustainable development.
UDU proposes a regional policy of friendly relations and peaceful co-existence with neighbors and negotiated settlement of disputes should they arise. Uganda will continue to participate actively in East African economic integration and political federation processes but as an independent state with inviolable borders. Uganda will give priority to economic integration ahead of political federation. These efforts are to help Uganda build its economic and social systems at home first while allowing supranational institutions to develop gradually and incrementally and not to usurp a disproportionate share of Uganda sovereignty. The overall goal of regional participation is to realize net benefits for Uganda. Uganda will exclude land from East African negotiations and adopt a controlled immigration policy in the early stages, ensuring that the people of Uganda will always come first in any activity of human endeavor. In the area of trade, UDU will shift the structure of exports from raw materials to processed products.
Uganda’s external policy will be guided by promoting and defending her national interests in a rapidly globalizing world. Our relations with traditional allies will be maintained in a mutually reinforcing but differentiated manner. Uganda will be active in the work of African Union, Non-alignment and United Nations pursuing security and development interests. UDU will ensure professionals will be appointed for Uganda missions abroad to represent Uganda with skills and confidence in their respective areas of competence.
Design, manage and own development
Since it launched its recovery or structural adjustment program in 1987, Uganda had subcontracted program design and implementation to external forces particularly the IMF and the World Bank as reported by a senior government official. “When NRM government came to power in 1986, it was faced with the momentous task of rehabilitating and developing a shattered economy, and raising the standard of living of the population after more than a decade of continuous civil strife and insecurity. … Faced with these acute problems and limited domestic capacity to respond effectively to them, in 1987 the Government sought the assistance of the World Bank and IMF in designing and implementing an economic recovery program” (P. Langseth et al., 1995).
Before proceeding let us make a correction here. Uganda didn’t have a human capacity problem. It created one as reflected in an interview by President Museveni in 1993. Regarding human capacity, a journalist asked Museveni: “Uganda has a shortage of skilled labor despite the fact that it has many very able professionals living abroad. What measures have you put in place to entice them back?”
Museveni answered as follows: “We do not mind very much if they stay abroad. They earn and send money to their families. It is one form of advantage to the country. We are training new people all the time in the university and technical schools. So we do not feel their absence” (The Courier Sept/Oct. 1993).
President Museveni’s priorities created human skills shortage by keeping professionals abroad, and retrenching or marginalizing many experienced professionals at home who had gained skills in managing structural adjustment program in large part because they were associated with UPC government and the desire to reward those who dropped out of high school to fight a five year guerilla war.
The thousands and thousands of new Ugandans Museveni had trained through night classes at Makerere University got very poor education besides lack of experience which Uganda professionals in the diaspora possessed and still possess in plenty. The performance of these hurriedly trained NRM cadres who have been unable to gain work experience given their weak performance such as in international conferences has necessitated retention of IMF and World Bank and other major donors in charge of Uganda’s economy.
UDU will give top priority to utilizing its human power by inviting back Ugandans from abroad on a voluntary basis. UDU has already produced a National Recovery Plan by Ugandans. Those returning from abroad in collaboration with those at home will form the core of implementing the Plan. We have begun identifying Ugandans with skills in all areas and at different levels so that we have enough staff should Ugandans give us the nod to form the next government. Uganda will have primary responsibility for designing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating and owning its program. Foreign advises and experts will come in upon request to help in specific areas where we may not have the expertise. UDU believes strongly that development is internally generated and sustained.
Separation of power and checks and balances
NRM has had a system of governance that has concentrated power at the center more specifically in the hands of the president. Separation of power among the legislature, executive and judiciary branches of government exists in name only. In practice the powers are concentrated in state house making the president a micro manager and his ministers of over 70 redundant. In the absence of separation of powers, there are no checks and balances, explaining in large part why corruption has become rampant.
UDU will reverse this practice, separating the roles of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government so that each branch can check the behavior of another. UDU plans to have a leadership that has been scrutinized by the people with a fine tooth comb regarding history and family background, education level, work experience and most important of all character. Anybody with a record of corruption or potential of becoming one will find UDU government a difficult place to work in.
Ugandans will be called upon to always keep their eyes and ears open for any wrong doing which must be exposed. Police and judiciary branches of government will be adequately facilitated to administer justice as efficiently as possible. The people of Uganda will be empowered to ensure that justice is serves with none above the law.
Summing up
The brief analysis above has unambiguously brought out the sharp differences between what NRM has been doing wrongly and what UDU proposes to do correctly and justly. We ask all Ugandans and friends to give your constructive views to perfect UDU proposals. UDU is convinced that NRM has reached a point of no return. It needs to be replaced by a new government with a totally different agenda as outlined above. For easy reference, UDU National Recovery Plan (NRP) is accessible at www.udugandans.org. Those who may not have time to read the entire plan, there is an executive summary also at the same website.
Should you wish to have more information please contact Eric Kashambuzi. erickashambuzi@ yahoo.com. Telephone: 1 914 699 6132 (Land line) and 1 212 961 7216 (Mobile).